While the title of this post does sound like the mantra of TriMet's on-time performance, that's not what I am referring to. I make a special appearance to provide somewhat of a compliment to TriMet management.
Effective March 2015, transfers will be effective for 2 1/2 hours instead of just 2 hours. Now, the standard in the industry is two hours, and some major agencies don't even offer transfers. But TriMet takes the high road and offers a fair and equitable solution to the problem of rising fare prices.
It is particularly important that the extra time be present, given the lack of frequency on some lines (i.e. 25-Glisan/Rockwood, 28-Linwood, 37-Lake Grove, and 80-Kane/Troutdale) and the consistent breakdowns on the MAX system that make it hard for people to get to these lines at a reasonable pace. Also, regardless of TriMet's opinion on this, many people use the 2-hour ticket for a round-trip shopping trip or the like. This is because many people simply can't afford to drop five dollars at a time. The extra half-hour will help these people be more confident that they can get home without missing their bus and having the time expire.
So, great. TriMet followed through with this. Awesome. I really do think this shows that management is on an upward path toward higher levels of integrity. But at the same time, they still are far from perfect with the implementation.
Imagine two football teams. First, we have the University of Oregon Ducks. (I am an all-Oregon fan and root for the Beavers too. Even the Huskies. But allow me to continue with the Ducks example.) The Ducks are fantastic at getting the ball after the punt or turnover and moving the ball down the field in the fewest plays possible. They consistently have a shorter time of possession than the other team, even though they score a heck of a lot more points. Why? They know how to make each play count. Other than the occasional false start or holding call, they keep each play clean and effective, so they basically don't have to fight themselves.
But imagine a second team. I can't name one, but there are teams who really make work for themselves to get down the field. So many third downs, too many penalty calls, and usually either they are a passing team or a rushing team because they can't do both. Still, they somehow manage to get the ball down the field and into the endzone. The extra point is good, but only by a foot or so. Every fan has lost five years off their life for each third and long, but in the end, it was still successful. Not easy and not close to perfect, but successful.
TriMet management is the second team. They scored the touchdown with the extended transfer, but they took the hard route to get there.
Did they acknowledge who first suggested the idea? Surprisingly, yes. Multiple times they mentioned OPAL. But how long did it take management and the Board to take OPAL's request seriously? Often they treated the suggestion as some kind of joke, even when we all went up and told the board that we thought it was a good idea. Somehow, they actually opened their minds, and kudos to them for not taking credit for the idea. Still, I hope that any future such interactions with stakeholder groups would be better handled.
There were two different things mentioned in the news release that somewhat rubbed me the wrong way. First, they gave the excuse that they couldn't have made the change earlier due to the budget crisis and service cuts. There is some legitimacy to this statement, but it also comes across as just an excuse. And really, the darkness of the great recession was the time when the 2 1/2 hour transfer would have been the most beneficial. Second, the emphasis of the estimated loss in revenue seems like something that exists solely for the purpose of guilting the reader. To me, the revenue lost is the revenue the agency forces the rider to pay because of delays that caused the rider's usually valid ticket to expire prematurely. And wouldn't we attract more riders who find it convenient to use the 2 1/2 hour ticket because they can actually get more places easier and more confidently? It's why we should take the estimated revenue loss figure with a grain of salt.
So, in conclusion, I applaud TriMet for doing something I honestly thought they would never do. Riders will greatly appreciate the benefit of not having to worry about their transfer expiring as quickly. It also is a way to build back that trust that has been lacking for far too long. But I hope that the next time something good happens like this, they look more like the Ducks than the second team.
A realist's guide to the rise of a better TriMet. (Not an official TriMet publication.)
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Dear Ellen
An open letter to Ellen Fox, bus operator and writer of the Cyber Stalking and Workplace Bullying blog.
Dear Ellen,
I'm sorry for what I wrote about you in my blog recently.
I know that other people in the blogging world are going to probably scold me for doing this, but I believe an apology is necessary.
You see, Lane Jensen is one of my best friends. He is also one of the levers we TriMet bloggers pull if we want to get pageviews, since any time his name is mentioned our views go up significantly due to his quasi-celebrity status. So I felt that writing a story summing up my impression of certain recent events regarding your interactions was warranted. It was also my opportunity to support my friend.
I recognize that Lane has done some stupid things in the past. While I support him as a person and a friend, I haven't always supported his actions. There apparently were things he did that made you afraid of him that went on before I knew him as well as I do now. These were things that certainly weren't good and should never have happened. Please know that he has grown a lot from consequences of his mistakes and has matured to be a person who wouldn't do anything like that again.
But I am not here today to vouch for Lane. I am here because I have realized my mistake.
It has become standard procedure in the blogging world that if one finds someone they disagree with, it's okay to make a public statement/attack on one's own blog. A story is a story, especially if it is informing people about events that they may find interesting or pertinent.
So I decided to point out what I perceived about your interactions with Lane on my blog in the name of being informative. I thought I laid out my argument pretty well, but when I went back and read it tonight I realized all I did was rehash everything everybody else says about you, things which really aren't that nice.
I do have opinions about some of your tactics regarding Lane. And I will always side with him in a dispute as much as is reasonable. But shame on me for speaking such hurtful things to you, turning myself into one of the very types of people you speak against.
The Transit Rider PDX blog is designed to be informative and moderate, seeking for all to know the truth, and where it is lacking that together we find the truth. It is not supposed to be a place where people are bashed and bullied. Although this blog is portrayed as a sort of news source, it is really just an extension of me, Patrick Stanley. I cannot separate from what I write, because this blog is fully mine and no one else's. The person I want to be and the person this blog portays me to be need to be the same thing.
I do have opinions about people. For example, I disagree with Al M about more things than we agree on. But I have made it a point to not alienate him, to find common ground, so that we can strive as colleagues to see real change at TriMet. If I can keep a level head with Al, I have no excuse for not keeping a level head concerning every other person. No one deserves to be made a target or humilated.
So please forgive me for what I have done. I know I don't have to apologize. I just want to take a stand for doing what is right. I want to be the bigger person and not just disappear in the crowd. I hope that my integrity is not lost in your eyes.
Blessings,
Patrick Stanley
Transit Rider PDX
P.S. If Lane ever accidentally ends up on your bus, I have instructed him to not do anything other than show his pass and take his seat. Please do not call the police on him. He really doesn't want a confrontation.
Dear Ellen,
I'm sorry for what I wrote about you in my blog recently.
I know that other people in the blogging world are going to probably scold me for doing this, but I believe an apology is necessary.
You see, Lane Jensen is one of my best friends. He is also one of the levers we TriMet bloggers pull if we want to get pageviews, since any time his name is mentioned our views go up significantly due to his quasi-celebrity status. So I felt that writing a story summing up my impression of certain recent events regarding your interactions was warranted. It was also my opportunity to support my friend.
I recognize that Lane has done some stupid things in the past. While I support him as a person and a friend, I haven't always supported his actions. There apparently were things he did that made you afraid of him that went on before I knew him as well as I do now. These were things that certainly weren't good and should never have happened. Please know that he has grown a lot from consequences of his mistakes and has matured to be a person who wouldn't do anything like that again.
But I am not here today to vouch for Lane. I am here because I have realized my mistake.
It has become standard procedure in the blogging world that if one finds someone they disagree with, it's okay to make a public statement/attack on one's own blog. A story is a story, especially if it is informing people about events that they may find interesting or pertinent.
So I decided to point out what I perceived about your interactions with Lane on my blog in the name of being informative. I thought I laid out my argument pretty well, but when I went back and read it tonight I realized all I did was rehash everything everybody else says about you, things which really aren't that nice.
I do have opinions about some of your tactics regarding Lane. And I will always side with him in a dispute as much as is reasonable. But shame on me for speaking such hurtful things to you, turning myself into one of the very types of people you speak against.
The Transit Rider PDX blog is designed to be informative and moderate, seeking for all to know the truth, and where it is lacking that together we find the truth. It is not supposed to be a place where people are bashed and bullied. Although this blog is portrayed as a sort of news source, it is really just an extension of me, Patrick Stanley. I cannot separate from what I write, because this blog is fully mine and no one else's. The person I want to be and the person this blog portays me to be need to be the same thing.
I do have opinions about people. For example, I disagree with Al M about more things than we agree on. But I have made it a point to not alienate him, to find common ground, so that we can strive as colleagues to see real change at TriMet. If I can keep a level head with Al, I have no excuse for not keeping a level head concerning every other person. No one deserves to be made a target or humilated.
So please forgive me for what I have done. I know I don't have to apologize. I just want to take a stand for doing what is right. I want to be the bigger person and not just disappear in the crowd. I hope that my integrity is not lost in your eyes.
Blessings,
Patrick Stanley
Transit Rider PDX
P.S. If Lane ever accidentally ends up on your bus, I have instructed him to not do anything other than show his pass and take his seat. Please do not call the police on him. He really doesn't want a confrontation.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Love Is All Around...Sure
I am so tired of writing about the battle between TriMet and the ATU. This is why I haven't said that much about it. But I have to give my two cents.
First, I must say again that I think the health care package for the Union workers is a bit higher than it should be. I think that their overall package is actually pretty balanced considering the remarkably low pension, but I think that the Union should be willing to make some consessions. Regardless of how well TriMet is managing their finances, remember that health costs are rising and will continue to rise. It won't be long until these costs do become a hindrance to TriMet's ability to put buses on the road even if all the other finances are managed perfectly.
However, why would you want to be willing to make consessions when you are always being treated like second-class citizens? I continue hearing saddening comments from reputable Union employees about how management is not really listening to them, that management's seeming obsession with safety doesn't translate into any actual improvements on the part of the driver. I've heard people say that TriMet used to be a "fun place to work" when management and Union employees were treated as equals. But things have changed and that TriMet has taken a coffee break and never came back.
It doesn't help that the only TriMet communications to the public concerning the Union, besides the Operators of the Year awards and the occasional heroics by one driver (which takes TriMet a week to even point out), is their endless quest to "beat" the Union at the bargaining table. Management has set up an environment of "them vs. us" that leads only to division and the breaking up of common ground. This isn't fair to anyone, especially the people on the front-lines who are literally risking their lives every day to get people where they need to go.
Now, unions aren't always very reputable. Some, like the Longshoremen running the terminals at the port, aren't really supporting the employees they represent but are instead supporting their agenda and their very existence. This is why I am very skeptical of unions and I am never quick to support them. Unions were very good when they started because employees were truly lacking rights and were treated very poorly. Times have changed, unions had their success, and now employees have rights and are (way) more often than not treated appropriately. I have always looked at most unions and seen people complaining that they are not getting everything they want from a corporation that has limited resources, while I watch my family's small business struggle to get by on a daily basis because of those same limited resources.
But the ATU 757 is different. The ATU division here in Oregon and SW Washington which represents employees for all Oregon transit agencies (plus C-Tran in Vancouver) has proven to me that they are much more reputable. There is one major reason: ATU leaders are current and former TriMet employees. They actually care about, understand, and have a vested interest in the success or failure of the agency itself. They get what operators and maintence workers have to deal with on a regular basis. They aren't just in it for the survival of their local union office.
Also, the ATU was quick to jump at the chance to negotiate a relatively rich healthcare package in the early 2000s when the TriMet managers at the time didn't have a firm hand on what was going on. But the ATU isn't offensive. They go about their business and try to make the city get where it's going. Then, one day, TriMet came at them, blaming them for all their budget problems that were really caused by their obsession with building light rail. It was a joke around the blogging world how predictable it was that every email would include a statement at the bottom stating that any good future events were based on victory over the Union. The Union didn't attack TriMet management; management made the Union its dartboard when anything went wrong.
TriMet fighting the Union is not like fighting an external agency; it is literally fighting your own people. No, the Union is not perfect. But they certainly have done nothing wrong to make management take it to them like they have. It's hard to bargain in good faith when you can't have faith that the other person is going to not stab you in the back.
So, TriMet, send out emails telling how much you love your operators. I won't believe it. It's going to take years to undo the damage you have already done. Please make all union and non-union employees feel appreciated and cared for, since without them the agency wouldn't be able to do anything.
Sending email bursts saying you have been victorious over the Union doesn't make me support you more. It alienates me. And it alienates them. You can't afford any of that, not now.
First, I must say again that I think the health care package for the Union workers is a bit higher than it should be. I think that their overall package is actually pretty balanced considering the remarkably low pension, but I think that the Union should be willing to make some consessions. Regardless of how well TriMet is managing their finances, remember that health costs are rising and will continue to rise. It won't be long until these costs do become a hindrance to TriMet's ability to put buses on the road even if all the other finances are managed perfectly.
However, why would you want to be willing to make consessions when you are always being treated like second-class citizens? I continue hearing saddening comments from reputable Union employees about how management is not really listening to them, that management's seeming obsession with safety doesn't translate into any actual improvements on the part of the driver. I've heard people say that TriMet used to be a "fun place to work" when management and Union employees were treated as equals. But things have changed and that TriMet has taken a coffee break and never came back.
It doesn't help that the only TriMet communications to the public concerning the Union, besides the Operators of the Year awards and the occasional heroics by one driver (which takes TriMet a week to even point out), is their endless quest to "beat" the Union at the bargaining table. Management has set up an environment of "them vs. us" that leads only to division and the breaking up of common ground. This isn't fair to anyone, especially the people on the front-lines who are literally risking their lives every day to get people where they need to go.
Now, unions aren't always very reputable. Some, like the Longshoremen running the terminals at the port, aren't really supporting the employees they represent but are instead supporting their agenda and their very existence. This is why I am very skeptical of unions and I am never quick to support them. Unions were very good when they started because employees were truly lacking rights and were treated very poorly. Times have changed, unions had their success, and now employees have rights and are (way) more often than not treated appropriately. I have always looked at most unions and seen people complaining that they are not getting everything they want from a corporation that has limited resources, while I watch my family's small business struggle to get by on a daily basis because of those same limited resources.
But the ATU 757 is different. The ATU division here in Oregon and SW Washington which represents employees for all Oregon transit agencies (plus C-Tran in Vancouver) has proven to me that they are much more reputable. There is one major reason: ATU leaders are current and former TriMet employees. They actually care about, understand, and have a vested interest in the success or failure of the agency itself. They get what operators and maintence workers have to deal with on a regular basis. They aren't just in it for the survival of their local union office.
Also, the ATU was quick to jump at the chance to negotiate a relatively rich healthcare package in the early 2000s when the TriMet managers at the time didn't have a firm hand on what was going on. But the ATU isn't offensive. They go about their business and try to make the city get where it's going. Then, one day, TriMet came at them, blaming them for all their budget problems that were really caused by their obsession with building light rail. It was a joke around the blogging world how predictable it was that every email would include a statement at the bottom stating that any good future events were based on victory over the Union. The Union didn't attack TriMet management; management made the Union its dartboard when anything went wrong.
TriMet fighting the Union is not like fighting an external agency; it is literally fighting your own people. No, the Union is not perfect. But they certainly have done nothing wrong to make management take it to them like they have. It's hard to bargain in good faith when you can't have faith that the other person is going to not stab you in the back.
So, TriMet, send out emails telling how much you love your operators. I won't believe it. It's going to take years to undo the damage you have already done. Please make all union and non-union employees feel appreciated and cared for, since without them the agency wouldn't be able to do anything.
Sending email bursts saying you have been victorious over the Union doesn't make me support you more. It alienates me. And it alienates them. You can't afford any of that, not now.
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