tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63833678031157323452026-07-10T16:19:17.227-07:00<blockquote><i>There is a certain happiness sighted when your bus comes along. It is of course a small specialized form of happiness and will never be a great thing.</i><p align="center"><b>-Richard Brautigan, The Old Bus</b></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.comBlogger594125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-5683033265854545592014-02-24T10:01:00.001-08:002014-02-24T10:01:38.159-08:00

I don't ride transit much. Technically I work from home. Then again, technically I'm also retired. None of that is by design. It just happened. So this morning I decided to take the No. 82 bus that stops near my home to a Starbucks that has a nice working area. When you work from home any place with Wi-Fi can be your office. The driver, a younger (I'm 62; it's all a matter of perspective) black

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-59633600052866162682014-02-23T11:41:00.003-08:002014-02-23T11:41:30.553-08:00

From the General Manager's report to the board at Monday's meeting: CONNECT CARD EMPLOYEE SYSTEMS TEST Last week on February 18th, 19th and 20th, RT and SACOG employees tested the ConnectCard (our smart card system) on the Route 30 buses, and at the 29th Street and 13th Street&nbsp;Light Rail Stations. The tests were conducted to test the hardware at stations and on buses&nbsp;and the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-46643472182419781632014-02-21T21:59:00.000-08:002014-02-21T21:59:26.360-08:00

So today I gave The Kid my car and used my senior pass to take my local bus down to Wendy's on Watt for lunch. Made me feel sort of transitarian again. It was when I was waiting to get off the bus 10 minutes later, that I was surprised to see a Connect Card fare reader on the pole just inside the front door of the bus. "Wow," I said to the driver. "When's this going to start?" "You'll know

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-43549337618339307922014-02-04T15:34:00.001-08:002014-02-04T15:34:49.091-08:00

Can't resist: The fastest way to reach your destination in a crowded city is usually public transportation, especially when traveling between boroughs or neighborhoods. It may smell and a few people may breathe or sneeze on you, but at least you won't have to worry about traffic jams.&nbsp; Celebrities can't resist the convenience of the bus or subway, and despite the luxury of a private

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-66173226357530485922014-01-31T23:16:00.000-08:002014-01-31T23:16:54.438-08:00

Walk Score, a valuable resource for identifying great places to live and work, has released its 2014 City &amp; Neighborhood Ranking, which includes the ranking of transit service in 141 cities with populations of more than 200,000 in the US, Canada and Australia. Sacramento comes in 39th with a Transit Score of 33.4. In a “the glass is half-full; the glass is half-empty” examination, one

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-62998778499247683272014-01-30T21:56:00.002-08:002014-01-30T21:57:16.714-08:00

You can take this survey here but after you've taken it you can't review or discuss. So here are the questions. I've added some links to related content. &nbsp;Tomorrow I'll offer some commentary. 1. The future arena in downtown will be an important project in the coming years. How critical is public transit to the success of the future arena plan? Critical Very important Somewhat important Not

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-55575701552249516292014-01-28T22:30:00.000-08:002014-01-28T22:41:58.229-08:00

For years I've relied on Watch That Page to let me know when Regional Transit changes the content of its front page. &nbsp;It is a free service and works well on pages such as RT's that don't offer RSS news feeds. Anyway, the other day I was alerted to a new link on RT's home page. I'll discuss the survey later (click on the link and let them know your opinion) but since it has been

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-9192187769381658442014-01-27T14:19:00.000-08:002014-01-27T14:26:51.317-08:00

Tonight's "Management Notes" from Sacramento Regional Transit General Manager Mike Wiley includes these dry statistics (Agenda Item No. 6): RT’s farebox recovery ratio in the month of December was 22.2 percent and year-to date it is 22.5 percent. It has decreased by 4.1 percent compared to December 2012 and decreased by 2.3 percent year-to-date. In relation to the District’s established goal

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-32048672749937984082014-01-26T14:51:00.002-08:002014-01-26T15:00:34.527-08:00

I have to sympathize with Sacramento Regional Transit's long-suffering general manager,&nbsp;Mike Wiley. &nbsp;After all, what can you say when asked to comment on the first homicide anyone can recall in the history of the transit district light rail service? “You have two people who get into an altercation and it ends in a fatality – that’s a situation that could happen anywhere,” &nbsp;The

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-29743413746787440142014-01-25T13:29:00.000-08:002014-01-25T13:35:41.074-08:00

Six degrees of separation&nbsp;is the&nbsp;theory&nbsp;that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.&nbsp;Wikipedia And so, given Six Degrees of separation, I am introduced by The Wife to Lynnsey Evakarla

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-7282325287633661722014-01-24T14:13:00.000-08:002014-01-24T14:13:32.267-08:00

I need an outlet. Out of work since the start of the New Year and discouraged about prospects for finding full-time employment at age 62, I'm considering declaring an official end to &nbsp;the job hunt and announcing my retirement. And since I now qualify for half-price rides on Regional Transit, I find myself back here. Speaking of senior passes, how does RT pick the expiration date on

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-84627100847191365702010-02-04T08:15:00.000-08:002010-02-04T09:42:22.233-08:00

"Yet some cities are in trouble: Sacramento’s second phase of its South Line light rail may not be funded because of a lack of adequate local commitment to public transportation, even though it scores adequately on the cost-effectiveness front."Read about it here.The FTA funding document is here.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-40744831876932372952010-02-03T14:09:00.000-08:002010-02-03T14:54:30.195-08:00

At 8:09 on the morning of July 30, last year, I sent this email:from John Hughesto CAD@sacrt.comdate Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 8:09 AMsubject Map of proposed change in No. 82 bus route I would like to have a map showing how the No. 82 bus route would be changed under the proposal currently under consideration.A portion of the route is going to shift to pick up some of the No. 9 route on

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-85836095322454027392009-11-14T12:42:00.000-08:002009-11-14T12:48:51.186-08:00

When I stopped writing here, I promised several people I would alert them if I started writing somewhere else.I've reactivated a dormant blog -- ipsosacto.blogspot.com -- and converted it from a blog about my blog watching at IpsoSacto.com into an old fashioned personal blog. You know, that type of blog that dominated before Twitter shrank the world of words to less than 140 characters.I Tweet as

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-51318871020104992292009-08-16T07:43:00.000-07:002009-08-16T09:07:25.278-07:00

When I failed to write a blog post last week about Sacramento Regional Transit's decision to raid its workers' comp self-insurance pool in order to avoid service cuts in 2010, I knew the end of this blog had arrived.Maybe so many things will happen with me and buses and trains that I'll have to rush back here and blog and blog and blog. But the reality is that I'm no longer "a suburban commuter

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-2854973845433136902009-07-27T21:46:00.000-07:002009-07-27T22:49:23.600-07:00

Perhaps what I had to say had some influence. But the only thing going for my point is the desperate position the Sacramento Regional Transit District finds itself in.My topic was the pilot program that will require a $1 fee to use the RT parking lots at the Watt/I-80, Watt West and Roseville Road light rail stations, the final lots on the Blue Line.Letting anyone park for free is just not fair.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-62775959313130143682009-07-23T12:34:00.000-07:002009-07-23T12:54:37.414-07:00

What's Sacramento Regional Transit to do? There's just no good news. That at least is the conclusion to be drawn from the agenda package for Monday's board of director's meeting.General Manger Mike Wiley tries to paint a rosy tint on his Key Performance Report to the board."Despite the economic challenges imposed by declining tax revenues and state budget cuts to public transit funding, the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-73814312410268364332009-06-24T21:02:00.000-07:002009-06-24T22:33:46.791-07:00

I suppose these things happen when you have been married for nearly 20 years. Sometimes you just miss the meaning of what you hear.The Wife walked up behind me while I was working in my office last night."Are you doing anything special tomorrow morning?" she asked.I admit that I immediately considered this a trick question along the lines of "Does this dress make me look fat?" What sort of

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-33348452084164312172009-06-24T08:46:00.000-07:002009-06-24T09:09:45.769-07:00

Here's a guest post from the wifeI meant to write the other day, about the driver of the 73 bus that picked me up on the way to Mather Mills Station one late afternoon last week. It was about 5:45 pm, the next stop on Data Drive was a timed stop, and we waited a couple minutes.It worked perfectly for the driver, who got up and calmly strode to the back of the bus. There was a woman who had been

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-82736550517514178202009-06-23T23:29:00.000-07:002009-06-23T23:47:24.491-07:00

On Monday evening, General Manager Mike Wiley volunteered to skip his monthly Key Performance Report to make time for the crowds who wanted to rail against proposed fare hikes and service cuts. He was most likely happy to avoid the onerous task of delivering still another report about declining ridership and fare income falling short of expectations.In May, the district experienced a double-digit

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-38152819981503383252009-06-22T23:43:00.000-07:002009-06-23T00:50:28.936-07:00

Sacramento Regional Transit's board of directors tinkered around the edges of a staff-proposed solution to the district's budget mess, but in the end accepted that fares had to be increased and services reduced. Only directors Roger Dickinson and Steve Cohn balked.In September, the basic fare will increase from $2.25 to $2.50 and the discount fare paid by students and seniors from $1.10 to $1.25.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-34870794716201098272009-06-19T14:40:00.000-07:002009-06-19T15:35:23.317-07:00

Sacramento Regional Transit's board will be asked Monday to decide whether to adopt a larger fare increase than originally proposed last month in order to accept a smaller reduction in bus service. But that won't be the end of the discussion. The staff has asked the board to hold a hearing next month to plan for the service cuts that will be necessary in January if the district's budget picture

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-91058709271607340142009-06-15T13:28:00.000-07:002009-06-15T18:00:06.338-07:00

RT TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING ON MONDAY, JUNE 22 Board of Directors Expected to Approve Fare Increases and Service Reductions Proposed for September 2009If you don't know what's coming, read the press release or this post or this post or this post or this post. It's endless. And it is depressing.And it is in that context that RT's invitation for people to Provide

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-428497171574511102009-06-13T21:31:00.000-07:002009-06-13T22:49:24.329-07:00

It's been awhile. It was nice. Well, it was a little scary on the way home, but, hey, as I told our friends, it's just something you sign up for when you become a transitarian.The wife and I made a date with friends to meet at Chicago Fire Pizza in Midtown tonight at 5 p.m. We boarded the No. 82 for the ride to Sacramento State, where we caught the No. 30 to Midtown. Just like old times. I miss

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383367803115732345.post-31928598406742757942009-06-10T13:40:00.000-07:002009-06-10T13:50:34.627-07:00

Sacramento has talent. There's no reason why someone here couldn't create a nifty music video singing the praises of Sacramento Regional Transit like this one created by fans of BART.Then again, we're talking about Sacramento Regional Transit. (Sigh.) Maybe a quick effort before the cuts arrive in September?(For more about the video, see this post)

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070861046420451305noreply@blogger.com0