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.