MARTA Dating Tips

For the final stretch of my ride home Monday night, I hopped on the train at Avondale, post a stint at the Corner Pub with One and Two, to Kensington.  One stop.  At 10pm, my normal commute time.  Except that night, there was crazy all up on that train and it had it's eye on me.

See, there was this dude sitting across the aisle from me.  We were in the capper seats facing one another (there were, indeed, no cappers present requiring said seats, thankyouverymuch) and I plopped down and leaned back while discussing with my bud Steph about my tenure at the shelter via cellular phone.  I mentioned that I had been there one year when crazy dude pipes in with a whole, "Girl, why you been staying in the shelter for a year?"  I explained that I'm the manager there, it's my job.  See, but that was my mistake, don't engage the crazy.

I leaned back again and continued my conversation when I feel something on my boot.  Sure enough, crazy was playing with my foot.  On the train.  Who does that?  I shake him off and continue with said conversation.  Then he does it again, and when I look at him, he licks his lips.  Ew.  Just ew.  So I continue to ignore him.  Once more, my toes are squeezed and he says, "Hang up".  It's about this point, in my bad day, that I proceed to tell him to stop touching me.  This gets him going, "You crazy not to talk to this good looking man."  No, you crazy, hitting up on some chick on the train when she is obviously not into you at all.

Fellas, I'm not saying to not talk to a girl on the train; I know Two's dream girl is car free like him, so MARTA might even be a good place for him to meet such a lady.  But you've got to do this one right, because the creep factor can be super high if you're chatting up someone on transit.

So I offer you my dating tips, as verified by the Accidental Commuter.

First.  DO NOT TOUCH.  Especially feet.  I mean, really.  Most girls have this whole "Transit = dirty" stigma.  There are a lot of people on that train everyday, and this means germs and general ickiness.  So don't spread anymore ickiness.  And most people just don't like being touched without provocation.

Second.  If it's a weeknight and it's 10pm, this is not the time to engage someone in conversation.  Only crazies do that.  A safe time to engage girls in conversation is generally 10:30am to around 8pm, unless its the weekend, when you're safe up til close to midnight.  This is because people don't want to chat it up usually during the morning commute so you're just annoying.  Unless she's a super crazy morning person, and then she just may well be annoying.  But in the AM, she's reading her newspaper, still a bit groggy, and not looking forward to that 9 to 5.  However, during lunch or daytime errands, or the commute home, this can be a good time to hit it off with the girl of your transit dreams.  But after 8, you get into that latenight-creepy factor, and she's had a long day and is trying to get home, so again, I'd stay away and let her come to you if she's so inclined.

Third.  If someone is on the phone, leaning back, has their eyes closed or is anyway not paying attention to you, do not talk to them, this is not a bar.  Only engage with someone if they look at you.  And I mean LOOK at you.  This look should either a: be eye contact lasting longer than three seconds, b: result in a smile, or c: be followed up with a second look.  You should be looking for some sign of interest.  And if she's reading a book, she doesn't want to talk to you.

Fourth:  So she looked at you, twice, and she smiled.  Now what?  Does she have a seat?  Do you?  Offer her your seat or the one next to you so that she's close enough to engage.  But what do you talk to her about?  Talk about some crazy person on the train, there's usually one.  Maybe the curly headed blond girl I always run into, or some joker selling something.  But don't make fun of them, talk about how they make the commute more entertaining.  Or you could talk about the ads, like how you were thinking about getting those blue jeans for curvy girls or hair extensions, or how that Troy map got you lost one time.  Be fun, have humor.  Transit girls like humor.  We also like dorks, so it's a safe bet to make fun of yourself.  Don't try to be cool or slick, cool turns to creepy too fast.  And please don't ask her where she's going.  If she wants you to know, she'll tell you.  Unless she has luggage and is heading to or away from the airport, then you can inquire about her trip.

Fifth:  You've engaged her in some light conversation, and she doesn't seem to be annoyed.  Great!  Seal the deal, but do it quickly.  You never know when she'll be needing to get off.  But how do you do that without being all creepy?  I would recommend some cutesy strategy, like suggesting you two meet up again on the train.  If it's Tuesday night and you're both headed home from the office, suggest that you do the commute again tomorrow.  Saturday night?  See you at on the way to brunch for some Hangover hash!  If she laughs, drop it.  Then it's not like you awkwardly asked her out and she declined, laugh along and pretend it's a joke.  If she says sure, give her your business card with an e-mail address.  Then she has the option to follow up if she cares to.

If you never hear from her and you see her again, just smile.  She may come talk to you.  She may ignore your existence.  She may write about you in her blog.  Us girls tend to get hit on more than you think on the train, so it's a fine line to tow if you get on that ship.  You could even make fun of creeps who hit on girls on transit.  But the best MARTA dating tip I have, is for pete's sake, help any chick you see on the train who's being harassed by a crazy.  Pretend you know her, make said crazy go away, and you will be forever endeared to her.

Monday Afternoon

Sometimes I wonder why the heck do I ride transit.  I own a car.  It's quite a nice, efficient, economical one, too.  35 miles to the gallon.  And I love driving.  By driving, I mean back mountain roads like in Virginia, not this nonsense they refer to as the Perimeter.  And having your own car lends itself a degree of freedom.  But I'm doing this to be environmentally conscious and support our lovely MARTA and try to by humble and put myself on the same level as the ladies that I live with at the shelter.  And I get to nap on the hour long bus and write this blog.  But then Monday afternoons hit, and I really second guess why I deal with this.

See, last night I had a meeting at the Sierra Club office, which is rather far from my day job up here in the burbs, CCT territory.  I know transit can be a gamble, but it was the RAIL committee, and really, you just can't drive to the RAIL committee.  So I hauled butt out of my office to catch the 50 to get the the CTC, and this would get me to the office at 6:46, or so the scheduling goes.  Of course, the 50 was 3 minutes late, but that's actually really good for it, no lie.  I mean, that's really on time in CCT land.  So I'm riding along merrily on the 50, playing my jewel game on my phone (no one should have ever invented that, it's a total time suck, and I'm addicted) and as we pull up to the CTC, I start to hear the groans begin.

The 10 pulled away as we pulled up.

It left.

Early.

It pulled away three minutes early with the connecting 50 pulling up to the transfer center.

Really?  I mean, what the hell, CCT?  And to make matters worse, the next ten was late.  So was the 10b, which I ended up getting on, so I didn't even make it to Arts Center until 6:45, to catch the 6:50 train south, to my 6:45 meeting on the east end of the line.

Thanks, CCT.

I drove today.  I have another meeting at 6:30 tonight and I'm just not going to gamble on it, because you will just hose me.  And I hate you, CCT.

Not a Street Car

Ta-da!  The light rail car that I have a hard time wanting to call a street car.  I know it's not a street car, but don't forget, I'm not really a transit geek, I'm just surrounded by them.  So I know the difference, kinda, but street car's easier to say.

Anyways, like a good little transit geek, I went to Centennial Park in the cold to check out the CATS S70, on it's way from the Siemens plant to its new home in Charlotte.  And I took some photos (using my Olympus Stylus Waterproof camera, because I care more about durability on the river while kayaking than quality, so if you want quality (and quantity, heaven knows, check out the photos at Atlanta Transit on Flickr taken with  a fancy smancy camera.  We, at Transit Misadventures, are not so fancy smancy.  Or crazy, for that matter ;).

 

 

 

 

Isn't it lovely?  Maybe one day.  But it was awfully nice of them to tease us with that cute Peachtree St sign, though.

You can read more about it on the Saporta Report.

Mondays!

It always seems like Monday mornings are the most adventurous times on transit, at least for me.  My day started off great.  I woke up, got everything squared away at the shelter, turned in my two weeks worth of time sheets, made coffee and was out the door, looking cute I might add!  I even made it out the door with enough time to stop and get some french toast sticks at Burger King, my newest obsession.

Got to Kensington and made it on my regular, 7:30 train, which put me to Five Points for my usual train north.  Got to Arts Center, and there was no 10b.  In fact, there was an out of service CCT coach just hanging out in it's usual spot.  The 10b showed up at 8:10, and of course, our usual driver, Denise, wasn't there.  Denise is punctual.

So we loaded on the bus, some woman got my preferred front seat, darn her!  So I made my way to the back for a nap.  But some Cathy Chatterbox chicks had to go at it the whole ride.  I swear, one of them said "like" four times in two minutes.  Don't they know this is a bus for sleepers?  Maybe they just seemed so loud cause everyone really does sleep.

Anyways, made it up to Cobb County, I woke up somewhere on the back end of the 75 circle, and anxiously awaited my bus stop.  However, it never came.

Remember how I said replacement driver.  Well, she went straight at Powers Ferry, rather than turn.  She missed my building.  So I told her I'd just get off and walk the rest of the way, since she couldn't turn around.  I tell you what, it is never fun to walk up a Mount Everest sized hill when you just woke up.

GDOT in all it's awesomeness

For those huge transit nerds out there, I have a little story for you.  A story of how GDOT, ever the bully, tries to stomp transit every chance it gets.  I'm sure that many of you were aware that there was to be a display of a light-rail car from Charlotte down in Centennial Park this week, mainly Thursday and Friday.  It's an example of the kind of vehicle that might be used on the Beltline.  However, said awesome example of transit coolness didn't make it to Atlanta Thursday.  Instead, it sat at the Georgia state line all day.

Why?

Because GDOT wouldn't issue the permit for an oversized load to the truck hauling the car.

But it should make it in town today.

Resolutions

My new year's resolutions involved traveling to every MARTA stop and doing something to blog about, encouraging folks to do the same thing.  Obviously there are a few I'm at all the stinking time, like Kensington, Arts Center, and Oakland City, but there are some I've never been to and have no idea why'd I'd be there in the first place.  Therefore, I must go there.

So this past weekend I started my MARTA sightseeing journey by heading up to the suburbs to have dinner with the AC.

I have to have proof I did this nonsense.  Of course, taking pictures of oneself and a sign with a cell doesn't warrant the most flattering pictures.  But it does provide crazy dudes yelling at you.  I think he wanted me to take a picture of him.  Not sure, though, as I try to ignore crazy yelling dudes.  Especially post crazy-homeless-dude-at-Five-Points.

So I got my butt on the train and headed from the south side of town up to the burbs, where the clientele changes with the zip codes!  The ride up was entertaining because our train kept saying it was heading to Doraville, which is not where its riders particularly want to go.  I can't wait to figure out what the heck is up there.  But after I assured folks that we were indeed going to North Springs, people calmed down.  I'm not sure who made me the expert, this was my third time riding in that direction. 

So I found myself at the Dunwoody MARTA station, where I promptly got lost.  I am really bad at getting confused when indoors.  When outdoors, I am golden.  I know what direction I want to go in and can get myself there.  Once inside, I'm like a kitten that can't get out of a paper bag.  After walking around the station a couple of times, though, I found.......

The Mall!

Whoo MALL!  I'm not particularly fond of those, but if I had to pick one, it would be Perimeter.  There's a Sephora there, and I live off of make-up.  I don't use it on a regular basis, but man, do I love it.  I think I like the pretty colors.  (Maybe I really shouldn't blog, by the time I've been at it a year, you will all think I'm nuts).  It's also a nice Macy's.  And there's a MAC.  That's all I know, so don't ask me anything else.  But there is also this swanky restaurant, GoldFish, which is where my date with the AC took place.

GoldFish is one of those places over by The Cheesecake Factory, if that tells you anything about it.  It's a good date place on the weekend, for sure.  And the food is quite tasty, I recommend it.  Most importantly, they have really yummy organic pomegranate martinis.  And I was having a particularly rough week, thanks to the Sierra Club and general ExCom business, so I had three.  Then got back on MARTA, which was totally awesome.

There are loads of crazies on the train late night.  My favorite is the blond chick.  She knows me now, sad to say, and will talk to me all the time.  She likes to complain about the bus and then try to bum rides.  Well, this particular night she had her headphones on and was singing.  And by singing, I mean trying out for American Idol.  The dude was sitting across from me, he and I exchanged a few glances, and then proceeded to start singing a long.  Meet my new bff, Robby!

 

We became immediate friends, as people who are tipsy on transit tend to do.  So I helped him with the transition at Lindbergh, since he's not used to the late night train shuffle.  I asked One why they annoy us with such nonsense, apparently it takes two trains off the track, thereby saving MARTA moneys.  Anywho, somewhere along the line, we picked up Keet, bff number 2.  When Robby left us, Keet and I discussed tattoos til my stop.  She lives just below me, in College Park, so we've all made promises to hang out.  Maybe I can take them on some crazy transit adventures, too!

I love MARTA!  It was so much fun, that I'm looking forward to the next trip.  Where should I explore next?

While I write another post

Check this stuff out!

Transit riders save nearly 10 grand a year!

Carfree with a baby in Atlanta!

OMG I want this puppy!

New Career?

I wanna be a bus driver.  I'm serious.  If I ever tire of psychology or whatever numb-nut idea I've got going on, when I'm over hanging out with my FBI ladies and all that junk, I might take up bus driving.  Maybe I'll retire early and pick it up.  It seems fanscinating, getting to know your routes and regulars.  Way better than being a train operator, all they see are tunnels. 

Yup.  I've lost it.

CCTgirl talks transit funding

Now, in my completely untechnical, I-think-I-get-this-sort-of fashion, I'm going to tackle that whole transit funding issue as it pertains to Georgia and MARTA.  I do not work in transit, or the government, so I'm not an expert.  But I think it needs to get out there, and since I'm trying to add to the advocacy world, this kind of stuff is important.

So, this started because I got a phone call from CV, my new lawyer-type friend, who wanted to inform me of my inaccuracies in my earlier funding post?  Inaccuracies?  I actually stole that stuff from my lobbyist-type friend, so I thought it was at least semi-accurate, if not without a propaganda.  And besides, Two would tell me if I got it wrong, right?   But CV went on to explain that I was part right, but that the game had changed.

See, MARTA is asking for access to its own capitol funds to keep itself in operation.  What CV was saying is that due to new federal guidelines regarding safety measures, stemming from that accident in DC (way to screw it up for all of us, WMATA), that MARTA was burning through that reserve and it wouldn't be enough to save it.  CV said this is the talk down at the legislature.

Well heck.  How had I not heard about this?  First I asked my favorite lobbyist, and he had no idea what I was talking about.  So then I asked Two, who said CV was right, but that I really needed to ask One.  One said that MARTA eis using funds to work on those safety regulations, but that this was an oversimplification of the situation, and that there is still money to help out MARTA, and, of course, they still need access to it.  But like I mentioned before, this will only get them through the next fiscal year, then they're broker than broke with no back-up plan, which is why we ned new transit funding.

Then the question remains, where is this funding going to come from?  Yesterday, republicans came out saying that they don't support a constitutional amendment to create a sales tax  for the funding.  You can read about that at the ajc:

GOP lawmakers abandon November vote on transportation sales tax

Instead, they favor new district, once again, making it a metro problem.

But it seems like this is our one shot to get things right, folks are going to be reluctant to keep going through this session after session, so we  have to make sure that we get funding that will support transit well into the future.  The Saporta Report has a really great take on that here:

If we can't do it right, maybe we should put the breaks on new transportation funding

And if I got it wrong, let me know!

Transit Photo Op!

Camera phones are cool.

Fancy Smancy new signs at Art Center.  Yes, I already asked the whole, "If MARTA is broke, why we be buying new signs?" question of One.  My thought: Capital funds are not Operating funds.  Wrong!  Correct answer: MARTA outsources their signs, and said dude upgraded the signs.  So we can appreciate them without malice.

 

This is the bench were I catch the 10b in the afternoons.  Notice the brokeness of it.

People have this false impression that no one rides the bus, they've said this to me.  It's standing room only on the 10 at 6pm.

 

And I see your "no one rides transit" argument and raise you a MARTA west bound train.

Brilliant, so I stoled it from iMetro

There is a transit blog community out there.  If you're not as crazy as me, you may not have realized it.  So I made play nice with a few, and that includes MetroMan of DC.  Yesterday he had a brilliant post on ways for the WMATA to make money, so I decided y'all needed to read it.

It seems that our nation's capitol is worse off than Atlanta at the moment.  Since Atlanta is a little money poor itself, I thought maybe we could borrow a few of these brilliant ideas.  And with that, I would like to propose that we fine people of poor escalator etiquette.  And a tax on suburbanites going to events downtown. 

So if you're bored, go check out www.wtfmetro.com.  I'll admit it, he's more entertaining than me.

Metro Money-Making Ideas

With the ever-looming budget woes due to years of mismanagement, we all need to pitch in and provide WMATA with ideas and suggestions on ways to help overcome this budget gap that is being faced. Now in all fairness, it's not ALL due to mismanagement, but that has played a role. Aside from the fare increases/surcharges that are PROBABLY right around the corner, we need more options of supplementing this cause.

Everyone likes to relax on their train ride home. After a hard day of work, we all wish for a little bit of peace as we make our way home to family, pets, and/or alcohol & harsh narcotics. One way we attempt to achieve this peace is via sleep. I swear... sometimes after a long day at work, I can hop on the red line at Sliver Spring and be KNOCKED OUT before my train hits Takoma. Unfortunately, we don't all have the luxury of doing this. Primary reasons preventing this are usually unruly passengers, overcrowded trains, and the herky jerky stop and go action due to manual train control. While we can't combat the first item without Metro Transit Police actually doing something (guffaw), I do have a solution to combat the latter of the two. This invention will allow riders to stand up and catch some ZZZZZs while maintaining a stable base, leaving passengers worry-free about falling due to unskilled train operators. I first present to you, The Chinpod!



Chinpod allows passengers to cram in and take a nap wherever the sardine school of passengers takes them. It even works on station platforms! Orange line riders will LOVE this. Chinpod offers a stable base with its triangular leg structure, composed of the latest titanium technology. The telescoping shaft has a demonstrated weight capacity of 487lbs, accommodating riders of all physical statures. Metro can rent Chinpods at popular/busy stations such as Metro Center, L'Enfant Plaza, and Dupont Circle, and have return/drop-off locations available system wide. Rental fee will $5, and $6 for Asians. No reason for the extra surcharge, but I figure we should just go ahead and use random discrimination for a financial gain. I'm open to discussing the surcharge being shifted to other ethnicities. Heck, how about we rotate months. Asians (January), African-Americans (to include African natives) (February), Hispanics (March) Caucasians (April), repeat. I thought about a $2 surcharge for tourists, but we all know they don't ride the train for long distances, nor do they sleep...they just talk excessively loud.

I know what you're thinking right now. "Metroman, that's so awesome. You're so great...but what about the poor bastards such as yourself that ride the bus!!?!?" Relax my friend, we've got you covered. Now the bus is a bit more tricky, as space is significantly more confined. We opted NOT to provide a standing sleep-aide, but rather a seated device. Don't you hate trying to nap while positioned in those sideways seats ? The odd swaying of left to right with the drivers' erratic applications of gas & brakes. Fear no more, my fellow bus riders. Metroman presents to you, "Bus-A-Cap"

Bus-A-Cap, whose name is inspired by the former [and current] criminals employed by WMATA, features the latest in suction devices, providing a secure connection to bus windows. The patented construction-grade hard hat provides 360 degrees of cranial support, ensuring a restful and relaxing ride in the roughest of conditions. It's been tested to dampen motion from routine occurrences, such as collisions with trains at railroad crossings , it even withstands the impact from the railroad crossing gates (original posting here). Hell, you wont even feel a THING when the bus mows down pedestrians. Bus-A-Cap is just that awesome!! Standard rates & fee schedule will be applicable.

Patent pending, void where prohibited.

Innovative ideas such as these are where WMATA needs to focus its efforts. Leading the way with such technical advances will the restore the faith in the leadership of tomorrow's WMATA. As of right now things aren't looking so hot. Not only will it generate $5B in the next 6 years (if we do some "metro math"), but GREAT inventions as featured above will change the region's outlook on Metro. Let's make it happen!!!

Bus Girls

When you ride the bus for an hour, you get to know the folks on the bus with you.  That's two hours a day sitting in a small metal box with folks, and the ridership on express buses is pretty consistent.  Like my new friend, CV, was saying yesterday, there's a community among transit commuters. 

Yesterday I rode with Tesan and we discussed the finer point of life in a shelter.  I have always thought I have an epic commute, but she wins.  Tesan lives on the West End of town, so she gets on a bus to an east bound train at HE Holmes, to transfer on a north bound out of Five Points, to Arts Center to catch the express bus up here to where we work.  Total commute: nearly 2 hours.  Distance from home to office: 8 miles.  And she is as super nice and friendly as can be while doing it!

This morning, Keisha and I both missed the 8:05 10b, so we were riding the 10 and the 50 together.  She is not as big a fan of MARTA as I am, and definately not the CCT.  This morning she lost her Breeze card, so she went to the Ride Shop at Lindburgh to get it replaced (register that thing if you haven't already!)  MARTA gave her a new card with the value immediately, but CCT told her it would take up to four days!  Craziness!  Speaking of which, I called Monday and I did finally get my refund from that whole bus incident in November.  I had to call, cause that woman she didn't let me know.  It posted in December, so total time to  refund: three weeks.  Better than I thought it would be.

And here's your bit of activism for the day!

Part of the reason I take the bus is 285.  Sure, I want to be a cool transit kid and save the environment, but really, I hate being on 285, it stresses me out, and I'm afraid I'll kill someone eventually by ramming into thier car once the delirium takes over.  Hence, my butt gets on the bus for nearly two hours.

However, GDOT *ahem, shall keep comments to oneself* has some crazy Revive285 initiative.  Back in November they submitted their proposed alternatives to the top perimeter, and they are now accepting questions and comments.  You can find out more about these initiatives and praise or condemn them at:

http://www.revive285.com/

Snowpolozia 2010!

Since everyone has to have thier own moniker to protect the innocent, and those folks who may work for a transit authority, I'm now going to refer to MF as Cabbie since he's too good for the WMATA and takes a cab or walks everywhere.  Anyways, Cabbie made the comment that he was going to anxiously wait by the computer for news on how MARTA and the ATL handle Snowpolozia 2010 - our big blizzard of the new decade.  Well Cabbie, here is your post. 

We got one heck of a wicked storm!  PS - I have no idea why only my side of the street got snow, I guess because the clouds hate the neighbors?  So we blanketed with half an inch of glorious white stuff.  Which promptly shut the city down.

My office was closed for the day, the radio and tv was advising folks to stay in and off the roads, and I decided to attend an alumni dinner by hopping on a bus.  I walked down to the bus stop, just a little treacherous, and waited on my bus.  There was a couple on the other side of the road arguing, he was accusing her of misleading him as to what time the bus was coming.  Aw heck, this does not bode well for me.  I waited, and waited, and the time for my bus came and passed.  Then I called customer service.  Sure enough, there was an announcement, service was delayed due to the weather.

There were stories of folks rearending MARTA buses, buses sliding down hills, and One said his bus driver would just put the brakes on and slid to a stop at the bottom of Peters.  What fun.  I kinda hate I don't have my own bus story to tell, cause my butt walked back to the house and drove the .8 of a mile to the station.

Day One of Session!

And the commute north was f*ed!  Normally, MARTA runs pretty true to schedule.  If I make it to Kenisngton by 7:25, then I am guaranteed to make it on the 8:05 10b at least 90% of the time.  Then mornings like today happen.

I am slightly nuerotic about the whole train thing and watch the train's progress like it's my job.  I stress the whole morning until I get on that precious bus.  So this morning when my normal west bound was a little late, of course I stuck to my phone like a transit geek to a documentary about the London Underground.  But it seemed like I was still going to make my north bound to Arts Center.

And then I watched as the arrival of said 302 north bound train got later, and later.  I got to the platform and joined the ever growing crowd waiting and it got later, and later.  A station agent announced that there was a delay on the train to Doraville and you could hear the crowd start to grumble.  When the train finally arrived, only half of the door opened, the operator then announced that he was having mechanical difficulties.  No?!?!?  Really?

The 302 was 13 minutes late.  Compared to some of the stuff I've been reading about WMATA, that's a cake walk, except I missed my bus.  Didn't even see the tail lights missed the bus.  Thankfully (and this is a horrible thing for me to say), the driver on the 10 was leisurely this morning, so I didn't have to wait too long in the cold at CTC.  Why does the 10b stop running at 8:05?!?!?!  O, cause no one rides it. 

So MARTA was in full glory for the start of the session, but we now have a speaker who may actually be worth a damn.  Let's see how the evening commute/ race to the Sierra Club office for a meeting goes!

Transit themed dinners continued!

I get hosed.  A lot.  The two main men in my life are slightly obsessed and I get drawn into it.  Nearly every Sunday the three of us, One, Two, and myself, go out to dinner.  Do I get quaility one-on-one time?  No.

So this Sunday, I suggested the Brake Pad.  My coworkers had told me about it, but they could have warned me.

The fricking bar is beside the fricking railroad tracks. 

One and Two rode MARTA and then their bikes (it was 18 degrees outside!) to the joint, where I met them.    Then we sat there and waited for trains. 

While I'm being slightly witchy, it was actually pretty cool.  Apparently, a CSX museum train rolled by.  One dubbed it a museum because of all the ancient hoppers (ps I knew that they were called hoppers before meeting One and Two, because of a children's book, but we don't need to discuss that!) that were included, some from rail companies like the B & O and Family that haven't existed in decades.  I was informed that the nickname for CSX is Chicken Sh*t Express because they have such crazy old, never painted cars.

However, the C in CSX has something to do with a railway kitty.  Which I think is a perfectly good argument as to why One needs to foster my kitty.  I mean, if kitties like railways, then One has to like kitties, due to his obsessive nature with all things rail.

:)

I can act like I know what I'm talking about when I pay attention

I drove today.  I know, I am such a bad person!  But I overslept, and by overslept, I mean my cell died in the middle of the night so it didn't go off this morning.  So I drove, because there was no way of me making that 10b.  And it is way too cold to wait the 15 minutes or so for the 50 if it's even on time.  So there you have it, I am lame.

Back to my soap box.

Yesterday I tried to give you the quick and dirty history of MARTA's problems.  So now here's what to expect from the Gold Dome this session.

1.  FUNDING - For two years now legislation that would create new transit funding has been proposed, hacked to pieces, and left sitting alone to die in some back corner of the Dome.  What started out as a promising bill to fund the "brain train" through a regional sales tax option was distorted into one favoring highway contractors.

2.  MARTA - in 2009 the Senate passed SB120 which would drop the 50/50 restrictions on MARTA's tax revenue, allowing them to use its own money to save its own butt.  The bill was then passed onto the House Transportation Committee, where it still sits today, necessitating the ARC bailout.

Of course, we need SB 120 to be passed so that MARTA can operate without cuts.  But that's not a solution, it's a bandaid, and a cheap bandaid that's half falling off at that.  MARTA will quickly race through those funds and decimate their reserves without additional funding from the state (i.e. a real funding bill for public transportation).

So contact your senate and house reps and ask them to support SB 120 and legislation allowing for a regional sales tax for transit.  Also, mark your calendars for Transit Lobby Day Thursday, Febuary 18th, and the MARTA pub crawl Saturday, Febuary 20th. 

In other news, Atlanta should find out soon whether we got the TIGER grant for the street car, like in the next 10 days or so.  Keep your fingers crossed and I'll let you know as soon as I hear something!

About Blogging

Yesterday a friend who lives in DC asked me why I'm blogging, am I trying to be some sort of www.WTFMetro.com?  (Which, by the way, is a hilarious website that makes me appreciate MARTA that much more.)  And I have to say, No.  I started Transit Misadventures in part to make fun of myself as I try to navigate transit, since I moved to Atlanta from a place where transit involves tractors.  Well, we have school buses.  Don't get me wrong, I've lived in China and England, so I wasn't foreign to the idea by any means, but making a point to ride a bus full time wasn't anything I had done before.  Buses scare me.  There are a bijillion routes and schedules and who knows where you're supposed to get on and off because there aren't always those fancy shelters that are a dead give-away.  But I got involved with the Sierra Club, which led to me adopting into my life two very awesome transit boys, one of whom is car-free.  And, frankly, I hate cars and driving in the city and had considered if I could go car-free before meeting One and Two and didn't think I could do it.  So one week I tried it.  Car-free for a week.  And you know what?  Despite the two hour commute and missing the bus a couple of times and learning the hard way that CCT doesn't run on Sundays, I loved it.  Then Two, who is car-free but constantly gives me props for being so hardcore with my multiple hour, multi-modal commute, encouraged me to start a blog.  And hey, why not?

I never started this whole deal to talk about MARTA being a disaster.  In fact, I have to give it props for operating as well as it does.  MARTA is the ninth largest transit system in the nation and the largest to not get any state funding.  At one point, MARTA was admired as being a pioneer in the field and Reagan came to Atlanta to see it, but then the state let it fall behind.  You hear a lot of reasons for that, like the counties (*ahem* Cobb, Gwinnett) surrounding Atlanta thought that it would bring the "undesirables" up to the suburbs.  So only two counties, Fulton and Dekalb, signed on.  Then former Gov. Lester Maddox tied it down with this 50/50 funding stipulation because he didn't want it to be a free-ride for the poor folk. 

30 years later, MARTA is a battle ground.  To bring this into perspective, the next largest transit system in the nation to not receive state funding is CCT (I believe it's the 54th largest transit system, but don't hold me to that); so Georgia sucks on a couple of levels.  Without some major intervention, MARTA is facing Draconian (PS, I don't understand it, but this is the buzz word to describe the dire nature of the situation) service cuts of up to 25-30% next year.  If you don't think transit is important, imagine if there were 25% more cars on the road.  And before you sign it off to be a Metro thing, CCT and GRTA didn't come about because there wasn't a need, and 18 counties didn't vote to let the ARC help out MARTA last year because they had no use for that $25 million.

So, as much as it's a blog to poke fun at myself, the Accidental Commuter, and CCT, it's also a transit advocacy thing to.  For the next few months, expect my adventures to be peppered with ways to get involved and updates on the Gold Dome.

FulCo Trespassing

The Sunday before Christmas, since I was still in the ATL, E and I went out exploring our new 'hood.  And by exploring, I mean looking for a Home Depot and Publix.  Yea, we're hard core.  So we were driving down Cascade and saw a sign that beckoned for us, calling our names, saying, "Come visit, see me, I'm lonely!"  Of course, we immediately turned and headed for that welcoming land.  What land, you ask?  What wonderous place begged for our attentions?

The Fulton County Railway, a CSX yard.  We are quickly growing into our transit geekery.  It's contagious, you know.

(ps - yea, we totally made fun of them for the awesome parking lot paint job :p)

Baby its cold outside!

And I am huddled up waiting on the bus, hiding behind a sign to keep out of the wind!

Transit shopping Part Two

Yea, yea, it took a while for me to get back to this.  The holidays are a busy time for me, particularly this year.  Crazy weather, crazy great grandmother, new Aunt.  But I just realized the irony of that blog title, because part two of my adventures stars, that's right folks, Two!

Two and I both wanted to do a bit of Christmas shopping, so once the AC and I were done, I met back up with Two to hit *gasp* the suburbs!  Whoo!  We needed a particular store for a present from his lady friend ;)  I was looking forward to shopping on MARTA, I'd never tried it before, and like a glutton for punishment, was stoked about lugging my loot around on the train.  That's how real transit folks do it, right? 

Following a potty break and Camper stop-off at his place, Two and I hopped on the train at Midtown to head up to the Perimeter.  And we were promptly kicked off the train one stop up at Arts Center.  They never told us why, or how long the disruption would be for, just to get off the train, it was going back down the line.

Come to find out, there had been some sort of flood of epic Noah proportions (maybe I exaggerate) between Arts Center and Lindburgh so folks were being directed on to buses to be ferried between the stations.  Not knowing when the second great flood of 09 would subside, Two saved the day by getting a Zipcar.  

I did haul my goods back on MARTA to get home that evening, though.

Happy New Year!

First commute of the new year and man is it COLD.  17 degrees in the ATL, which is like -20 below here for us.  But the cold won't deter me, no sir.  On the other hand, it seemed to deter some folks, cause ridership on the train was down.  But I got my nice, new, super duper warm North Face coat from my Dad for Christmas and and my Smittens and was nice and warm.  I am from the north, I can prepare for the cold.

In other news, my normal bus driver, Denise, wasn't there today.  The replacement was super friendly, but I had to help him with the route.  I am so cool.  However, homeboy announced, on the PA, that he hopes God blessed us.  Do buses have to adhere to that whole separation of church and state thing?  O, nevermind, CCT isn't state funded.  Ha!

Speaking of which, did you know that the Georgia legislative session starts next Monday, the 11th?  Start harassing your representatives!  We need funding for transit like fish need water.  We need water, too, but this is a transit blog.  And I'm SO good to you, here's the address to find out who to contact and how:

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/