From TriMet's web site: how to ride on MAX with your bike

This is what TriMet has on their web site; this is simple to understand for anybody who wants to understand it...

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How to Load Your Bike on MAX

1. Check to see if there's room.

As MAX approaches, scan the train to see if there's room on board. If it's too crowded to board safely, you'll need to wait for the next train.

2. Let other riders board first.

Wait for other riders to exit and enter the train before you board.

3. Board through the door with the bike symbol.

Designated bike spaces are located inside the front and rear doors of each train car. Only board MAX through doors displaying the bike symbol:

• On low-floor MAX trains (those without stairs at the door), use the hooks in areas displaying the bike symbol. Wheeling your bike on board in an upright position will make it easier to hang from the hook.
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• On high-floor trains (those with stairs at the door), bikes may be stored in the seating area marked with the bike symbol. One bike may be placed against the door of the operator's cab if the cab is not in use.
• Bikes must be suspended from the hook, one per space. If all the hooks are taken, you may use the priority seating area (displayin g the wheelchair symbol) as long as there are no senior citizens or riders with a disability present who need to use the area.
• If other riders are occupying the area displaying the bike symbol, you may politely request that they move from the area so that you can store your bike.
• If there is no room in the designated spaces, or if you will be blocking the aisle or doorway with your bike, you must exit and wait for the next train.

Important reminders

• Bikes are allowed on MAX only if there is room, so if all bike spaces are full or the train is too crowded to board safely, you must wait for the next train. Consider taking your trip before or after rush hour, parking your bike at the station or using a compact folding bike instead.
• Always yield priority seating areas to seniors and people with disabilities.
• No part of your bike should block the stairwells or aisles.
• Maintain control of your bike and take care n ot to brush it against others. Do not use a kickstand. Keep your bike as clean as possible.
• If you have a collapsed folding bike, you may store it on the floor underneath a bike suspended from a hook, or place it under your seat. Don't block the aisles with your collapsed bike.
• Children under the age of 12 bringing bikes on MAX must be accompanied by an adult.
• Always walk your bike in station areas, transit ce nters and pedestrian corridors.

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See - that is SOOO simple... Now, please spread the word... bikes are allowed on TriMet, IF there is room! And WITHOUT blocking doors and aisles.

Fareless Square - more info from TriMet

The following article was found on TriMet's web site; the proposal to reduce fareless to trains and the streetcar only, makes sense to me. So read on...

Please give TriMet the feedback they want. They DO listen to feedback, and consider what they hear and read from our riders.

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June 24, 2009

Fareless Square Change Proposed

Feedback wanted on proposal to limit the fare-free zone to MAX and Streetcar

When MAX Green Line opens on the Portland Transit Mall in September, riders will be able to use MAX and Portland Streetcar for nearly all trips within Fareless Square. Changing the fare-free zone to rail-only would simplify the system for riders and improve efficiency of bus service, while maintaining frequent, free service within Portland City Center.

Fareless Square background

When TriMet created Fareless Square 34 years ago, it was designed to help address air quality issues, reduce car trips downtown and increase transit use.

We still want to preserve the environment and increase transit ridership. But in those 34 years, our transit system has vastly improved. We now have a comprehensive light rail system and the Portland Streetcar, which provide high-quality transit service within the fare-free zone.

MAX will bring more service downtown

When we open MAX Green Line this September on 5th and 6th avenues between Union Station and Portland State University, both Green and Yellow line trains will run north-south through downtown. As a result, we will have virtually the same service within Fareless Square on rail as we did with the former Bus Mall.

A recent study showed that about 95% of the trips currently taken within Fareless Square can easily be taken on the future Green Line on the Mall, on the existing Blue/Red MAX line on Morrison and Yamhill, and on the Streetcar.

How would riders be affected?

For our riders, having free rides only on trains make it less confusing: Often, people don't know if a bus travels the length of the Mall or if it turns off and heads across the river, or up to the West End.

More than 50% of riders in Fareless Square already have a monthly or yearly pass, so a change to the free zone is not an issue for them. We expect most riders who currently take buses within Fareless Square will use MAX and Streetcar instead. Others may choose to bike or walk more.

Stakeholders within Fareless Square were interviewed and all agreed that a rail-only Fareless Square would continue to promote mobility within downtown and the Lloyd District.

More efficient bus operations

Many bus riders in Fareless Square get on at a stop, ride a few blocks and then get off. This can slow travel time for the bus and can back up buses moving through the Mall.

Ending free rides on buses would also improve efficiency for bus operators, who may not always remember which riders paid or didn’t pay, as the bus approaches the Fareless Square boundary.

We want your feedback

If approved by the Board of Directors, the change to rail-only would take effect on January 3, 2010. Do you have an opinion about this proposal? We invite your comments through 5 p.m. Friday, July 17, 2009.

Email: comments@trimet.org
Comment line: 503-962-5806
Fax: 503-962-6469
Mail: TriMet-MK2, 4012 SE 17th Ave., Portland, OR 97202
TTY: 503-238-5811 (7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays)
In person: Join us for an Open House and Public Hearing on July 13

Fareless Square, dogs and bicycles...

TriMet is trying to figure out what to do about Fareless Square.

I say: Get Rid Of It. Charge a small fee, like 50 cents, for all rides (youth through adults) within the area that is now Fareless Square. If people come in from outside of Fareless Square, let that ticket pay for their trip downtown. Add 5 or 10 cents to our 2 zone and all zone tickets.

There are too many problems in Fareless Square; we now have more rail supervisors/fare inspectors to get the public to comply with not only paying their fare, but with good behavior on our system. How many drunks and druggies have we had problems with in our current Fareless Square because they do not have to pay? They stumble onto the buses and the trains and often create problems not only for TriMet personnel, but for our passengers as well.

My heart goes out to the bus drives who have to deal with this face to face; I remember it all too well from my 7 1/2 years as a TriMet bus driver. I am far better off inside my train cab, yet I, too, have to deal with these people who should not be allowed on our transit system unless they can ride without causing a disturbance.

If these trouble makers had to pay every time they stumbled onto our system, they would probably (hopefully!) stop stumbling onto our system.

Some of your might (rightfully) say: "There are plenty of problems outside our current Fareless Square, too..."

Yes, there are. On Burnside east of Gateway (my least favorite part of our alignment) we still have kids out of control which often causes disruption to the trains. However, the platforms on Burnside have become a lot better after TriMet and the transit police started more frequent fare inspections and a much more visible presence on the trains. Thus, inspections and safety personnel of any kind, help - a lot. This could also happen downtown.

Why are we so afraid to use the word NO??? It works. It is a great way to teach people what to do and what not to do. I used it with my kids with great success. They all turned out OK. Why do we have to please everybody and give rights to the small minority that tramples on the rights of the majority? I am not talking about protecting minorities from discrimination. I am talking about safety and behavior that should be unacceptable.

And, while I am at it: GET RID OF THE DOGS THAT ARE NOT COVERED BY ADA. There must be a solution to this problem. Too many dogs that are scaring some of our riders are riding our system, especially downtown between Lloyd Center and Washington Park where I assume many of them get off to (supposedly) find a place to sleep with their owners. I can only shut up and hope nothing serious happens on my watch... Ugh...

One more pet peeve of mine: WHY ARE WE ALLOWING MORE THAN FOUR BICYCLES AT ONE TIME ON EACH TRAIN CAR??? Each train car has FOUR spots for bicycles. At times I have had more than 20 bicycles on my train - and my train, by the way, is not a five car consist! No matter how much I ask these bike riders through my PA system to keep the bikes from blocking the doors and aisles, they do not care. Frustrating...

What if something happened on the train, creating a need to get people off the train FAST? Could we do it will all those bicycles on board??? I don't know the answer to that, and that bothers me... A lot.

I love my job - however, I sometimes get really frustrated about certain things...

Butt cracks...

Yes, I know it is a delicate subject.

The other day I had the great (dis)pleasure of seeing a big butt crack on a very pretty girl who was wearing a pair of those pants that hang so very low on your hips. Quite frankly, I laughed - she thought she was hot stuff - and it was not as pretty as you might expect. When she got off the train at Lloyd Center, I noticed that her boyfriend had the same "thing" showing. Brr...

To the two of them and others like them: PLEASE have mercy on the people around you... Or, to be more exact, people behind you...

A butt crack is OK for a plumber to have. In fact, I think it is a requirement in their field of work. It is just par for the course when a plumber shows up at your home.

But it is NOT when somebody is sitting on a railing waiting for a train. Ugh...

I am not allowed to tell you...

...to walk in front of my train while I am stopped.

I cannot wave you across the tracks. If something hits you after I tell you that you can go, it would be on my shoulders. Sorry, I cannot risk that.

Thus, if you stand there and look at me, or even gesture to me about crossing, I cannot tell you yes. I may honk my horn if I see you starting out and danger is heading your way. That may save your life - or at least, one of your limbs.

But, I cannot tell you to go. Please understand that.

From Railrider: hip and useful light rail phrases for any situation

I think railrider is on to something here...

This deserves it's own post. Perhaps I should start paying her??? Nah... But I do give credit where credit is due!

railrider has left a new comment on your post "Type 4 burn in - pictures from a Type 4 fan!":

I thought of some more useful phrases...

"Ale on" --> to use when a drunk passenger boards the train on New Years Eve...or anytime during the year actually.

"Braille on" --> to use when a blind passenger boards the train.

"Dale on" --> to use when a guy boards the train wearing a t-shirt with the saying on it "My Name is Dale".

"Fail on" --> to use when a rail operator inadvertently trips the ATS system and must take the dreaded walk of shame to fix it.

"Gail on" --> to use when a girl boards the train wearing a t-shirt with the saying on it "My name is Gail".

"Hail on" --> to use when the Portland metro area experiences crazy winter weather including hail the size of Milk Duds pelting TriMet riders who are just trying to get to work.

"Jail on" --> to use when a Portland Police Officer boards a Max train to find and arrest a hooligan.

"Kale on" --> to use when a passenger boards a Max train who just bought produce at the Portland Farmers Market.

"Mail on" --> to use when a US Postal Service carrier boards a Max train and rail operators notice that he/she forgets to pay his/her fare. Later it is learned that the excuse given to the fare inspector was "But sir/ma'am don't I look cute in my uniform?"

"Male on" --> to use when a hunky fare inspector or a hunky maw-SAWJ professional boards a Max train. (I think I need to introduce railrider to one of those hunky fare inspectors)

"Nail on" --> to use when a young lady boards a Max train with five inch long fake nails or when a hunky construction worker boards a Max train with his hammer and nails in all the right places. ;-)

"Sail on" --> to use by a rail operator sailing smoothly away from a stop having closed all doors, waited for the proper signal, flipped all switches, moved all levers, said all the right things to Control, and got the train under way properly and timely.

"Sale on" --> to use when a rail operator notices a group of women affectionately known as the Savvy Shopping Sisters boarding a Max train carrying several shopping bags after completing a full day of fun at Pioneer Place mall, various boutiques in downtown Portland, and Saturday Market.

"Stale on" --> to use when rail operators are forced to pull the cord in their cab which activates the drop down oxygen masks because they can't breathe due to air that reeks of unclean and smelly rail riding customers who are trying to be green and save water by not bathing.

"Wail on" --> to use when a dumb dumb starts to walk in front of a Max train but stops when the rail operator sounds the foghorn and scares said dumb dumb away so they don't turn into Flat Dumb Dumb.

(Where does she get the idea about "hunky fare inspectors" from anyway?)

Type 4 burn in - pictures from a Type 4 fan!

Coming into Orenco westbound around 8 PM on my first trip with the Type 4, I noticed a man taking pictures and thought: "Oh, another Type 4 fan taking pictures. Wish I could see them."

Little did I know that it was DanTheTrainMan - and that he posted his pictures on Facebook, with a link for me to see them.

Thank you, Dan! These are fun for me to have - and the picture quality is SO good! What kind of camera do you have?

Above: here I am busy opening the doors on the WRONG side, with TriMet permission. SO much fun getting to do the wrong thing on purpose! Wish I could every day... NO NO NO - of course I don't wish I could do the wrong thing every day... I was joking...

Above: my train and I are off into the sunset, on our way to Hillsboro. Notice the red light; I did NOT run that - there is a limit to how much wrong they would let me do in one night. ;-) As soon as my cab was past the signal, it turned red, just like all other signals like this one do. No other train can get into this track circuit until I leave the Hawthorn Farm (UGH - I have been spelling this name wrong for way to long - there is NO E at the end of Hawthorn... details, details...) platform which is the next westbound platform. This is a great safety feature which keeps trains far apart in high speed areas of the alignment. If another train tries to go past this signal, our ATS system (Automatic Train Stop) will STOP the train. And, yes, I have done this in the past... It is sooo embarrassing to have to walk to the opposite end of the train and pull it back behind the signal again - it is "the walk of shame". Embarrassing to try to explain to your full train that "eh, I goofed, and made a big boo boo..." Arrgghh... And then there is the paperwork afterwards...

Heavy rail should have this kind of system, and in some places they are putting it in as far as I know. If I am not wrong, the WES has this kind of safety system along the whole alignment between Beaverton and Wilsonville.

Above: walking past my train, I snapped this picture of the inside - this is fondly called "The Parlor" at TriMet. This is where the second cab of the train car should have been - where many of us really wish it would have been, especially mechanics who get to use a huge "joy stick" to move single Type 4 cars around the yard at the blazing speed of 5 mph.

That's it. Need to go to finish packing my lunch/dinner and go to work!

(June 17th: edited - corrected som mispeld worsd... I needs hep...)

Type 4 burn in...

It is really late - more tomorrow :-)

I had fun, I loved it, and I want to do it again.

Pictures taken with my cell phone, so not the greatest quality...

:-)

Expo Center waiting to leave in my Type 4

Expo Center around 10 PM - not much going on. My signal was red and Control had not given me permission to move my train, so I wisely stayed put...

Expo Center - Japanese relocation monuments

The exciting view at Expo from my Type 4 cab...

Actually, every time I see these small metal plates signifying "internee ID tags" gently wave back and forth with the wind, I think of the reason for them, namely to commemorate the Japanese relocation in this area during WWII. The quiet tinkling I hear when I stand near these sculptures, appeals to me, and seem well fitted for what they commemorate. Yet, the horror these internees must have felt at being forced from their homes, surely is in stark contrast to the gentle sounds of these graceful monuments. It is an interesting contrast, one that I am always reminded of when I am at the Expo Center platform.