I jumped aboard the #14 headed into Portland after attending the kick off night of Bar Camp Portland #3.  I decided the bus would be a good spot to finish up some blogging and test out my new Clear USB Wimax Device.  We made the loop into downtown and headed back out Hawthorne in short order.  As always, #14 is well past the average load of bus routes with a solid 30+ people aboard.  Keep in mind, it is 8:00pm and it is this full.  This isn’t rush hour, it’s a regular hour for the #14.  🙂

I immediately started churning through some tech ideas and following up on the weeks training and activities, clarifying what I’d learned and want to keep in memory after this week of training.  However I had to interrupt myself as the short ride to the Fresh Pot on Hawthorne was complete.  I jumped off and continued my written banter (follow for link to my other blog).

After a short while I decided to continue testing out my Clear USB Wimax Device and see about some looping about town.

Earlier Trip and a Clear Disconnection

Earlier in the day I left work after training and boarded the #9.  I had waited a bit up at Momo’s on 10th for some coworkers but I got a txt to head on over to BarCamp and needed to go ahead and run a quick errand before hand.  I sat in the back of the bus, with a clear signal on my Clear, I started surfing the tubes.  However around the lead up and while crossing the Ross Island Bridge I had a 30-45 second disconnect.  This would lead me to believe that this is a hole in coverage right in this area.  I’ll have to see because that is a pretty important area to have coverage.

The Idea Behind My Thinking Place & Why it Becomes My Thinking Place

Riding transit as anyone knows is a great way for me to relax, unwind, do a little coding, and when able to connect to the Internet and really get some things taken care of.  There is nothing so chill as riding around on the bus, or better yet on the MAX, Streetcar, or WES and doing a bit of catch up or fun side projects.  Buses work great, but are sometimes bumpy and I can’t really pull out the laptop, those routes I can’t use for stepping out and doing some thinking.  The routes that are smooth though work well.  The MAX & Streetcar on the other hand are pretty much always smooth and I can ride around aboard those modes and work for hours.  The best though, is the WES.  Unfortunately it has the least efficient route and schedule of anything.  I do still need to go into the office, and the WES is just not in a very usable place.

What else makes transit a great thinking space?  Simply put, I enjoy observing people, learning the psychology and what makes people do what they do.  The only place one can get an honest vertical slice of humanity is on transit, especially in Portland.  There are a few segments of society that won’t ride transit that I can’t observe, but I’ve seen enough of their phobic actions to know their actions and behaviors.  Transit users are interesting to me.  So in addition to getting work done I’m always learning.

What else makes transit a great thinking space?  One never knows when that odd conversation or new idea will pop into ones head while hearing conversations, ramblings, or even the slightly imbalanced person might say something of pure genius.  Transit, and riding around without worrying about crashing into something or someone, using a minimal cost impact mode environmentally and economically just sets me at ease.

All in all it is a great place for a trip about, a random thinking, good thoughts, and general entertainment of sorts.  Really, in the end, I am even when introverted and antisocial, a people person.

Well, that’s the entry for today.  I’m going to try and get back to my regular interview schedule for next week and also have some prospective thought pieces coming up on what would happen if transit ridership in Portland went from sub 10% of the metropolitan area trips up to 15%, 20%, or even 30-40%.  I might even follow that up with or include what would happen if the ridership increased to 60-80% of trips in the area.

Just imagine.  It would be a serious concern to tackle.

The next interviewee that I communicated with was Mark Coleman.  I'll jump right into the interview, but then will cover a few more bits of information about Mark & his work before jumping into the statistics.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I am an artist and professional photographer. My job entails photographing people (mostly), both in the studio and on location. I spend a lot of time manipulating images as well.

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

Professionally, since 1982. I'm self employed doing only art and photography.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Portland, OR.

…the nitty gritty commute.

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

I sold my car nine months ago and am a bike commuter. In situations where I must transport large equipment, I rent a Zip car.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take? 

Since I am a freelancer, it varies. It was generally about eight miles one way, until I moved closer to the city. Now it's about three to four miles, so it takes about twenty five minutes.

If you don't commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Not sure I understand this one. I walk upstairs and I'm at work. Takes maybe six seconds.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

I am guilty of listening to rather loud modern progressive rock (which I prefer to call Nuovo Metal) on my i-pod.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

If I could fly like a bird, that'd be ideal. If not, I absolutely love biking.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

There would be no cars.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

It wouldn't at all. I have no idea how much gas costs now, and that makes me happy.

Ok, now after the interview, let's jump into some of the awesomeness that is Mark Coleman.  First off, if you don't know or have not met Mark, ping him via Twitter @Kram, or just get out in the social realm that is geek Portland & you'll probably get a chance to meet him.

A little more web presence:  Check out Mark at the following places on the inter-tubewebs.  🙂

Main Site:  http://markcolman.com

Check out the shot of his with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (image to the right) for a great taste of the work Mark puts together.

In addition, if you want to learn more about photography and other such things, check out his videos on via markcolman.tv.

Mark has the 2nd most preferred commute around so far, a bicycle ride.  Out of the hundreds of interview responses I’ve had the happiest two types of commuters are telecommuters and second is bicycle commuters.

While transit riders and auto drivers become lethargic, bicycle riders get out there and save money and above all are vastly more healthy than other commuters.  It would be nice to see more ground swell of support for this type of commuting.  In many parts of the country kids ride bikes, adults get fat and drive.  In Portland, everyone does everything, so there isn’t such a negative connotation to the concept of bike commuter.  This leaves me with a question, what else could we do to support bicycle commuters around the country?

Now for the maths & stats.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star, Multimedia Journalist, Photographer
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 2
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 1
  • Light Rail: 1  (Phoenix Valley Metro x1)
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x3, Vancouver (WA), Phoenix (AZ)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 2
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
  • E-mail, Txt, Twitter, Moblog: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  295 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  59 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 1
  • Nothing: 1
  • No cars: 1
  • Wifi on Light Rail: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  3
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
  • Would help decide about what to do with the car:  1  (by getting rid of it)
• Total Interviews Published: 5

Car free commuter, light rail riding, multi-media journalist extraordinaire Tony Arranaga is Friday’s commuting interview interviewee.  I met Tony via the ole’ Internet’s inter-tubes by reading his blog, Light Rail Blogger, and was glued.  I had covered a bit of the opening day ceremony of Phoenix’s light rail opening, of course, I was here in the light rail running Portland.  After reading Tony’s blog though, I was reassured to know that at least somebody in Phoenix was going to help kick start that city’s life again.  Make sure to give a read to Tony’s blog to keep up with how the City of Phoenix is doing with its new Valley Metro Light Rail.  His latest entry covers his recent weekend using the light rail in his kickin’ media style.

Below is one of  Tony’s videos that is definitely a great production.  I dug it and I’m betting you might too, give it a watch, then read up on Tony’s Interview.

…and now for the interview goodness.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I’m a multi-media journalist, researching, reporting, and presenting breaking news stories for television and the web

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

Almost 15 years.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Phoenix, Arizona

…and now for Tony’s media rich commuting nitty gritty…

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

I use our new light rail system to commute to work.  I’m experimenting with car-free lifestyle, but sometimes I run late to work so unfortunately I fall under the category "car-lite".  Either way, my car spends most of the time sitting in the garage collecting dust.  I’m trying to decided whether to give up my vehicle altogether.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?  If you don’t commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Depending on what time of day/day of week, my commute can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 50 minutes one way.  Same average for the return trip.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

This is where my ADD kicks in.  I’ll multi task between email, text, and twitter.  Sometimes I’ll moblog.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

Light rail.  I LOVE IT!!  I don’t like driving now that I’ve experienced mass transit on a consistent basis.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Free Wi-Fi on the train!  And longer hours of operation.  (11pm = trains start heading back to the yard.)

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

The price probably wouldn’t change my commute, but would help me decide what to do with my car.

So Tony, when you read this, I have a few follow up questions for ya.  Feel free to leave a comment, or just post the answers via a blog entry on your Light Rail Blogger Blog.

1. What exactly is “mobloging”?
2. Do you travel clean from one end to the other of the light rail system, it seems a long time 40-50 minutes each way?
3. On your blog, you’ve busted your bus commuting cherry, how does riding the bus compare to the light rail?  Ride quality, work usable, timeliness, schedule frequency, etc…?
4. So when I get down to Phoenix in October“ish” time frame where are we gonna eat?  Sound’s like Portland’s is a good place.  🙂

Thanks again for answering all of my questions!  Keep up the blogging, I’m digging it.  Now for the regular interview stats.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star, Multimedia Journalist
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 1
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 1
  • Light Rail: 1  (Phoenix Valley Metro x1)
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x2, Vancouver (WA), Phoenix (AZ)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 2
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
  • E-mail, Txt, Twitter, Moblog: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  245 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  61.25 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 1
  • Nothing: 1
  • Wifi on Light Rail: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  2
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
  • Would help decide about what to do with the car:  1  (by getting rid of it)
• Total Interviews Published: 4

While our representatives continue to put themselves in a position to run and maintain our roads and bridges, real progress is made among the freight railroads.  Progress that would not be taking place if they where nationalized.  You can put a safe bet on that!

BNSF has decreased transit times by 12 hrs during 2008, significantly increasing their capabilities for freight movements.  More can be read on Railway Track & Structures news feed.  Also if you find it interesting, the major progress many of the freight companies make, go check out their respective sites and look for news feeds (These are just the Class Is, there are many more).

• BNSF – Burlington Northern Santa Fe
• UP – Union Pacific
• NS – Norfolk Southern
• CSX – God only knows what this stands for, if anyone knows I’d be keen to find out.
• KCS – Kansas City Southern

IF anyone from NS reads this, PLEASE fix your HTML.  The menues are horribly screwed up in multiple browsers.  Approximately 40% of your web traffic is not going to see a respective site.

…and now for a commuting interview from a rock star!  Welcome Kiisu to the Transit Sleuth Blog.  Kiisu is the string slinging guitar player in The Oblik.  If you’re ever in the mood for a good show check them out.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

Daytime bill payer: QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife for financial software industry.  BugSmashing PrettyMaking Random Utility Person.
Nights/weekends etc: Rockstar

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

1 Year at the day job slaving for the man making someone else slightly more wealthy.  I’ve always been a rock star.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Portland, Or.

…and now for the rockers commute…

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

hobo urine ridden public transportation aka Trimet Bus.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?  If you don’t commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Around an hour to/from.  No transfers.  I actually take the slightly longer commute to avoid transfers and to avoid some of the less than savory passengers. 

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

Listen to music, read, plot evil & stare blankly out the window.  I ignore people on the bus as I have little interest in socializing with fellow passengers.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

I’m impulsive so I have to provide multiple methods of transportation that I would prefer to bus.
In no particular order:

• 1974 Ferrari Dino All Black on a curvy road with no traffic. 
  Teleportation Device of some sort.
• Personal Helicopter with a copilot so I could parachute out and land on the roof of the building.  This would require that I someday learn how to parachute and that I could actually land on the roof of the building and survive.
• Some kind of fully armed military dune buggy or mad max style post-apocalyptic vehicle.
  These only apply if I don’t have to try and find parking, trying to park a personal teleportation device is a real hassle these days.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Shorter commute, less hobo urine.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

My work would probably have to spend more money on my bus pass, more people would be riding the bus and it would be more crowded with more stench of hobo urine.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 1
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 1
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x2, Vancouver (WA)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 2
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  135 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  45 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 1
  • Nothing: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  2
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
• Total Interviews Published: 3