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Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: October 23rd, 2012, 2:20 pm
by FISHMANPET
Low floor buses are a bit faster for wheelchair boardings than high floor buses. Also, the way it usually works is bus driver lowers lift, brings wheelchair up, straps wheelchair in, puts lift away. On a high floor bus nobody can board while the lift is up, but on a lower floor bus passengers can board while the ramp is down and the driver is strapping someone in.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: October 24th, 2012, 9:18 am
by Tom H.
Sounds like none of you have had to deal with wheelchair loading on a coach-style express bus. I ride on SW Transit often, and to get a wheelchair on, the bus driver has to:

1) Get out of his seat, walk to the middle of the bus, and collapse the seats near the wheelchair door.
2) Get out of the bus, open the wheelchair door (in the middle of the bus on the right side), and lower the elevator.
3) Load the passenger onto the elevator, raise the elevator, and close up the door.
4) Get back on the bus, walk back to the customer, attach belts and hooks to secure them.
5) Go sit back down and resume driving.

The whole thing has taken as long as 10 minutes in the past. It's not so bad at the suburban stations, where people can board and disembark while this is going on, but when it occurs downtown, it's completely lost time.

P.S. I know there won't be a lot of sympathy here for suburban express bus riders, and that's okay. I think the single-door coach bus style is pretty inefficient. For the record, I'm against the suburban opt-outs on principle, but I like to see them succeed where they can.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: October 24th, 2012, 9:49 am
by mattaudio
I used to take MVTA express buses frequently. It's a whole different culture because there's so much routine regimented into how people ride. They usually take the same time every day, recognize the drivers, etc. This also means the drivers will usually know if there's a wheelchair-bound rider and where they will be traveling. Other passengers frequently help out with securing the wheelchair, etc. It's not as bad as it sounds when there's the routine to be expected, but I also ran into a few times where it was unexpected and it DID delay things quite a bit.

I think the single-door style works fine since everyone is going to the same place (and paying when they get off the bus) but it would be nice to have a better type of wheelchair lift.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: October 24th, 2012, 10:08 am
by Tcmetro
From my observations, the coach buses are the least efficient on Marquette and 2nd, due to only having the one door. Articulated buses would be much faster to board and disembark in comparison to the coach buses. That being said, the coach buses provide a more comfortable ride and are cheaper to purchase.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: October 24th, 2012, 10:28 am
by mattaudio
Back when I would ride, orderly queues would form on the sidewalk for each route, so people knew which line to get into and it would just get on the bus when it pulled up. The lack of a payment step (payment is upon exit) made it so people could board rather quickly in one line.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 5th, 2012, 7:51 am
by seanrichardryan

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 5th, 2012, 9:08 am
by Tcmetro
A .5% sales tax increase for would make tons of money available for transit. But this is being proposed by some advisory committee, I doubt it will ever get off the ground.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 5th, 2012, 11:46 am
by min-chi-cbus
Me too, even though I'd support it.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 10th, 2012, 8:20 pm
by Nick
Well done, boys...

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 12th, 2012, 10:21 am
by woofner
When the accordion bus was jackknifed on southbound 35W, does anyone know if traffic was directed onto Portland Ave? It sounds like streets were screwed up all over South Mpls.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 12th, 2012, 10:37 am
by lordmoke
No idea, but I know that the backup spread up EB 94, off of the entrance ramps, and back up Olson Mem. into Golden Valley. Ridiculous morning. Can't wait for the rail network to develop more.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 12th, 2012, 11:33 am
by twincitizen
My ride on the 18 didn't take any longer than usual :)

Perhaps quicker than usual due to the bus one block ahead picking up all the crowds and my near-empty bus eventually passing that one. That resulted in a heavy load of free riders boarding at Grant Street though, but we still made good time.

I felt it was a wise choice over my usual Route 4, which was running late and I figured the bottleneck was pretty jacked up. From the sound of it, I guessed right.

I heard there were a handful of stuck buses over in St. Paul this morning...damn hills!

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 12th, 2012, 11:34 am
by twincitizen
Also, the enforcement of the stand/walk zones at 7th/Nicollet has really fallen off since they tazed that guy. Lots of fearless building leaners today.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 12th, 2012, 11:04 pm
by seanrichardryan
If it was shady, it was icy. Hennepin was griiiiiiidlock until 11am or so. Buses were sliding in and out of the stops on NB.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 15th, 2012, 1:11 pm
by Tcmetro
Looks like a new park and ride to open in the next year or two at 65 and 242 in Blaine. Because the land acquisition will be less than expected, Anoka County wants to purchase a 7th bus and extend service to Ham Lake and East Bethel. 9 trips would be provided from Minneapolis to Blaine, while 2-4 of those trips would continue to East Bethel. The East Bethel P&R would be located at a theatre, and the Ham Lake one at a church. The Blaine lot would be a new transit-dedicated facility with 400 spaces.

http://councilmeetings.metc.state.mn.us ... 15/10a.pdf

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 27th, 2012, 10:40 am
by twincitizen
Star Tribune Editorial: Transit issue looms for aging boomers

As can be expected, the comment section is on fire.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 27th, 2012, 3:51 pm
by FISHMANPET
Star Tribune Editorial: Transit issue looms for aging boomers

As can be expected, the comment section is on fire.
Thanks, now I'm irrationality angry.

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 27th, 2012, 6:10 pm
by stp1980
if you want to quickly lose faith in all humanity read the comments section on the star tribs website for any article!

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 27th, 2012, 6:19 pm
by Nick

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Posted: November 28th, 2012, 9:33 pm
by Le Sueur
^^^Thanks for that. Spent all evening on the phone with "Customer Support." SP is much more enjoyable!