Month / September 2012

by Adron

Transit Meetup in Portland (Oregon) – Day, Time and Place!

Hello all, so after voting, here’s the winning day, time and place. Of course, since the CL Streetcar is rolling, let’s meet along that line just for fun. We’ll meet on Wednesday the 3rd at 6:45pm. Here’s the meeting place I’ve come up with.

Sizzle Pie Pizza
624 East Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97214

RSVP for this meetup here!

Ok, so it’s really on more than just merely the streetcar line. I figured that’d make things even easier. I’ll call ahead and forewarn them that a bunch of transit geeks will be arriving to fix all the world’s problems – so the appropriate fanfare should be prepared. 😉

…and remember, have a good transit ride so you can share the adventure when you arrive.

NOTE: This is an all ages place, so feel free one and all to join us. There is beer available, so you can toast to transit if you’d like. Cheers!

RSVP for this meetup here!

by Adron

More Free Transit Service, Just Great?!

So Kansas City decided yesterday that their streetcar service will be free. No fare, that’s right. This might be great in many ways, but as stated in the article.

But authority members agreed the streetcar operator will have to make sure rowdy teens, vagrants and loiterers don’t take abuse the free fare and ruin the ride.

Really? Ugh, this is so frustrating for a number of reasons. We subsidize over-utilization of about every transportation mode in America (except maybe cruise ships, maybe?). Every mode is heavily subsidized which just encourages people to abuse the systems, infrastructure and in the end, pollute more. Even transit pollutes, and encouraging over usage of it and not incurring the full price (or damage) of over-utilization means we just get more of the same. I’m glad they’re getting a streetcar and encouraging people to get out of their cars and use the downtown – which they should – but blast it if we don’t keep going down the same debt burdened, tax dependent systems we’ve been stuck with for the last 80 years with airlines, automobiles and every other transit mode. In the end, this doesn’t help out nation become more responsible or intelligent about its actions or usage of energy.

Charge a fare, at least an extreme minimum. Fifty cents, a buck, either will work!

by Adron

The Best Commute is The Faux Commute

So technically, I don’t really have a commute. I wake up, walk across the hall and I’m in the office. Sometimes, if I sit down at a coffee shop I’m in the office or simply while on the bus, train or in a park. There’s a big plus to this type of work style; the freedom, higher productivity and related things for the ephemeral “creative class”, but there are negatives too. Namely that I’m always “at work”. However, even though I do love what I do and don’t technically have a commute, I sometimes give myself one to get started in the morning.

The Faux Commute

The commute that I sometimes give myself consists of a 2+ mile hustle down the bike corridors, lanes and roads of Portland to one of my favorite coffee shops. Going from the west side of the river to the east, here’s a video of my commute to the coffee shop office. Also note, I’m a metal head true and true, so I put some material from my favorite band into rotation for this video (hope it’s alright by them, if they contact me I’ll take it down, sadly).

by Adron

The Countdown to Rapid Ride’s Newest Lines C & D is OVER!

D Line is now open and running to Ballard, giving real connection frequency and time to that town center.

and

C Line is now open and running to Fauntleroy and West Seattle. Both I’m thinking will rock – possibly surpassing the other lines already in service in large part.

Both of these lines connect some of the most active and vibrant parts of not just Seattle, but the entire Seattle Metropolitan area! I’ll be up to give em’ a good test ride soon!

That’s not it from Seattle King County Metro either, they have a couple more left. The E and F Lines are still in construction and final planning. To keep up with these lines and the others check out the Rapid Ride Blog.

by Adron

Amazon (Yeah, Amazon.com) is Buying 4th Streetcar & Increasing Service in Seattle

The private sector has stepped in, if there is any more proof needed that streetcars rock, you need look no further than this. Amazon is buying a 4th streetcar to up the service near the South Lake Union area in Seattle. This is the area where their primary headquarters is located.

I’m sure I’ll have more on this later, just had to bring it up now for future reference!

To those streetcar haters, yes indeed, they’re buying a streetcar. They’re not increasing the bus service around campus because people ride and want to ride the streetcar and not the bus (even though some do indeed ride the bus too). Amazon is working to build a vibrant center around their headquarters – not just some hollow soul less building like other big software companies do in the Seattle area. They’ve brought more life and helped more with economic recovery in a huge way. I could go on for hours about how awesome this is, and how more moves like this should be encouraged. But for now, happy riding!