I wrote out a quick and dirty web-interface for TriMet's GTFS schedule data.   I thought it might be nice to allow the public to do some of the queries that I have been doing myself for some time now.   Things like:

• What is the schedule for this (non-timepointed) stop?
• Oh crap, I left my backpack on the bus.  When will THIS bus be back?
• Where does this bus continue on to?
• What route does that wacky 5am 15 Belmont follow when it hits downtown?

etc....  Enjoy.  But beware, nerddom ahead!

So the new Type IV's with the single cab per car pose an interesting problem. How do you couple them when you don't have a cab near the coupler?
( Answer is here... )

So what's the story with this guy?

Every wonder what happens at the at the end of the line for the 15 NW 23rd, when it goes down Thurman?



( What?! You really DO care??? )

I don't think they made them standard height; they cut off my circulation and it's really painful. Seems to me that high seats hurt short people more than standard seats hurt tall people. Most people who ride the train are short anyhow.

So I have been seeing new buses on the west side lately. 2900 series. Nice looking buses. Does anyone know where these were manufactured, or how many tri-met bought? Are there more to be delivered?

With the opening of the transit mall downtown on May 24, lots of route and schedule changes are coming -- and these are separate from the service cuts.    Of particular note, the split routes (ex: 19 Woodstock / 19 Glisan) are going to be combined.  

Full details here.

PROTIP: Yes, you can board a train at 5:00pm with a fare that expires at 5:01pm and it will be valid for your trip, even if you're going from Cleveland to Hatfield. However, if your fare expired an hour and 45 minutes before the inspectors check it at Washington Park, don't bother trying to say that it was valid when you boarded, as there's no point on the alignment that is an hour and 45 minutes from there that you could've possibly boarded from.

Especially if your answer to the question "Where did you get on?" is "Lloyd Center".

(Though I do prefer these fare inspectors that board and then check fares as the train is moving, rather than the ones that hold the train at the platform to check)

And posted (with pics) about it here. It's a neat train and I recommend checking it out, even if you have no need to go to Wilsonville :)

Just sent to the customer service email address --

Thank you for getting me to the mall. I was going to lose my mind at home and you were gracious enough to get me there safely, while also giving a tour of the FAIL BUSes on the sides of the roads that did not make it up. You are my hero.

I live in Hillsboro, and rely on the 46 bus (North Hillsboro) to run in order to get to work.

I have no idea how to determine if it will be running tomorrow! Trimet has only posted updates for currently running buses, and my bus doesn't run on Saturdays/Sundays/Holidays.

Should I just assume that tomorrow it'll be 'holiday hours' and not running? D: D: D:

I finally released my Palm OS TriMet schedule viewer. It has every time for every stop (not just time points), every day. Check it out!

http://www.transitq.com

( Screenshots )

I got to operate one of the new Type 4s today! :D Only around the yard and on the test track, not out on the actual mainline, but still, it was very cool.

The ride quality on them is fantastic - they have the capability to be set at a speed and then maintain it no matter what kinds of curves or switches the train is going through, so no more jerking around curves (like at Goose Hollow, which can feel kind of rough sometimes, or 1st and Morrison or 1st and Yamhill). There's also a similar braking feature for going down hills to hold the train constant at any speed, which I think will be really nice on that steep hill on the Yellow Line. They accelerate so smoothly though, not like the other MAX trains where you can lose your balance sometimes if you're standing.

The parlor-area in the back of each car is really nice, and I'm guessing it's going to be really popular with kids because of all the windows. I'm not sure I'm entirely sold on the interior layout as "improved," but we'll see what happens. It'll be neat to see them in service :)

Link

I've seen my share of teenagers (and shady types) hanging out around that "living room," but who's to say that it attracts more shady activity than the benches and bus shelters around the transit center?

Removing it isn't a good "first step," to removing the activity overall. But if Mayor Bemis gets his way, I hope it's possible for it to be placed elsewhere in the Portland area, although I'm sure the cost would be a crutch.

Starting in November TriMet is doing away with the skinny tickets in favor of a new "credit card" sized ticket.

What do you think?  Personally, I'm not looking forward to dedicating 1/2 of my wallet to TriMet just to carry around a 10-pack. :-(

Digi-short I created featuring Portlandia's streets and Tri-Met...

Am I right that Trimet buses run on biodiesel? Anyway, gods. Whatever they run on, they need some kind of filter on their exhaust. I hate it when buses pass by me when I'm walking or riding my bike, because the fumes from the buses are so horribly foul that I literally gag and choke whenever I get a whiff of them. Normal gasoline fumes don't do that to me! And it's even worse when they stop in front of me and then take off again, and also when I get out of the bus and it takes off while I'm still standing there. Today I got off the bus, and the smell as the bus took off was so bad that gagged so bad I was standing there hunched over, heaving, trying not to vomit, just barely succeeding. I seriously thought I was going to puke my guts out right in front of all those people. Ugh. They need to put filters on those damn things. That is absolutely disgusting and something needs to be done about it! Even a faceful of the nastiest farts in the world don't make me gag anywhere near as bad as Trimet bus fumes. Hell, even my nastiest turds - foul enough to gag a maggot - don't smell half as bad as those bus fumes.

I cannot stress strongly enough my anger at the putrid odor those buses emit. I could write a 500 page book about the subject and use language to make a sailor blush, and it would not even begin to approach my feelings on this subject. I'd rather stab myself in the leg with a red-hot poker than puke.

But other than that, I like Trimet. A few minor annoyances in general (with the exception of the fume problem), but mostly a great company. And I like the name. I even made up a Goddess of Public Transportation and named Her Trimetra.

Is there somewhere on the Trimet website that has a listing of the latest times the bus arrives at a certain stop? There's no schedule posted at the stop in question. Specifically, the number 71 bus at 60th and E Burnside, to the Clackamas Town Center. Or if anyone knows the answer to this you can just tell me.

EDIT: Never mind, I found a schedule on trimet.org.