Amtrak budget

Congress passed a budget for Amtrak right before Thanksgiving, now it is up to the President to sign the bill that contains it.

What an interesting traffic light

I went out running tonight on one of my usual routes and noticed that one of the traffic lights was suddenly behaving differently. It seemed to me to be stuck in a perpetual Barnes Dance (and I had not seen a Barnes Dance since I had left Denver.) The countdown timers that are on all the walk signals in the District of Columbia (yes, each and every one of them) were giving nonsense numbers at this intersection.

The walk signal would change to don't walk when a car approached. The car would then receive a green signal. The light would then promptly change to red in all directions and the Barnes Dance would resume, and stay, until the next car approached.

I stood and watched this for awhile, fascinated, and then headed on my way. I looked back, and it seemed the Barnes Dance had stopped. The flashing red hand was back, even though no cars came. Then the Barnes Dance started again, but this time the countdown timers seemed to be functioning normally.

I slowly inched back toward the intersection, and the countdown timers stopped, stuck on 16 or some such thing, with the walk light illuminated.

Of course many traffic lights sense when cars approach, but I've never seen one that detects people automatically. Maybe officials installed this because an elementary school sits on that corner too.

Ever seen one of these?

City strike plan

With New York City being the most intensive transit using city in the nation, details of a backup plan in case the local transit workers go on strike (their contract expires on December 15th - although my guess is that talks of a strike are just fuel for the bargaining fire) are pretty interesting.

Seattle monorails clip each other; 2 hurt

The crash was not terribly violent. One man said it was scarier to climb down the ladder to evacuate the train.

Mostly tourists use the line. Apparently a bid to expand the monorail system was rejected by voters.

Talking points

If you are ever looking for some talking points on public transportation, APTA has collected a whole ton of them here on the press page of the Public Transportation Partnership for Tomorrow site.

WMATA workers ignored safety protocols, leading to worker's death

Several WMATA employees neglected to follow safety protocols when a train struck a track worker near the Braddock Road station on the Yellow and Blue lines. Washington Post story; Metro press release. The worker died two weeks after he was struck.

No one had notified central control that track workers were in the area, so central did not tell train operators to look out for workers. Upon seeing track workers, operators are supposed to sound their horns and stop if the workers do not acknowledge the train with a hand signal. Two operators (the one who struck the worker, and another who passed the scene after the incident) did not sound their horns. In addition, the work crew had been crossing the track bed in an unsafe manner all afternoon.

Metro fired the work crew's supervisor and is taking unspecified disciplinary action against the train operators who did not blow their horns. Metro is also ordering refresher safety training for various personnel.

In other news, Metro has made an arrest in an iPod robbery that was noted here earlier. Police advise riders to mark their iPods (the victim's iPod was engraved; take advantage of the free engraving at the Apple web store) and to keep valuables out of sight. Metro is also running a pickpocketing awareness campaign, saying such incidents increase during this time of year. You'll see posters with MacGruff on the trains.

No swipe here

The MTA is going to try a pilot proximity card program, according to the Daily News. The same card would be used by the MTA, the Port Authority, and New Jersey Transit. Let's hope everything works out okay.

When I left San Francisco a few years ago, they had just started implementing something similar. I'm not sure how widespread its use is yet.

Chinatown buses inspected

Federal regulators are concerned about the safety record of low-fare buses that operate along the I-95 corridor in the northeast, leading to increased inspections. I wonder how much of this heat is coming from Peter Pan and Greyhound? Peter Pan was certainly playing hardball in Boston.

I often see people queued up waiting for these buses near my office. Actually, queued up isn't quite right; amassed on the sidewalks and empty lots is more like it. The buses must be a great bargain.

All we ask is for is a little common sense

Many tens of thousands of people couldn't leave New Orleans in advance of Hurricane Katrina because they didn't have cars. Now, the government threatens to cut their housing subsidies and we wonder why, after a couple of months, they can't get jobs to get on with their lives. Perhaps Texas isn't the best place to be poor and carless:

As many as 7,300 hurricane evacuees are now in the Austin area, and many live along the city's newest fringes in apartment complexes that, for the very reason of their remoteness, had vacancies before the evacuees came along.

[...]

The bus into town is a harsh walk more than two miles away, past car dealerships, along roads without sidewalks and under a highway.

"New Orleans felt more like the city where you could walk to the store and buy nachos or pickles," said Joyce Peters, an evacuee living with her husband, daughters and grandchildren.

At the Polo Club [apartment complex], she relies on one of the complex's employees to give her a lift to the Fiesta supermarket, more than a dozen miles each way, so she can pick up some dirty rice and beans.

Have you ever taken a walk along a six-lane suburban road with no sidewalk? It's not appealing in the least. The only thing that makes suburban life tolerable to the people who find it so is the fact that they can get from place to place with a fair amount of glass and steel between themselves and the ugly environs they've built.

Hat tip: Steve Gilliard.

NJT to the rescue

New Jersey Transit is officially going to be the main tenant of the proposed Moynihan Station, which will be developed from the current Farley Post Office across the street from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. This seemed like while was going to happen, because it is getting unfortunately more obvious that Amtrak is not going to develop any new facilities...

Looking to save cash? Charge it...

In what is probably the smartest use of a cash back credit card ever, Port St. Lucie, Florida, is using credit cards to build a highway interchange with plastic, charging approximately $24 million over two years -- and netting the city $125,000 in cash back awards.

Link courtesy Fark.com

Battle of the germophobes

Gothamist some has an amusing entry on the Transtrap (covered here before) and the Metrogrip, two competing products for holding onto transit vehicle rails without actually touching them.

I have not seen anybody using either of these yet, but whatever you need to get you through your day - or reach the railing, if you are short.

Road Signs of the Australian Outback

Need proof that we here at LFTTR are transit nerds? How about the fact that we (meaning, I) spend our vacations taking pictures of road signs:

WMATA's crime statistics

I had wondered if local police agencies (rather than Metro's own transit police) can respond to crimes on Metro. It turns out they can and often do. On many occasions, local and Metro police respond to a crime on Metro property, and they then decide which agency will take the lead in the investigation.

If the local police agency takes over the investigation, then Metro does not include it in its crime tally, a policy which the Washington Post rather heavily spins as "At Metro, Some Crimes Don't Count." The chief says this policy is in place to avoid double-counting of crimes--if local police handle a crime, then it shows up in the local agency's statistics. However, at least two Metro board members are dismayed about the policy, saying they want to know about all crimes on Metro, and the board chairman says he wants the chief to include all crimes in her reports.

According to the Post, at some stations local agencies handle more crimes than Metro does. During an eighteen-month period at Rockville, the county police handled eight robberies and two aggravated assaults, while Metro police handled one aggravated assault (and presumably no robberies.)

BART wireless service progresses

The reach of cell phone service is expanding on BART. Nextel has wired some segments of the system, and people are already yakking and Blackberrying in these parts. Work on the rest of the tunnels is in progress. Other cell phone companies have contracted with Nextel (which is now Sprint, I guess) to also offer their service. BART says it's the first transit system to allow riders to access all wireless companies, rather than just the one that installed the antennas. BART also gets revenue from the antenna deals.

Long-Haul Trucking...With A Twist

Allow me to introduce you to one of the scariest concepts in trucking: road trains. Road trains, an Australian concept, are enormous semi trucks hauling up to three or four trailers at a given time. They can reach lengths of about 175 feet (53.5 meters) and generally operate at speeds of 100-120 km/h. In general, they can haul about 120 tons of goods, and are used to carry goods across the vast distances in the Australian outback where there aren't other forms of long-haul transit. Most of these travel along deserted roads, hauiling cattle and mining materials. In this case, I encoutered them on the Stuart Highway, a relatively deserted two-lane highway that runs about 1,700 miles from Darwin in Norther Territory, Australia down to Alice Springs and ultimately to Adelaide, South Australia. And when I say deserted, I mean there's literally a gas station road house about every 80-100 miles and, other than the livestock and kangaroos, it's you, the other cars, and the road trains. And let me tell you, there's nothing more frightening than an enormous road train barreling down on you at 65 mph on a deserted highway when you're several hundred miles from real civilization.

The Amtrak saga

If you are interested in all the fascinating (or frustrating) political details of what is happening to Amtrak right now, the breaking news section of Railway Age has all the day-by-day gory details:

"I happen to believe that Mr. Gunn was doing a reasonable job with the hand he was dealt. But there are deeper issues here, whether one is a supporter or opponent of Mr. Gunn,” said [R-Ohio Congressman Steven LaTourette, chairman of the U.S House Subcommittee on Railroads]. [the situation is] “now such a mess that I have heard it said that you couldn’t think up a hypothetical case this loony if you tried... Besides Amtrak’s dereliction in following normal corporate procedures, we still have a 'denial' psychology by the Administration."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), a staunch Amtrak supporter, testified, "It is obvious what is going on here. The Amtrak Board of Directors has become a front for the Bush Administration and people who want to destroy Amtrak. Their goal is to dismantle the railroad. When Gunn refused to go along with the 'Bush Board' on actions that would cripple the railroad, most notably the spin-off of the Northeast Corridor, he was fired. The ‘Bush Board’ had to resort to these tactics because the Administration cannot get Congress to do its bidding and break up Amtrak. . . . [Gunn’s] firing is a sign of the lengths Amtrak opponents will go to in order to eliminate passenger rail service in this country. It must be stopped."

Metro Card Giveaway at Shea Stadium

From the New York City Department of Transportation holiday gridlock alert news release:

The International Gemological Institute (IGI), the Manhattan based independent expert appraiser of diamonds and gemstone jewelry for consumers and retailers, has donated over 1,000 complimentary, round trip ($4) Metro Cards to promote the use of mass transit during the holiday season. The cards will be distributed every Wednesday (Matinee Days) from November 23rd through December 25th, 2005 to commuters who park at Shea Stadium and use mass transit to enter Manhattan. "We are happy to offer this service to help bring consumers into Manhattan for a wonderful shopping experience," said Jerry Ehrenwald, president of IGI.

A Streetcar Called Useless

Transit, like most other things in New Orleans, is still severely damaged and not expected to get back to full strength any time soon, NYT reports:

Rosalind Blanco Cook, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, said it was hoping that federal aid would pay the $1 million bill to repair each of the Canal and Riverfront streetcars. The St. Charles Avenue line should cost far less, but with so many people still lacking power, fixing the wires is not a priority.

For now, buses are running along the streetcar lines, though those are not in great supply either. More than half of the system's buses were damaged in the hurricane and its aftermath. A few were recovered as far away as Houston. With much of the city's population still gone and some areas uninhabitable, buses are operating on only a third of routes, with free fares.

Don't expect the feds to make sure the buses and streetcars get fixed or replaced unless Halliburton buys a repair shop.

Top 50 NYC subway stations

Another interesting variation on Google Maps, this one showing the top 50 New York City subway stations with the marker size varying based on traffic at the station.

Anonymous woman: gangs of black girl robbers roam Metro, steal iPods

An anonymous writer says "a group of about 5-7 black high-school age teenagers" boarded a WMATA Red Line train, surrounded her, and took her iPod. Metro police tried to help, but they did not find the alleged assailants. Other Metro employees were not very helpful. The writer then says she witnessed a groping aboard a Red Line train the next day.

I do not know what to make of this story. On one hand it strikes me as race baiting. For some reason the anonymous writer sees the need to point out that black teenagers are stealing iPods and black men are groping women. Of course people make these things up: remember Susan Smith?

On the other hand, I have often witnessed incompetence and a lackadaisical attitude among Metro managers and employees. An awful example is how Metro let a train with a suspicious bag roll through several downtown stations. So the slow response that the anonymous writer describes would be typical for Metro.

This does evoke the question of which cops may respond to incidents in the Metrorail system and aboard Metrobuses. Of course Metro has its own police. I have often wondered if local police agencies can also respond to incidents in the Metro and whether this would speed up response time.

UPDATE: several hours after this post, the anonymous writer removed references to the alleged assailants' racial background. I am glad to see that.

Train doors: jaws of death

A baby stroller was caught in the doors of a South Korean train several days ago. The doors clamped shut, and the train began to roll forward. The train dragged the woman, stroller, and baby several feet down the platform until they broke free. No one was seriously injured. Video of the incident.

This seems to happen from time to time. I remember a similar incident in Washington. For this to happen, not only must safety devices fail, but the operator must also be negligent.

I noticed after the door malfunction in D.C. that the train operators seemed to be more attentive in making sure that no one was caught in the doors. They would keep their heads out the window for a few seconds after the train started pulling out of a station. The operators seem to have returned to their old ways, though, with the occasional operator ducking back inside the train the instant the doors shut. Most, however, do seem to watch long enough to confirm that no one is stuck in the doors.

I guess the only useful lesson for riders here is that you really had better pay attention to those door chimes.

What's the Matter with I-66?

Transportation issues are becoming so important in the exurbs that they're trumping even gay marriage in Loudoun Co., Virginia:

A new poll and accompanying analysis suggest there are lessons in this turnabout that might have implications nationally for Democrats. The survey was taken by the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research on Nov. 8-9 and was funded by Communities for Quality Education (CQE). In many ways, Loudoun is a classic "exurb" -- a fast-growing and culturally conservative area in the outer ring of a major metropolitan area. In 2004, 96 of the 100 fastest-growing counties nationwide voted for Bush.

The winning model? Traffic and education. Forty percent of those polled ranked "transportation and roads" as either their first or second priority when it came to picking a gubernatorial candidate; 38 percent said education. Asked which candidate would do a better job handling those issues, Kaine held a 23 percentage point advantage over state Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R) on education and a 16 percentage point edge on transportation. Interestingly, the death penalty and illegal immigration -- two of Kilgore's top talking points -- were ranked as the most important voting issues by just 3 percent and 13 percent, respectively, of people questioned.

At the very least, politicians start thinking about better transportation solutions. This issue seems like a winner.

"I'll trade two bus drivers for a commuter rail motorman."

Right after a crippling weeklong strike, Philadephia-region transit agency SEPTA is showing off its now-working employees with a line of trading cards:

The cards feature conductors talking about cheesesteaks, sports, and other Philadelphia staples. SEPTA says the cards come with the purchase of a token or a rail pass, and they include a discount at some Reading Terminal Market vendors.
[...]
The 50,000 trading cards came out this week. A new batch arrives in winter.

Besides being featured on the trading cards, SEPTA workers play major roles in other "Genuine Philly" advertisements.

”There’s no debate, its called gravy, not pasta sauce," Market-Frankford Owl bus driver JoAnne Nuttle says in one ad.

That new (rail)car smell

T is for 2012

Now that the voters of New York State passed the transportation funding resolution, the MTA is predicting that the first part of the 2nd Avenue subway - from 96th Street down to 63rd Street (where it will connect with the Broadway lines) - should be completed by 2012.

Yaroslavski on the orange line and busways

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky has an article in the Metro Investment Report (a great monthly if you are interested in public investment and planning in the Los Angeles region) detailing the impetus behind the Orange Line from a visit to Curritba, Brazil. He also talks about future ideas for two more busways on a Canoga Avenue railroad right-of-way and Van Nuys Boulevard -- two north-south lines that would link up with the East West Orange Line.

CTA hikes fares; NYC fare holiday

CTA has approved a 25-cent fare hike, to $2. The increase is for cash fares only; those who use the Chicago Card will see no increase.

Fares for those using paratransit services will double, to $3.50. CTA says it costs them $25 per ride to provide these services.

Things are more chipper in New York: MTA will have a variety of fare discounts through the end of this year, including weekend rides that will be half-off at $1. I think they should have Ms. Subways announce the discounts.

David Gunn fired as Amtrak President

The Amtrak Board Of Directors fired company President David Gunn, in what seems like a move to split up the company and take parts of it private, something the Bush administration has been pushing for and Mr. Gunn has been against. They did at least praise the work he has done there - if the railroad is a bit unreliable now it used to be worse. Amtrak operates under some of the worst funding conditions of any transit agency, probably due to the fact that it's ridership is small compared to the number of politicians it has to answer to. If you have not figured it out already I am a fan of Mr. Gunn, a veteran on New York City's transit systems, and I think this his firing was a mistake.

This country could use more regional rail transit as a long-term approach to assist our current inefficient transportation systems, especially in many heavily travelled corridors. I guess instead the administration wants to 'experiment' with Amtrak for what seems like mostly ideological reasons. Amtrak's subsidy is not that big relative to its service or infrastructure. We shall see what happens to Amtrak now.

The high-tech bus

The bus is slowly entering the realm of high technology. On occasion I ride a bus on Washington's 16th Street. Depending on time of day, it often beats rail (catching two trains at night takes longer than catching one bus.) Most of the buses have automated systems that announce the next stop, as well as displaying it on an LED screen. This is handy--when it works (which is most of the time.) I guess it must use GPS; the database behind this thing (the computer has to know the location of every bus stop) must be huge.

And soon, bus riders in Chicagoland will be able to get schedules by phone over an automated system, 24 hours a day.

In other news: ATMs come to the CTA, and in Washington, Metro's plan to rip seats out of subway cars is advancing.

Smashed oranges

Unfortunately, the fair citizens of Los Angeles seem to be unfamiliar with the concept of mass transit on their streets and have decided to run it off the road. Or, at least, they are having fun running into it. Seems like crossing gates, or really big signs that say "Don't Hit The Buses" might be necessary though - apparently red lights seem to mean nothing to drivers in Los Angeles...

A 78-year-old woman driving south on Woodman — who, witnesses told police, was talking on a cellphone — ran a red light and crashed into the midsection of a bus, spun around and struck the bus again.

"It's not the bus that's creating the problem; it's the motorists who are running red lights," said Councilman Dennis Zine. "If not the bus, they would've hit something else."

Transit Security: Where the Money Goes

According to an AP report, "California's mass transit agencies are throwing too much of their scarce federal funding at preventing a hard-to-stop terrorist attack and too little preparing for an attack's aftermath."

According to the study, the California system is falling into the same trap as other systems across the nation, placing an enormous amount of effort on trying to prevent an attack and ignoring the more important aspects of being able to respond to such an attack.

Among the purchases are vitally-necessary plasma TVs and, of course, radios that don't connect to local response teams: "Bay Area Rapid Transit, for example, has purchased 1,600 new radios since 2000 that can't communicate with local emergency workers - the same flaw that hampered the response to the 2001 terror attacks in New York City."

Read the article - it's fascinating where all the money is going.

Paying for no parking

When WMATA changed its parking system to require payment with the SmarTrip smart card, it also began to require payment upon exit, from 9:00am until closing. (Previously payment was required only upon exit from 2:00pm to 10:00pm. Outside of those hours the gates were left raised.)

With this change I wondered what would happen at the majority of lots that fill before 9:00am. What about the commuter who arrives after 9:00am to find a full parking lot? Metro claimed that attendants would monitor the lots and close them when they filled up. The truth seems a bit different: people will pull into the lot at 9:30, find it full, and try to exit, finding a gate blocking the exit. One can a) pay the 3.75 or more for the privilege of driving around a full lot, b) drive around the gate, or c) break the gate.

I knew this would happen...in other news, Metro now has a Google map of the system.

Even for now

The MTA has announced they are putting in emergency exits in subway stations throughout the city, definitely a good thing. This makes many people happy.

The MTA also announced they are going to be shutting down the L line for several weekends for repairs/upgrades, making many Brooklynites and business owners unhappy.

I guess that makes them even for now.