Moving on Up!

Howdy loyal readers whom I adore.  And whoever found this blog randomly.  It's been a little while coming, and I was waiting til we were 100% ready, but Blogger is giving me a fit today, so I'm rolling it on out now.

Transit Misadventures is moving.

The site, not the AC or I.

We've joined blogging forces with That's MARTA to create a newer, betterer, and awesomer blog, MARTA Rocks!  Your Atlanta Transit Authority.

Yay!  Check it out while we spiffy it up and all that jazz.  But I'm excited and you should be too. 

Why?

Because MARTA Rocks!

(I am SO lame!)

Let's Talk Clayton County

I just got back from a meeting in Lovejoy.  Yea, Lovejoy.  Where is that, you ask?  Beats the living daylights out of me.  Somewhere south of the city.  Take 75, turn at nothing, and then turn again before the racetrack.  But they have a super lovely, brand new, not on the maps city hall.  It's a witch to find.

This is the fourth week into the creation of the Friends of Clayton County Transit.  This is a group, spear-headed by the wonderful state rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam, is focused on getting the MARTA amendment through the Clayton County commissioners and onto the ballot in November and passed to bring MARTA to Clayton and restore transit in that county.

I know, an easy task, right?

I have to admit, I have a political crush on Roberta.  She's great.  She's focusing on this, not her own campaign for re-election this November, and has even said that whether or not she's elected to serve another term is unimportant, this is a necessity.  Roberta is passionate.  When someone brought up the argument that transit is connected to low income and therefore crime, she stood up and said,"I came off of Section 8, I came off of the bus, I still don't have a car, now what?"  More of our politicians should be like her.  If there were, this state would be a better place to be.

But until we can get a state full of legislators like Roberta, we're campaigning to make MARTA in Clayton a reality. 

This is a fight that's more than C-Tran, it's about the environment, it's about economics, it's about growth.  Atlanta can't sustain this insatiable road lust, and transit means a better way of life.  For every dollar spent on transit, you get at least two back in economic growth.  It just makes sense.

To support the Friends of Clayton County Transit, join us on Facebook.  You can also find us on Twitter.

There will also be a fundraiser next Wednesday, June 16th, at Shout to help fund this campaign.  The fundraiser kicks off at 6:30 and the suggested minimum donation is $40.  You can come to the fundraiser or donate by mailing a check or going online.  But get your butts out and help us make world-class transit in Atlanta a reality. 

F*@%$ng Transit Karma

Last night and tonight were the MARTA hearings on the cuts.  I didn't go.  Hopefully That's MARTA! attended and will give us an update, but I felt like I already know the cuts and the people screaming at MARTA staff just annoy me.  I didn't have the heart.

That transit karma came back to bite me in the ass.

Yesterday I bought a bike.  I had spent months thinking about it, weeks looking at bikes, and days test riding bikes.  I fell in love with the Giant Citystorm, but wasn't going to pay $1450 for a bike, no matter how pretty it was.  It comes with matching bags.  It really is gorgeous.  So instead I found a lovely Raleigh Route 4.0.  Dark blue, which really is a kind of teal color, and I rode it around and it was awesome. 

I took Two to the store to gain his approval.  He thought it was a good choice, so I bought my bike and all the lovely accessories and loaded it onto the bike rack on the back of my car.

See, I thought that every good environmentalist and transit aficionado needed a good bike.  I have had bikes growing up and spent most of my childhood riding up and down the river with my friends.  We all lived so far apart that bikes were a necessity to hang out.  And to get to the best swimming holes.  (Growing up in south western Virginia really is quaint, and awesome).  But I hadn't ridden too much as an adult until my stint in Florida, where I learned how awesome and easy it was to ride a bike where it's flat.  You hardly have to do any work at all.  Peddle a few times and just soar.

Now I'm living in the ATL and a bunch of my friends are bikers to the extreme, some of them car free, like Two, thus making him my resident bike expert by default. Compared to SWVA, ATL is pretty flat.

So I bought a bike, a lovely bike, and the whole ride from the store to a sandwich shop on Peachtree I kept checking it out in my rear view mirror and grinning stupidly.  I was tickled about that bike.

When Two and I were in the sandwich shop, it was stolen off the rack on my car.

Transit Karma

For those of you who are regular readers, you already know that the biggest reason I ride transit is because I hate to drive.  I mean, the environmentalism aspect is cool and I pretend it gets me brownie points with One, but really, I hate being in a car and I'm afraid that I'm going to kill someone one day.  Not because I can't drive, but that most of the people out there can't and it infuriates me.  So until they come up with a teleportation device or some other magical way to beam me from the shelter to whatever coffee shop I'm meeting That's Marta! at, I'm taking MARTA.  I'm actually waiting on them to build me my own personal railway line up to Virginia so I don't have to make that six  hour drive every time I want to see my family. 

But today I was lazy.  I needed to run by the house and the bank and then to SIP to do work, and by work I mean blog.  So after hitting up the bank, I headed to SIP and was accosted by the very reason why I don't drive.  I was privy to the worst accident I've ever seen.  And I was nearly a part of it.

I was driving along my merry way on Piedmont when a van pulled out in to traffic.  I slammed on the breaks and swerved, thank God there was no one in the lane to my left, but the woman in the lane to my right wasn't so lucky.  Her VW was hit on the front quarter panel, driver's side, and her bumper ended up way down Pharr street (pronounced FAR.  Who the hell gets to name streets in Atlanta?)  So old van lady took out the VW lady and two other ladies waiting patiently at the light before coming to a stop.  I pulled into the gas station and ran over to check on VW, some other bystander checked on old van lady. 

The VW took a rough hit and the lady ended up taking a trip to Piedmont.  It's only by the grace of God that it wasn't me, and I took it hard and ended up sitting in my car crying, then proceeded to call One to ask for a hug.  He wasn't at the office but off at a meeting, the jerk.  Who schedules meetings during my irrational meltdowns, anyways?  Instead, I borrowed the Bus Nerd for hugs and conversation until I calmed my happy butt down.

But the crazy thing about all of this happened as I exchanged information with the VW lady in case she needed anything or a witness for insurance.  I gave her my card and she gave me hers, and that's when we noticed one anothers' name.  Her name is Anne.  We have the same last name, both of our first names start with A, and she works for the Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Consultants, a group that consults with MARTA. 
I'm not sure if the transit gods are telling me to get my butt out of the car and onto the bus or if they're giving me karma for being so retardly dedicated to MARTA.  Either way, this reinforces my own disdain for being a car owner. 

I did check up on AR (the VW lady) later on in the evening and she's doing okay.  And I did finally get a hug from One.

MARTA Doom Day

What the hell? That Kyle dude is frickin nice, and gracious. Asshole. I don't know why I felt the need to pick a fight at midnight, but he ruined that for me. Thanks, Kyle, thanks a lot for making me like you.

In other news, I attended the MARTA board committee meetings where the budget and service cuts were announced. The three biggies are that bus service will be cut by 11.3%, 90 weekday routes. Rail service will be pushed back to 20 minutes during peak hours (up from 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the line) and turn back service on the branches will begin at 7 as opposed to 9. 39 buses will be retired, and 98 rail cars. They will close the ride stores at Lenox and Lindbergh, and the bathrooms, and info booth and call center hours. You can read all about that stuff in the paper, everywhere basically.

At MARTA, 743 positions will be cut, 191 non represented (that means staffers, not operators). This equates to 392 people, as some of these positions are vacant and will just be taken from the books. Most of these will be station agents.

What struck me most about the meetings was Dr. Scott's passion for the organization and its employees. Regarding the cuts, she said, "It's not okay, but it's the condition we've found ourself. It's not an acceptable level of service."

Dr. Scott even broke down into tears when the conversation turn to her staff and how they haven't received pay increases in she started at MARTA in October of 2007. Apparently MARTA either conducted or participated in a national salary survey and found that they aren't competitive. However, the legislation specifically targets MARTA employees to not receive pay increases in the bill that was passed. She called it a "real smack in the face." She said that her employees remain with MARTA on "faith." But she's right. How do you keep staff when you can't pay them for their dedication and effort? I know a couple of employees who work their asses off and live for MARTA, and yet they get nothing but more work in return.

I admire Dr. Scott.

So, after than fun and depressing news, I did have fun at the meeting. Apparently I'm a big deal. Or mini big deal. A board member commented that he liked my blog and planned to comment on it. And a MARTA staffer, let's call him my new Buddy, brought me copies of the presentations, budget surveys, and the route cuts. These weren't given to the common folk who showed up to the meeting. When Two, who was sitting with me at the meeting, went to ask for a copy, he was denied. Someone later sent one over to him, so I couldn't be too smug, but it's fun to think I'm important.

Follow me on Twitter!

I'm headed down to the MARTA board committee meetings, so follow me on twitter to get live updates!

Yea, it's pretty much the dorkiest thing ever.  :)

MARTArocks!

Privatizing MARTA

Meet Kyle Wingfield.

He's needs to take my class on research.  

Kyle writes for the AJC.  He's recently been writing a series on MARTA.  Of course, we took notice.  And of course, we must dissect his every argument.  Starting with this article. 

A lesson on frugality for MARTA from out west

In this special nonsense, Kyle argues for the privatization of MARTA and how it can save MILLIONS of dollars if it were to privatize its bus service.

So why does this make good ole boy Kyle foolish?

You can't privatize MARTA.  Period.  It's a public entity that uses federal funds and therefore can't be privatized.  It's against federal law.

Had someone done his homework, he'd learn the word he's looking for in the case is outsourcing.  MARTA can OUTSOURCE the operation of its bus service, but it can't be made a PRIVATE entity.

Now that we have that notion out of the way, let's take a look at his other points.

Kyle informs us that 11 of the 50 largest bus systems use this "outsourcing" model (that's in quotations because he uses the word privatize, and he's an idiot).  These are cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Honolulu, and San Diego!  Wow!  That's like SO important and SO like, a good argument for MARTA to jump on board too!

Except Phoenix moves 133,000 a day, Las Vegas 167,000, Honolulu comes in at 1,700 and San Diego at 86,000.  MARTA buses move 225,000 passengers a day.  You want to compare a system that moves almost a quarter of a million people a day to one that doesn't even move two thousand.  That hardly seems like a bright idea.

How about you compare MARTA to our peers, Kyle?  We're up there with cities like Boston, San Francisco and Baltimore.  I'm pretty sure those guys aren't outsourced.

Finally, let's take a look at the cost savings gained if we outsourced MARTA bus operations.  Kyle estimates that MARTA would save $22 million a year, up to $43 million!  Holy shit!  Man, I wish I could run my finances like Kyle, then I'd be a billionaire or something!

If MARTA were to outsource their the operation of their buses, the company that would inherit the fun would also inherit the employees and labor contract.  The number one expenditure of MARTA is salaries.  Whatever company might win the bid and the contract, they can't fire those employees or throw out the ATU contract, remember, those feds are some picky sons of a gun and those union members are protected.  So the only cost savings gained would be the salaries of the handful of managers on MARTA's side.  The last time I checked, they weren't being paid millions of dollars.

So Kyle, I do not accept your argument for privatization.  Do your homework next time, buddy.

San Fran - Part San

San is three in Chinese :) sorry for the bad pun.

So what is the one thing that comes to mind when you think of San Fran?  Not Rice-A-Roni, crazy people.  This is a transit blog. 

Cable cars! 

Of course I rode the cable cars.  Who goes to San Fransisco and doesn't ride the cable cars?  On the other hand, I ran the cable cars.

Yup, you're reading the blog of a brakeman for MUNI.  How awesome and ultimate transit nerdish am I?

Like a good foamer in training I hopped on the cable car every chance I could and filmed and photographed and harassed the brakemen.  One brakeman was particularly nice and so we chatted the whole ride from Market to Hyde, talking about where we're from and what cities we liked and even how the transit systems are in those cities.

The next afternoon as I was leaving the cable car museum (blog to follow) I saw that same brakeman walking down to the cable car stop.  So I yelled after him "Hey, Puerto Rico!" and he invited me to hop on the back of the next car with him as he was relieving that brakeman.  When I hopped on he handed me the tickets and taught me which ones were for what and then proceeded to tell me about the bell and that one ring is to stop and two to go.

After a little while of playing conductor and ringing the bell I got cocky and asked if I could pull the brake.  Puerto Rico said I couldn't, that it's hard to pull it.  I bet him I could.

And he let me.

And I actually did it.

It is tough, it takes a lot of force and I actually had to give it two good tugs to pull the brake, but by golly, I have what it takes to be a brakeman on the cable cars!  So if I need a backup plan for a career, I'm going to be the third female brakeman.

After that, they let me stay on the cable car when they turned it.  As soon as I got off that ride I called One so I could totally smear it in his face how cool I am.  I've now done something he never has.

I really am becoming a foamer.

cable car innards

Free Ride Day

Like I mentioned, I just came back from visiting Vermont.  My family thinks I'm crazy.  My aunt Marcia reads my blog and yelled into the phone to ask if I was taking MARTA to the airport, my uncle Jimmy refused to let me take the bus in Burlington to the airport, like no guest of his should be forced to take public transportation despite my pleas that I wanted to take the bus, and my cousin Heather thinks I have a problem following my insistence that I needed to collect bus maps and schedules to bring back to the Bus Nerd and friends and that these pictures really were interesting and important.
But they were important pictures, because while Burlington only has a bus system, it's extensive and run awesomely.  They have two things that we don't and I think MARTA needs to implement them yesterday.

First, the bus stations have a next bus sign.

How frickin handy is that?

The coolest thing about CCTA in Vermont (yea, almost CCT!  Whoo!) is that they're hosting a free ride day at the end of the month.  That's right folks, a day where you can ride the bus for free!

I think it's brilliant.  The bus is scary if you've never ridden before.  Where do you get on?  Where do you get off?  Which bus goes where?  And this is a great awareness opportunity.  The first time I took a bus I was intimidated more than transit as ever made me. 

The beauty of this program is that you have to register beforehand, so that means it's less likely to attract loafers and bums, they're less likely to have internet access.  But if MARTA was to have a registration process where people printed off a free pass for the day, I think it would be a great outreach.  Staff could be posted outside of the stations to help folks navigate the world of buses and with good publicity, I think it could help make MARTA seem more accessible.  I even heard that they could use some federal funds to offer such a program.

MARTA should pay me for these rad ideas.

San Fran - Part Duex

My first morning in San Fransisco I bought a MUNI passport so I could be sure to get my transit fill.  For $20 you can get a three day pass.  The cable car is $5 a pop and the street cars and trolleys are $2, so I figured this was a pretty good deal for someone who thinks it's their mission to ride everything possible. 

San Fransisco has an awesome street car system.  The street cars run along the F line, from Market to the Castro and the wharf, so it's more of a tourist line than practical.  The cool thing about the street car is that San Fran has collected old cars from around the world to run their line, rather than by new ones, so it's a living museum. 

Philadelphia, circa 1938

Kansas City

Cleveland

San Fran 1960s

Italy

There are talks of Atlanta buying old street cars as well for our line, if it ever happens.  Apparently, if you can find them, they're cheaper.  I think it's a wonderful idea and I am for it, give Atlanta some class. 

C-Tran

Sorry for the lull in posts, I went on vacation.  To Vermont, where apparently they still live in the dark ages and Verizon doesn't work. 

However, on the ride to the airport, I notcied that MARTA still announces the airport as your connection point to C-Tran, which, in case you live under a rock, ended service over a month ago.  Furthermore, I took these pictures on the train today:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

MARTA is still advertising C-Tran service on the train!  I feel like this is misleading to people who never watch the news or folks from out of town.  And MARTA, I know you like stickers, cause you put them all over the signs to change them to the Gold line, so how about y'all make some new signs stating that C-Tran is no longer in operation and send out some interns to put them on the trains and buses.  Or I'll do it, whatever.

Streetcars and Light Rail?!?!

The Marietta Daily Journal is reporting that Cobb County could have light rail as early as 2019 along Cobb Parkway, from Cumberland to Town Center.  How suburban, they're going to connect the malls.

This project is estimated to come in at $2 billion, and they *hope* to connect to MARTA at some point.  Really?  Y'all need to vote to join MARTA and this would actually have a point.  You could have a line from downtown to KSU, which makes better sense.

And in other news, there's another round of TIGER grants coming up that MARTA and the city intend to apply for to get some funding for the street car.  Maybe, in light of the new legislation, we'll have a better shot.  O, but the bill only provides funds for 10 years, which is a tad bit shy of the 20 year minimum.

I hope Cobb County isn't intending to apply for those funds as well.  We need a unified region, not a hodge podge of lines that go nowhere, except to malls.

MARTA Monsters!

Yesterday, That's MARTA! and I filmed a couple of etiquette videos, and man, did we have a blast.  I personally think they're both adorable and hilarious.  Other opinions, however, seemed to be mixed.  The Bus Nerd loved them, so did Two, DT seemed a little underwhelmed, and One, well, he wanted to make sure we weren't getting paid for this because he didn't want MARTA to have to explain to MARTOC why they spent money during a tight budget on two girls playing with stuffed animals. 

I'm pretty sure I don't like One.

I feel like this is the kind of crazy stuff that has what it takes to go viral.  It'll spread all over the interwebs like only the best crazy stuff will.  But until I get the edited one back (yea, edited, we're professional!) I made some stills that I'm pretty sure MARTA should use as posters. 

As you can see, we're going with a monster theme.  The monsters are doing the bad things, and then there's a MARTA bear and Marty the MARTA worm to tell us how to behave correctly. 

Yup.  We're gonna be FAMOUS.  MARTA should snatch us up before the Cartoon Network does. 

San Fran - Part One

So I just got back from San Francisco a week ago, and, as the author of this awesome blog (why yes, I do like to toot my own horn), I had to experience all the transit I could.  What kind of budding transit geek would I be if I didn't?  I had some great experiences, so I'm breaking them down into multiple segments, so keep an eye for them.

The system in San Francisco consists of multiple parts, BART and MUNI, cable cars, street cars, rail, and trolleys.  It's the 8th largest system in the nation, just ahead of Atlanta at 9th.  However, they serve 800,000 a day while Atlanta serves nearly half a million, so that's a huge gap.  However, I'm guessing half of that's tourists who ride the cable cars, well, maybe a third.

My first experience with the system was BART (holy crap, it took me three tries to type that out right, cause I kept typing BARTA)  I took BART (two more) from the airport to my hotel downtown, on Powell Street.  I have to say, it wasn't the most awesome transit experience I've ever had.  I've taken rides on MTA, CTA, WMATA, the Tube, etc, but BART (one more) pales in comparison to them all.

For starters, that's the most confusing ticketing machine I've ever used.  It told me to insert a card, I use cash.  There was a $1 option, so I put in a dollar, and it spit quarters out at me.  Apparently that's a change option.  Why do I need change for?  My guess, all the bums.  So I threw the quarters in my purse and tried again.  I was finally able to purchase a round trip ticket for the astounding price of $16.20.  It's only like five stops.  Of course, I had put in $21 (one dollar to activate the machine and a twenty to buy the ticket) so I get another hand full of quarters back.  It gave me plenty of change to give to all the beggars around San Francisco.

MARTA Breeze cards 1, BART (AGAIN!!!!  Ah!) 0.
And MARTA Breeze machines give out dollar coins, so MARTA 2, BART (score! didn't screw up!) 0.

So the train finally arrives and I'm on my way.  Yes!  And EW!

BART (FAIL) has cushioned seats.  You may be thinking, 'O how nice, I bet they're comfortable!' and you might be right.  But I also know what happens on transit.  People spill things, throw up, and pee.  So I'm not a fan of cushioned seats.

MARTA 3, BART (yay!) 0.  (Yay cause I typed it right in one try, not cause they're losing).

After a 30 minute ride, I made it to my stop.  Grabbed my bags and out I go.  My directions were to go to the Hyde Plaza.  Where there signs or station agents to direct me?  Nope.  I never saw one station agent any time I was on BART, so MARTA 4, BART 0.

I wish I would have taken a picture of that horrible machine, but I wasn't thinking that far ahead.  One said they tried a system similar to MARTA's Breeze, but that it failed.  I feel sorry for them.  I had expected to buy a trip pass, like MARTA's day passes, but BART (one more) doesn't offer them.  I was able to pick up a MUNI one.

But here are a couple of pictures.

Cushioned seats! Ew!

This sign actually made my day, how to evacuate the train.  PS - Leave your bike.  Apparently you can take your luggage with you, just not the bike.  MARTA, we need these.

So that's MARTA 4, BART 1.  MARTA, you're looking pretty good so far.  BART, not so much.

And me?  That was 9 typos of BARTA.

Etiquette

Transit Etiquette is a big deal.  We're all sharing this service, so you do not get a whole row of seats for your crap, stand to the right of the escalators, and this is not your house, so no eating, sleeping, or doing your nails for pete's sake!

There's a new site out there called Violation Report where you can publicly shame people for violating basic social etiquette rules, including transit rules.  In fact, they even post a Transit Rules how to.

This afternoon That's MARTA! And I are going to start filming etiquette videos, so look for that to appear soon.  Once I figure that nonsense out.  But until then, check out this etiquette campaign:

Gawker's Subway Etiquette Campaign

What etiquette rules do you see broken that you want addressed? (this means comment, PLEASE?!?!!?) :)

Another word you need to know

There are lots of crazy terminology out there that if you're not a Foamer, you've probably never heard of and have no idea what that means.  Like the word Foamer.

A Foamer is a train geek, think One, the Bus Nerd (see That's Marta!), and the Train Kid.  It's people who foam/salivate at the mouth seeing a train go by.  The type of people who think boys nights are sleepovers in old rail cars.  The people I hang out with way too much and am slowly becoming.

So how did train geeks get to be associated with rabid raccoons?  I know lots of Foamers, and none seem to be into dipping trash into rivers and eating it.

But actually, the origin of the name has to do with a river.  The term Foamer comes from the train geeks who would wade into the Feather River to take pictures of the trains heading down Western Pacific's Feather River Route through the Sierra Nevadas from California to Utah.  Built in 1906, this route is known for it's impressive engineering and breath-taking scenery. 

There was once a thriving timber industry along this route, and the pollutants from the mills was dumped into the rivers, causing foam to build up in the eddies and along the banks.  Train geeks would venture into the river to capture that perfect picture of a locomotive crossing the trestles and would come back covered in foam, hence the moniker.

For further examples of what a Foamer is, I'd recommend checking this out.

Transit Photo Op - Part Two!

And so we continue with the crazy stuff that catches my eye.....

I'm pretty sure God did not tell you to vandalize the MARTA bus.

A bunch of buses down Peachtree, taken from the window of the Candler Building.  There are MARTA GRTA, CCT, and Gwinnett County buses.

On a new MARTA bus, the sign reads: PROG TEXT.  I'm pretty sure thats not what it's supposed to say.

The sign in a Wal-Greens window in San Fran, a light up version of the transit map.

Poster in the National Sierra Club office, Sprawl Attacks!  The reason why we love MARTA!

Fin.

The Weekly Transit Photo Op - Part One

I have a bunch this week, so we're gonna do this in a two parter.

Transit etiquette folks!  This woman is taking up the two seat by the door, in a crowded train, with her kid on her lap and the stroller out in the aisle.  Fold up your strollers, people!

Now this dude is the exact opposite of a seat hog, he brought his own!

Coming back from the airport.  I don't think I would have ever thought to hang my garment bag up like that.  Then again, I don't travel with a garment bag.

My MARTA watch!  Yay for swag!  And harassing One with it :)

Random sign at Midtown.  Not being used, just propped up against the wall.

HB277: A Pictorial

The other day, when discussing the new transit bill, HB277, I mentioned we had one Win.  Section Five of the bill has to deal with a MARTA expansion, allowing for the region to expand MARTA to the original five-county system that had always been the plan. 

This is how it works (to the best of my I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-talking-about abilities, and in my oversimplified dumbspeak, with pictures):

HB277 includes an amendment to the existing MARTA Rapid Transit Contract and Assistance Agreement (RTCAA) to allow for all counties originally included to vote this November to opt-in to MARTA.

 The first step is for the MARTA board to adopt this amendment.

Once that happens, it goes to the five county commissions plus the city of Atlanta that were to be included in MARTA, this is Dekalb and Fulton counties plus Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton.  Two out of the three existing MARTA jurisdictions (the city of Atlanta, Dekalb, and Fulton counties) must approve the amendment first

and the given county commissions must approve as well.

This has to happen within 60 days of the MARTA board approving the amendment, so the counties need to jump on board FAST.  If the two existing jurisdictions plus any of the other three counties approve, it then goes to a vote in that county this November.  It can only happen this November, so this entire process has to happen before October 3rd.  But if it does, then voters in those counties would have the opportunity to pass a one cent sales tax to join MARTA, bring in an influx of cash, help us grow the system and even to begin some commuter rail with the Lovejoy line, finally giving us the system that we're all dreaming of.

Photo Shoots!

We're still waiting on those DVDs from the photographers, but until then, I was able to jack this off of the photographer's website. 

Don't engage the crazy

That's always a rule of mine, don't engage the crazy.  This means avoid the nutjobs on transit at all costs.  Don't look them in the eye, don't talk to them, don't acknowledge their existence.  It's really easier this way, most crazies will just move on.

Well today the crazy got the better of me. 

I hopped on the train headed westbound to go downtown to a meeting.  At Decatur some older gentleman with brief case boards and then gets really confused when the train announces that the next station is Indian Creek (i.e. westbound for you folks that don't have the system map memorized.  You better get on that, there will be a test next week).  Flustered, he says, "O!  I'm on the wrong train!" And as he turns to leave the train, the doors close.  Another lady and I assure him that he's on the right train, that the announcement system was off.  I, of course, went on to explain how it gets me too, sometimes.  I think the trains are out to get me.

Said older gentlemen continues talking to me, telling me he's new to town and MARTA and how he's still learning.  Of course, in my continuing search for good blog material, I asked him why he's decided to take MARTA and he says some line about how when he flew in he rode it to the VA and it was nice.  As he's talking, he proceeds to tell me how he's retired and moved here and found a real nice shelter on Peter's Street, a mission.  Then he proceeded to ask me about where I go to church and tell me about the church he's found.  And as our visit was done, he gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Today's Lesson?  Don't let the brief case and clean older fella fool you, crazy is out there, and it will find you, despite your best avoidance strategy. 

MIA in the ATL

Did you miss me on my week hiatus? (or a little longer, something like that, sorry)

So it has been crazy busy and I have a lot to catch up on. A transit funding bill was passed (trust me, I'll get to this one), I went Amtrak camping, we had another photo shoot, I went to San Francisco, and I joined the ranks of the (semi)unemployed. I'm still at the shelter, but don't have a day job in Cobb County. I'm excited for the time to catch up on my blog and find that kickass job I've been dreaming of (hint, hint, MARTA) but I'm distressed because I no longer have a reason to ride CCT. Should I to change my name to MARTAgirl now?

Let's talk transit funding. This is a topic near and dear to my heart, I love MARTA, I need it to run, what else would I blog about? A bill got passed a Thursday ago, on the 38th day of session. Basically, this bill:

a - creates TSPLOSTs to be voted on in 2012 that would be in effect for 10 years
b - relieves the MARTA 50/50 restriction for three years
c - says new money voted for in the TSPLOSTs can not be used for MARTA salaries
d - says allows Clayton County to vote for a sales tax to fund transit
e - seriously maims the MARTA board

I'm probably missing something, but these are the points I want to talk on.

I'm disappointed.

I'll go with Dubose Porter on this one, this is barely a bandaid. I mean, good job Georgia for getting off your ass and doing something, boo for not doing anything terribly useful. We wouldn't see money from the TSPLOSTs at best until 2013, more like 2014 if it passes. And then it's only good for 10 years, which is about 10 years shy of the 20 year minimum to get and federal funds. So, FAIL.

Relieving the 50/50 restriction is nice, but three years? Really? You still can't trust them with their own money? And we all know that the relief isn't enough, because they've been burning through their capital reserves for necessary things, like the new FTA requirements in response to the accidents last year in DC. So, FAIL.

Can't use new funds on salaries? Because having people to drive the bus and operate the trains isn't really that important, right? And neither are the cops and station agents. FAIL.

Clayton County can vote to join MARTA. We just have to convince them this is something they want to do, and since their buses were absorbed by GRTA and sold due to federal regulations on the funds used to purchase those buses, they outta, it's their only chance at transit right now. This would also mean an influx on money for MARTA, so for once, WIN.

Slashing the MARTA board. MARTA and the board didn't show up during the final hours of negotiating the bill, so this would seem like a big old slap in the face. Mayor Reed even sent a cop car, lights and all, to pick MARTA CEO Dr. Scott up at MARTA headquarters, but, due to board instructions, she still didn't go. Maybe if she had, the bill would have been more favorable for MARTA. The MARTA board is full of older civil rights leaders who drive to the board meetings, so I'm not too sorry to some of them go. We need riders on that board, people who are more invested in MARTA, so I'm gonna call this a win. Now I need to campaign to get on the board. I hear there's a small stipend. Heck, I'd do it for an unlimited ride pass.

Three epic fails plus one ray of hope and a minor win equals

FAIL.

I has a sad

From where I grew up.

Transit Funding!

I know, you're probably getting sick of me prattling on about funding for MARTA.  All you really read this blog for is my stories of getting attacked by homeless dudes or the Boob Tap.  You even like the stories of me getting hit on, repeatedly.  But I started this blog as an advocate for transit, and by golly I'm going to MARTAgeddon and Draconian y'all til death.  Or at least until we get some money.  I'll let you bet amongst yourself which happens first.

But there may be some hope on the horizon.  Let's take a look at our playing field, as it stands on the morning of the 36th day of the session.  That gives us four more days, so maybe like two weeks.  Who knows.  They may need a break, I don't know how these things work.  I would probably need a break.  I spent one day at the capitol this session, I'm good until next year.

Anyways, so what we have on the table are:

HB 1393, sponsored by the awesome Rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam.  This bill would remove the tax cap on Clayton County and would allow them to vote to pass a one cent sales tax for transit funding.

HB 277, a regional transportation bill (TSPLOSTs) which would allow regions to pass a one cent sales tax for transit funding and creates a 2020 Transportation Trust Fund Oversight Committee.  This one is in a joint transportation conference committee which consists of a bunch of republicans from outside the Metro region.  Why there are no Metro Atlantan reps on that one amazes me.

SB 39, again, another TSPLOST bill.

SB 120, Sen. Doug Stoner's bill to reduce the 50/50 restriction on MARTA.  This bill, written last year, is still in the House transportation committee.

SB 285, same deal, reducing the 50/50 restriction.  Also still in the House committee.

SB 520 passed out of the House transportation committee yesterday, so this one looks promising.  Along with removing the 50/50 restriction, this bill would also restore the public transportation office to the Department of Transportation, which should help transit statewide.  It would also rearrange the MARTA board.

I think that has us covered.  I think we need to show overwhelming support for HB 1393, HB 277, and SB 520.  Basically, I'm just picking SB 520 because it seems like the more substantial bill of the 50/50 ones.  What we do need, however, is for Clayton County to get transit, the 50/50 restriction to be lifted from MARTA, regional input on project lists, and funding for transit that has a flexible sunset provision (because you can't receive funding from the feds for transit that isn't funded locally for a minimum of 20 years).  So e-mail or call your reps, and the folks on that joint transportation conference committee and give your support for MARTA!

You can find out who your elected officials are here.

And those conference committee folks are listed out here.

Remember, transit isn't paid for at the fare box, it needs support from the state and local governments.  It's a joint effort, folks.  How can Georgia expect MARTA to go on it's own when no other large transit system in the nation does?

(PS - Like how I worked in that role call of my favorite blog posts?  I hope you read them.  All.)

Be the E

I am E.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Be the E is a call to action evoking Gandhi's quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world."  Publictransportation.org is partnering with Earth Day New York to promote the environmental aspects of public transit.  Each year, public transit use in the US saves 1.4 billion gallons of gas, the equivalent of 4 million gallons a day.  That's more than three times the amount of refined oil America imports from Kuwait.  Besides being smart environmentally, for everyone concerned about America's dependency on foreign oil, this is a no-brainer. 

Your call to action is this: take a photo of yourself giving the I am E sign.  Show that you support public transportation, then e-mail said picture to me at cctgirl@gmail.com.  I intend to make an awesome photo montage of your lovely faces and send it to our reps to show that Atlanta is E.  We need public transit and we care.

I've already got some friends that are E, are you?