Growing a transit lifestyle in barren soil

Riding Amtrak to Oakland today I started reading "Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking and Travel." The report on research findings was produced by the Transit Cooperative Research Program, which includes the Oakland-based Center for Transit-Oriented Development.

The document contains a number of findings applicable to Sacramento Regional Transit, none of which were particularly encouraging when one considers the state of RT service today and the dimming prospects for improvements in the near future.

For instance, the general consensus is that transit service headways of 10 minutes are ideal to support a transit lifestyle. None of RT's service runs that quickly, and only a handful of bus routes run every 15 minutes. A transit lifestyle grown in that soil will be stunted at best. Much of Sacramento's suburban expanse is a transit-oriented wasteland.

"A generally accepted service level threshold for (transit-oriented developments) is headways of 15 minutes or less during most of the day. It makes little sense to build TOD in places that receive only hourly bus service, as service is not frequent enough to make transit use convenient."

One interesting fact gleaned from the report was the finding that off-peak service improvements can improve ridership by as much as the increase in gasoline prices.

"In Portland, for instance, TriMet has pursued a strategy of improving off-peak bus service in its most dense and mixed use (i.e., TOD-like) corridors to expand its non-work trip market. From FY 99 to FY 03, TriMet improved service on 10 lines to “Frequent Service” (15 minutes or less all day, every day). On the improved lines, TriMet experienced a 9% increase in overall ridership, whereas ridership generally remained level for routes with only nominal increases in frequency. For the frequent lines, weekday ridership increased 8%, Saturday ridership increased 14%, and Sunday ridership increased 21%. Frequent bus service now accounts for 45% of weekly bus hours and 57% of weekly bus rides."

Imagine the ridership RT could have in today's high-fuel-cost environment if it had money to run buses later and more frequently. If nothing else, RT could start treating midtown as the nightspot it has become. Keeping the No. 30 and 31 running every 15 minutes all night on the weekends while extending outlying bus service past midnight would be a dream come true for people who want to leave their cars at home.

Another reason to ride the bus

I was heading downtown yesterday to buy the wife's July pass and then head back out to meet her at 65th Street. I've got to go somewhere to get my reading time in. I miss the regular commute.

Behind me in the bus was a woman completing some sort of business call, perhaps a sales call. Listening in I was reminded that July 1 marked the start of new law that says drivers must be 18 years old to use a cell phone while driving. In addition, drivers can't hold the phone while driving. There's no grace period. The fine is $20 for the first offense and up to $50 for subsequent convictions.

The woman behind me wasn't the only passenger using the time on the bus to keep in touch. Another woman in the front spent nearly the entire ride with her phone held to her ear.

So again the bus is better than driving alone. It's cheaper. You can read while you travel. And, now, you can legally chat on the phone, no matter your age.

Bus sponsors

So I'm wandering around the news feed from the Northern California Bus Fans discussion group and come across this photo:

I've blown up the part that intrigues: A bus with sponsors -- Exxon, City of Lompoc, California Energy Commission, Southern California Gas company, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.

Do you suppose they have any money left over to wrap a couple of Sacramento Regional Transit buses?

Bus fans

Now I thought I was a big fan of buses, but I'm just a piker compared to the Northern California Bus Fans. Their motto: "Dedicated to having fun with buses!"

Website

Discussion group

N.B.S.

So the wife got a whiff of V.O.T. on the way to work, but on the way home we got a chance to experience the odd delight of N.B.S. -- New Bus Smell. Sort of a new car smell, only larger. Well, maybe more new plastic than new car.

Anyway, I had overheard some drivers talking about the new buses arriving a couple of weeks ago but this was the first time I had a chance to ride in one. From a rider's perspective, the buses look like a polished version of the split-level buses already in the system. The wife and I rode home together in the back of the bus. I thought the engine noise was less obtrusive. The wife said, "What?"

The one thing I couldn't figure out was a device hanging in front of the windshield near the door. After pulling the stop request, I walked to the front of the bus and asked the driver, "What's that?"

"What?" he asked.

"This," I said, pointing to the device hanging inside the bus in front of the windshield.

"Oh, that," the driver said. "That's a television camera."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm not sure if it's going to hang me or save my ass in an accident."

How long do you suppose it will take before the Craziest Bus Crash Videos debuts on TV?

Smart Cards and Dumb Fares

Will adding Sacramento Regional Transit's dumb fares to the proposed "smart card" make the system stupid? I think it's a fair question, but no one at RT is willing to discuss the topic.

Back on April 14, the Marysville Appeal Democrat announced that the Yuba-Sutter Transit District had been awarded $80,000 in Proposition 1B funds to pay for its participation in the universal fare card being developed by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

"It saves a whole lot of time," Matt Carpenter, manager of SACOG's transportation and planning, told the Appeal Democrat. "If someone comes down from Yuba City to downtown, they won't need to carry cash."

Yuba-Sutter Transit Manager Keith Martin told the newspaper that the smart card would automatically deduct the necessary amount of money from an already established account, much like a debit card.

In theory, this could have some nice benefits, especially for people who commute across transit district boundaries. Just tap the card on the fare box and debit the card.

Here's how the system works in Hong Kong:

But just a cursory look at RT's fare structure raises a number of big, waving, red flags.

Take, just as an example, the wife's daily trip to and from work.

She boards the No. 84 bus -- tap the card, debit the account -- and rides to the Starfire light rail station. She boards light rail -- tap the card, debit the account -- and rides to Mather Field Station. She gets off the train and boards the No. 73 bus -- tap the card, debit the account -- and rides to work. And then at the end of the day, it's tap the card, debit the account; tap the card, debit the account; tap the card, debit the account, all the way home.

What's all that tapping of the card going to cost?

According to RT's fare structure, the price of all that tapping will be $4.25 each way, or $8.50 for the day.

Of course, no one who is paying attention today pays that fare. Instead, such a rider would buy a $5 all-day pass, which allows unlimited rides for the entire day. And if a rider regularly needs daily passes more than 17 times a month, a monthly pass good for unlimited rides can be purchased for $85. (Some employers offer discounts on the monthly passes. The state reimburses 75 percent of the price.)

So how would a smart card work with RT's dumb fares?

Over at SACOG, they are better about answering questions from the public. When I asked about how the “Smart Card” might work with Sacramento Regional Transit’s fare structure, I was told:

The governing boards of each transit operator, including RT, are the sole determiners of their respective fare policies, and how those policies are implemented. The Smart Card will not in anyway substitute for or replace those prerogatives. . . .

Somewhere in the bowels of the Sacramento Regional Transit administration are the green eyeshade types and their bean-counting abaci. These are the people who decided they could squeeze extra cash out of any trip that required more than one transfer. Keep in mind that no one would deliberately arrange their trip to require two transfers. No, this $2 penalty is only paid by people who are being poorly served by RT already. Anyone want to hazard a guess why bus ridership in not keeping pace with light rail?

The person at SACOG did offer this suggestion:

If RT chose to impose a ceiling on daily fares (for example, the price of a Daily Pass), the Smart Card will be smart enough to implement that policy.

But is RT smart enough?

In some imaginary perfect world, RT would say upfront -- now, before the system is in place -- that the smart card will not be used to hide the real cost of riding the bus. Instead, RT will promise that the smart card will max out when it reaches the daily pass value on any calendar day and stop charging during any calendar month when charges exceed the price of a monthly pass.

And while I'm holding my breath waiting for that, I will suggest that the increased fare revenue RT is currently raking in should be returned to riders in the form of discounts. How about free Sunday service? It's certainly not worth any more than that.

Here's another video example . . .

Surprise and disappointment on the bus

I worked from home for the first part of the day. I can access my work computer from home and do my job just as if I were at my office desk. The only difference is that someone has to walk the paperwork around.

At 12:30 p.m. I decided to take the bus in to the office. I was standing at the curb recognizing that the weather is going to be getting real warm real soon when the bus pulled to a stop and the doors opened.

I stepped aboard the bus, showed my pass and turned to find a seat.

I stopped and stared.

I've never seen so many people on the No. 82 bus. In the morning when I normally board -- 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. -- it's not unusual for me to be the only passenger for the next two stops. This bus route starts just a couple of miles away at American River College. On most days, there are maybe four passengers -- Sac State students and people headed to Wal-Mart on Watt.

Today was just incomprehensible. Two wheelchairs took up the front of the bus. That elminated seven seats, which made the bus look more crowded that it otherwise might have been. Even still, there was only one seat that didn't have at least one rider and nearly all of the seats had two riders.

I took the open seat and soon after a woman joined me. We kept stopping to let people off, but we were boarding more than were getting off. It wasn't long before we had people standing in the aisle.

Today, Sacramento Regional Transit posted a press release about increased ridership:

With gas prices at an all-time high, the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) is experiencing a dramatic surge in bus and light rail ridership. Overall system ridership has increased by 20.2 percent, compared to the same period last year.

While this is all well and good, I'm concerned that RT's bus service continues to do poorly. RT reports that light rail now carries more passengers than RT's fleet of buses. While light rail ridership is up more than 43 percent over last year, bus ridership is up just 2.5 percent. Granted, that bus increase comes despite a 5 percent reduction in bus service, but clearly buses remain a poor cousin of a system focused on rail corridors.

RT is happy to announce, "The park-and-ride lots at the Historic Folsom, Iron Point, Glenn and Meadowview light rail stations are typically at capacity during the weekday commute." But if RT were really meeting the needs of these riders, they would be able to leave their cars at home, not at a park and ride lot.

Yes, parking and riding is better than driving all the way downtown. But commuters who find lots full end up driving anyway and pretty soon they give up trying at all. Clearly, leaving cars at home should be the goal. For that to be even be a remote goal, however, requires that RT offer better bus service.

The bus to the hospital

Yesterday, I poked at Sacramento Regional Transit for its fixation as a mobility service of last resort and specifically for detouring every bus on Watt to Kaiser Hospital's Morse Avenue facility. Karma requires its due.

As the No. 82 pulled to a stop in the left turn lane on Whitney this morning, I looked up from my book, curious to see if anyone was waiting at the stop on Watt that the wife uses to catch the 80/84 buses. The only person in the vicinity was a young woman in a calf-length tan denim dress and black long sleeve sweater blouse. She was walking away from the bus stop toward Whitney as I returned to my book.

When the bus turned the corner I expected it to continue past the empty bus stop, but instead the driver pulled to the curb and opened the door. I looked up again. In the doorway to the bus I could see the woman who had been walking away from the stop.

"Do you go to a hospital?" I heard her ask the driver.

"Which hospital?" the driver asked.

"Any hospital," she said.

"I go to Kaiser on Morse," he told her.

The woman then stepped onto the bus. Holding a single bill in her hand she asked how much it would cost to get to the hospital.

"That's enough," the driver said. There was some more discussion apparently about her need to get back. After she inserted the bill, the driver gave her a daily pass.

"How long will it take to get to the hospital?" the woman asked.

The driver explained his route. The woman listened and then took the first seat inside the door. Clutching her daily pass in one hand, she watched intently out the bus windshield as we rumbled down Watt Avenue.

"Thank you," she said. The driver didn't hear her. She got up and stood next to the driver. "Thank you," she said.

At Kaiser, the woman got off, and the bus went on its way, most of the passengers heading off to school at Sac State, a couple attending the Winterstein Adult School. I got off at the end of the line in the 65th Street transit center.

As I was leaving the bus, I could hear an arriving passenger ask the driver, "Do you go to Kaiser?"

"Yes, I do," he said.

Modern Bus & New Technologies Seminar

Sacramento Regional Transit will hold a "Modern Bus & New Technologies Seminar" on June 3 at Sacramento State. A two-page flier for the daylong event (lunch included!) has been added to the Regional Transit Master Plan web site. Click on the image below to download the PDF file.
Unfortunately, I'm at a loss to find the additional information or details on how to register at www.sacrt.com, despite what the flier says. Still, this is the first update to the TMP web site since it went online in October, 2007, which makes this something worth celebrating.

Flying to the airshow on the bus

Riding the bus in Sacramento is sort of like living in a small town. You have your little mysteries and your neighbors and your adventures. Even on the weekend.

* * *

The woman set her purse and a package down on a seat and started rummaging for her student ID and money for the bus fare.

"Are you OK," the driver asked.

The woman looked up from her purse and asked, "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes," the driver said. "You have blood on your neck."

"Oh, that," the woman said as she walked back to the fare box. "That's from a long time ago. It's dry now."

She paid her fare and took a seat in the first row of the bus. As she walked toward me, I could see the dried blood on her neck. If she were a guy, I would assume she had nicked herself shaving.

She sat down and busied herself re-ordering her things.

The driver is a nice guy. His concern about an bloodied passenger is not unexpected. He's one of my favorite regular No. 82 drivers.

* * *

A young couple who regularly ride the No. 82 together boarded at the Watt and Chenu stop. They are twenty-something and quiet, but clearly attentive to each other. Today I looked to see if they wore wedding bands. I couldn't tell.

I don't know if the couple ride the bus because they enjoy the savings of not driving a car or ride because they have no choice. But they always appear to be enjoying themselves. They never seem disappointed that they have their time together on the bus.

* * *

The California Capital Airshow is perhaps the one thing everyone agrees Sacramento Regional Transit does well. At least in delivering people to the show.

I arrived at the 65th Street station and waited for the train. Normally on the weekend you would expect at most a two-car train. But today RT was running four cars on the Folsom/Sunrise line. And by the time we arrived at the Mather stop, all four cars were standing-room-only.

The light rail station was cordoned to guide arriving passengers to the buses they would ride to the airshow. I walked from the train right on to a bus. As we left the train station other buses pulled in. No one had more than a two or three minute wait to board a bus.

As we headed to the airshow, all of the intersections along the way had police controlling traffic to enable the buses to travel without delay. When the buses reached the outskirts of Mather Airfield, separate lanes were dedicated for the buses. We whizzed past long lines of traffic waiting to get into the show.

It would have been nice if something could have been done to reduce the long wait to leave. Perhaps having more than three buses board at a time. But the good feelings left over from the excellent arrival arrangement tempered any disppointment during the half-hour wait to board a bus.

* * *

And, of course, no weekend riding Sacramento Regional Transit is complete without the obligatory reminder that on the weekend you get half the bus service you get during the week, if it's available at all.

My No. 82, which runs on a half-hour schedule weekdays, runs just once an hour on the weekend. And that hour didn't align well with my return trip. But there was a bus waiting at the station that got me to within two miles of home, and I walked the final leg of the trip. I got home sooner than if I had waited 40 minutes for the next No. 82, and got some exercise to boot -- a transitarian success of sorts.

Turning RT lemons into whine

I'm sitting here with a half-dozen lemons that Sacramento Regional Transit gave me this week and I'm thinking: Lemonade? Or will it be lemon whine?

Today I misplaced about an hour of my morning. I'm not at all sure where it went, but when I finally discovered it was gone, I realized I'd missed my regular bus to work. And to make matters worse, Sacramento Regional Transit's block schedule hit me with a 15-minute penalty. Take that!

So I had a choice of waiting 45 minutes for the next bus to 65th Street or head for the Watt and Interstate 80 station.

Nice day. I need the exercise. I walked from my house to Auburn Boulevard to catch the No. 1. The No. 1 bus is amazing. It is always full. If only all of RT's lines had this many customers.

As the bus approached the light rail station a guy walked to the front of the bus and asked the driver a question. I heard the driver explain to the guy how to get to the train -- down the stairs, under the Watt Avenue overpass and there you are.

When the bus arrived at the stop, I joined the guy and about a half-dozen others who headed down the stairs. By the time we reached the bottom, we were stretched into a single-file chain. As the first person reached the edge of the light rail station he started to run. Then the next person started running. And the next until finally I saw the train and started running too.

Miracle of miracles, the train was still there and the door open when I reached it.

As soon as I was aboard, the train rolled out of the station. The guy who asked the driver for directions to the train was seated across the aisle and down a couple of seats. He was wearing an auto mechanic's uniform.

I settled into a seat and started reading.

At the Arden Way stop a bunch of people boarded. At the back door to the car I was on I could her a lady having a load conversation with someone who was boarding the other car. The door started to close on her and she managed to squeeze on. Inside the train, she did a happy dance in the aisle and then took a seat. She immediately started talking to the women around her. She appeared to know everyone on the train. Must be a regular crowd, I thought as I went back to my book.

When the train arrived at Cathedral Square, the guy in the mechanics uniform got up and asked the group of women across from him if this was the way to Florin Road. He was clearly worried, unsure. He spoke with a heavy accent that I couldn't place.

The lady offered that, yes, this train goes to Florin Road.

"Or you can take the bus," she said. "That's where I'm going. Why don't you follow me?"

The guy nodded appreciatively and sat down.

At the Eighth and O stop, the lady got up and started to the exit.

"Come on. This is it," she said to the guy.

He got up and followed her off the train.

So it's lemonade after all. Isn't that better than hearing me whine about how I had to drive to work not once but twice this week because I had an appointment after work and RT's skimpy service wasn't adequate for my needs? Isn't a nice tale of a veteran passenger befriending a lost new guy better than hearing again about the driver who locks her bus while she takes a break and then arrives late without so much as an, Oops, sorry?

Today's vocabulary lesson: APP AR

I want to write in the morning. All last year I was able to steal a half-hour or so before I started work and knock out something about the day's ride in. Now I can't, and I'm having some trouble adjusting.

Trying to be creative or at least coherent late at night just doesn't have the same feel.

Today, for instance, I jotted down some notes riding to work. Something like this:

vvv

Sometimes you get so deep into your personal world, so immersed in a book, that you forget where you are. And then you realize something is out of place. It is like waking from a dream. What's real, and what's the dream? A fog slowly lifts.

The bus isn't moving. That was what was wrong. I looked up from my book and quickly identified where we were stopped. It wasn't one of the route's timing points. There was no one getting off the bus. It was just me and the three other people who had been on the bus when I boarded. I tried looking outside, but I didn't see anyone.

Several anxious minutes passed with each actual second. Is the driver even on the bus? I couldn't see the driver from my vantage point in the back of the bus. Did she walk across the street to get a cup of coffee? Not likely, I decided. We were on the wrong side of Watt Avenue. Damn, this was weird.

But then, without a word, the driver put the bus in gear and pulled back into traffic.

I think I know what happened, and I'm quite impressed.

The other day I was reading RT's Glossary of Transit Terms and discovered something new. I was already aware of the concept of "Time Points":

A designated location and time that a bus or LR vehicle can arrive before -- but not leave earlier than -- the stated time as indicated in the route schedule.

Often in the evenings, the buses will spend several minutes at timing points, waiting to catch up with the schedule.

What I discovered in the glossary was the concept of APP AR

An abbreviation for "approximate arrival" time point. RT's operating policy permits driver discretion to depart these time points up to three minutes earlier than specific time noted in the schedule.

This rule, of course, explains why RT drivers and the 321-BUSS people warn riders that you have to be at a stop a minimum of three minutes early if you want to be sure to catch the bus.

In the little more than a year I've been riding to and from work, I've never had a driver invoke the APP AR rule. I've had a driver stop outside a Starbucks and rush in and out with a coffee. I've had more than one driver stop and rush into a convenience store to get a snack or a soda. I've had drivers take potty breaks. But never have I experienced waiting to catch up with the APP AR.

I've decided this is one really dedicated driver.

Farting around with the guys

The guy who chases co-eds isn't going to like this news from the Associated Press:

MEXICO CITY - Groping and verbal harassment is an exasperating reality for women using public transportation in this sprawling capital, where 22 million passengers cram onto subways and buses each day. Some men treat women so badly that the subway system has long had ladies-only cars during rush hour, with police segregating the sexes on the platforms.

But that hasn't helped women forced to rely on packed buses, by far the city's most-used form of public transportation — until this week.

Acting on complaints from women's groups, the city rolled out "ladies only" buses, complete with pink signs in the windshields to wave off the men. ...

On Thursday, passengers on one of the female-only buses spent most of their trip down the capital's tree-lined Reforma Avenue chatting or putting on makeup, instead of fighting off unwanted male attention. ...

Women-only buses or subways have been rolling for years in India, Brazil, Japan and other countries. Mexico City finally took the action as part of a growing responsiveness to complaints about discrimination against women, Montiel said. ...

Some women, like Maria Elena Sanchez, have learned to take matters into their own hands. A 47-year-old office messenger who uses public transportation all day, said she carries a sewing pin for protection.

"I always carry the pin so I can defend myself from abusive men," she said — adding that she's had to use it twice this month alone.

Traveling only with women, she said, makes her feel more secure and allows her to relax a bit on the way to work.

"I don't think I will use the pin on these buses," she said, giggling.

Having watched the way the guy who chases co-eds annoys women, I can sympathize with the idea. But I'm wondering about the other buses.

"Chatting or putting on makeup, instead of fighting off unwanted male attention" is how the reporter describes the women-only bus scene. What does the guys-only bus look like?

Are the guys horsing around, snapping towels at each other? Are they singing their favorite soccer team's song? Is there a lot of farting and belching?

Can there be any civilization without women on the bus?

If you haven't got something nice to say . . .

Friday night I was looking forward to a quiet, uneventful transit experience to match my quiet, uneventful morning commute. I figured that after all the bad vibes I've been spreading, the least I could do was show that most commutes are just quiet and uneventful. Ride transit; save the world.

At 6:35 p.m. I was ready to start home. My ideal train connections are on the hour and the half-hour, which leaves me enough time to walk to the station. So it wasn't a good time for catching the train, but there's a bus that stops in front of my office building at 6:46 and goes all the way to 65th Street station. The hitch: It takes the same length of time as if I waited at my desk until 7 p.m. and then walked to the train. Friday night, I was tired and I didn't want to sit at my desk for another 15 minutes. I decided to take the bus and use the extra time to read.

I was standing in front of my building at 6:41 p.m.

I was standing in front of my building at 6:46 p.m.

I was standing in front of my building at 6:55 p.m.

And then I walked around the block to the 23rd Street light-rail station and caught the train to 65th Street.

I have no idea what happened to the No. 38 bus that was supposed to arrive at 21st and Q streets at 6:46 p.m. But when I got to 65th Street, there was a No. 38 parked off where drivers leave their buses when they are on a break.

And since the No. 82 driver had locked up the bus and left on break, I had the opportunity to stand around in the cold for 10 minutes thinking about Sacramento Regional Transit customer service. Yes, the bus driver was following the rules. That makes me feel sooooo much better.

Tonight, I figured if I couldn't say something nice about commuting by bus, I'd say something nice about panhandling.

Local comedian Keith Lowell Jensen has made something of a career out of answering the question: Can you make a real living panhandling? Now, he has finished a movie about his experience. It is called "Why Lie I Need A Drink."



The world premier will be March 7th at the Crest Theater. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; the film starts at 8:30 p.m. You can purchase tickets online here. Or buy advance from the Crest and pay no service fee. Call 44-CREST. Tickets are $2 more if purchased the day of the premier.

Why lie, it's a free ad for the guy...

Visit www.WhyLieINeedADrink.com

An alternative at 65th Street

While I was watching two blind RT customers being left behind by the light rail train at the 65th Street Station on Tuesday, Sacramento City Councilmen Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty were across the street at the SMUD auditorium listening to constituents discuss "traffic, light rail, buses and other transportation types with members of your neighborhood." Coffee and cookies were promised.

I hate to miss out on free cookies. However, it's probably best that I didn't go because it wasn't until after I watched the blind woman run across Q Street in her valiant attempt to catch the train that I realized there is a simple way to improve safety and perhaps reduce the number of times riders are left behind.

Below is a aerial view of the intersection of Folsom Boulevard and 65th Street and the transit center to the south.


Currently, buses arriving from the west, east and north enter the 65th Street Transit Center from Folsom Boulevard using an unnamed side street a half-block east of 65th Street. The buses then wend their way around the bus lot to their designated stops. The blue line shows the route taken by buses arriving from Sacramento State.

Having the buses offload passengers at the bus stop invites riders transferring to light rail to jaywalk across Q Street.

Beyond the jaywalking hazard, this meandering course is particularly unkind to passengers on those occasions when the bus enters the center just as the train is rolling into the station. More often than not, passengers hoping to catch the train will instead watch it depart before the bus comes to a stop or, worse, run for the train but arrive too late.

The red line shows my suggested alternative route. These buses would use the left turn lane off 65th Street to enter Q Street, where they would stop adjacent to the light rail station. The green line illustrates the bus entering the transit center to pick up riders.

Wednesday morning, the No. 82 bus I rode to work took two blind gentleman to the 65th Street station. One man was headed downtown on the train, and the other was making a bus connection. Wednesday, the blind man headed for the train had to make his way alone across Q Street. With my alternate routing, he could have been dropped off at the station and the other blind man dropped off where the bus picks up passengers.

Beyond this safety issue, this change might -- maybe, perhaps, if RT really does care about riders and isn't just pretending -- make it possible to better coordinate buses and light rail.

As things work now, the train operator can't be expected to know what's going on across Q Street in the bus center. But if the buses dropped off passengers right next to the station, then even a cursory glance at the side-view mirrors outside the cab would reveal people hurrying to the train.

I made this suggestion to RT and got this back:

Thank you for contacting Regional Transit. An Passenger Service Report has been filed with our Planning Department with your comments and suggestion. Reference number 07-1409 has been assigned to your PSR. The appropriate supervisor will review your comments and suggestion within a reasonable time from receipt.

Do you suppose I can hold my breath a reasonable time from receipt?

RT's blind customer service

I wonder sometimes about the operators of the light rail trains, isolated in their cabs, separated from the people they are transporting. Are they deliberately mean, or just uncaring?

Last night, the No. 82 bus pulled into the 65th Street transit center just as the light rail train headed toward downtown was entering the station. It was 6:32 p.m.

In the bus, I could see two people standing in the door. I've been there. You are on the bus and you see the train pulling into the station, and you are wondering if you will have time to run from the bus and across Q Street to the train before the train doors lock.

Only tonight the two anxious bus riders couldn't see the train. They were blind.

When the bus came to a stop and the front door opened I immediately recognized the blind twenty-something blonde co-ed wearing a gray Sacramento State sweatshirt. I've seen her several times on the bus between Sacramento State and light rail.

The woman bounded from the bus in a remarkable display of sightless prowess. She quickly negotiated the step off the curb onto Q Street and then raced across the street, waiving her cane to warn when she reached the other curb.

I watched in amazement as she flew through the station to the train in time to open the car door. Only then, as she stood partway in the doorway, did I realize that there was a young blind man following her. He was clearly not as sure of himself as he cautiously made his way across Q Street tapping with his cane.

As I boarded the bus I heard the woman yell for the man to hurry. Everyone on the bus stopped to watch what was happening at the train.

Just as the man reached the woman, the train doors closed. The woman pushed the unresponsive door button several times.

The mechanical voice of the train announced the train was departing. Bells chimed and the running lights flashed. Then the train rolled away, leaving the blind woman and the blind man behind.

Later, as our bus was about to head out onto 65th Street, we crossed paths with the blind couple. They were walking together away from the station.

"Man, I got them there in time, but they missed the train," the driver lamented out loud.

The driver wasn't the only person on the bus disappointed by Sacramento Regional Transit that night.

Missing my bus

"I am not allowed to call the dispatcher until the bus is 15 minutes late."

I've worked with computers for many years and even dabbled in programming. When a computer reports that information I am requesting is unavailable, I don't argue. But it just seems more personal when a guy at the other end of the 321-BUSS line tells me he can't explain what's become of my missing ride to work.

It's 8:20 a.m. The No. 82 bus was scheduled to leave American River College at 8:04 a.m. It is just 2.2 miles from the route's starting point to my location at the Engle and Miradera bus stop. The next stop up the street is the first timing point. The No. 82 was supposed to reach that stop eight minutes ago.

What I want to know is whether the bus is delayed or simply not coming. For all I know, some accident or road construction nearby could have forced a rerouting of all of the No. 82s. I have a reason for needing some information.

I really don't like 321-BUSS. I hang up, and check my schedule to decide when the bus will be a full 15 minutes late.

At 8:27 I call 321-BUSS. A recorded voice tells me my wait time will be -- pause for effect -- one minute. And I wait. And I hate that hold music. And I wait.

At 8:33 a woman comes on the line and I explain that the No. 82 is now more than 15 minutes late. She disappears for a moment and then returns:

"That coach broke down," she says. "So you will have to catch the next one at 8:42."

There's no bench where I've been standing since 8:08, so I decided to walk the three-tenths of a mile to the next stop. I keep looking over my shoulder, fearful that a rogue bus will overtake me.

As I approach the stop I can see an obviously anxious bus rider waiting at the stop. She's pacing back and forth as I approach.

"Did you see a bus?" she asks.

"It broke down," I explain. "The next bus should be along at 8:42."

"I need to be somewhere," she complains. "I've been here since 7:30 a.m."

As we were talking the No. 82 bus arrived two minutes early.

I started taking the bus on Feb. 1 of this year. I've taken the bus to work every day that I've worked with one lone exception when it was necessary to haul my son's moped to a garage in midtown.

The bus has never been more than a few minutes late.

One breakdown in so many rides is a pretty good percentage, maybe even admirable and worthy of praise. The guy who answers my e-mails to CAD@sacrt.com, says that Sacramento Regional Transit averages about 509 bus runs on each weekday. Since Aug. 14, just 10 buses have broken down due to mechanical reasons.

You could even argue that if I had driven to work all of those days, I would have experienced at least one day when a traffic tie-up delayed me at least a half-hour.

But when your commute relies on someone else, you feel more vulnerable, the everyday slights just hurt more. Sort of like talking to a guy at 321-BUSS who insists he can't call dispatch and find out what became of my bus until it is at least 15 minutes late.

The "beeping" bus

The No. 82 bus I take to work is never late.

Today it was late.

When the bus finally arrived, I boarded and took my customary seat in the first elevated row in the rear of the bus. The driver was talking on a phone. Since drivers don't normally chat with friends while driving the bus, the phone in the driver's hand was suspicious.

Eventually the driver put the phone away and drove to the next stop. The bus pulled to the curb, the doors opened and then everything went black.

Well, the lights went off inside the bus as the driver shut down the coach.

The driver was busy with stuff in front of him but he wasn't going to bother his passengers with the finer details of what was going on. Sort of like a doctor who is trained not to say "Oops!" during a surgery.

After more than one passenger inquired about the delay, the driver finally explained:

"We have an emergency flashing. If we don't correct it, we'll have fifteen thousand police surrounding us."

When a passenger suggested we could all participate in a re-creation of the movie "Speed," the driver said, "No, we don't want that."

The passengers were disappointed at the lost opportunity to make an exciting movie of their commute, but then the bus started and we were on our way, leaving the disappointment behind at the stop.

Then the bus went, "Beep-beep, beep-beep."

The driver's fingers responded with a choreographed sequence of pokes at the bus computer touchscreen.

In the early space explorations, animals were sent into orbit and monitored. In order to tell what effect the trip was having on the animal, they were trained to pull a certain lever when a light came on. If they answered correctly, they were rewarded with a treat.

The driver took his treat -- silencing the beeping bus -- and we continued on.

Back at the Sacramento Regional Transit's operations center, the progress of the bus and its driver were logged, and fifteen thousand police were told to stand down.

A modest proposal

Wherein the author offers a Swift idea for enticing more people to ride Sacramento Regional Transit.

With a special thanks to History from 1729 to 1954.

* * *

It is a melancholy object to those who drive alone through this great town or travel in the county when they see "pretty scary folk; gang member looking people; smelly street people; intoxicated/drugged up people" on a bus or riding light rail.

I think it is agreed by all parties that the prodigious number of "those people" is in the present deplorable state of the region a very great additional grievance; and, therefore, whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of coping with the problem posed by "those people" would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the region.

As to my own part, I shall now humbly propose my own thought, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

Our nation was founded on the principal that all men of property were created equal, and the right to make property of men (and women and children) was every bit as necessary to the well-being of our nation's economic vitality as ownership of cows and goats.

Today, we face a global environmental catastrophe that can only be met by a shared sacrifice by all of Earth's inhabitants. Something must be done, and I propose a modest proposal necessary so that more people will choose to ride Sacramento Regional Transit. As I have said before (see this article), choice-riders are the key to our salvation.

Clearly, we cannot ask people who already pay a hefty financial premium in order to separate themselves from "those people" to leave their personal vehicles behind in their gated communities without some effort to ease the discomfort they must necessarily experience when once again forced to acknowledge the inconvenient existence of "those people."

To create more choice-riders we must go back to our historical roots, to the original thoughts of our founders.

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court established the justice of "separate but equal" and in that ruling will we find the answer. The majority of the court rejected the view that a law requiring separation implied any violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Instead, it contended that the separation was only a matter of public policy.

By going back to our founding principals, we can make it possible for more people to become choice-riders of transit.

Here's a copy of the model for this proposal:

It only takes a few very cosmetic changes to see the beauty of this proposal:

Separation of riders -- Required

Every person operating a bus line in the city shall provide equal but separate accommodations for choice-riders and "those people" on his buses, by requiring the employees in charge thereof to assign passengers seats on the vehicles under their charge in such manner as to separate the choice-riders from "those people," where there are both choice-riders and "those people" on the same car; provided, however, that "those people" who are nurses in charge of choice-rider children or sick or infirm choice-riders, may be assigned seats among the choice-riders.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the operators of such bus lines from separating the riders by means of separate vehicles if they see fit.

Were it not for the misguided opinions of a noisy rabble, this system would still be in effect today in many parts of this country and transit would still be a choice for more than just "those people."

I think the advantages by the proposal which I have made are obvious and many, as well as of the highest importance.

The fate of transit riders

"Oh, you dirty dog," said the driver

Everyone on the bus agreed. I certainly did.

The No. 82 morning run started out slowly and ended in a rush, and I'm wondering which shade of Pollyanna lipstick to apply to this pig.

There was just one rider when I boarded the bus. Did the other regular riders know something I didn't? I always feel as if I'm not being told everything. But stop by stop the bus added more passengers and that was comforting.

And then the bus stalled.

Dead. The driver was attempting to leave the Watt and Kings Way stop. There was at most a minute of collective silence as everyone on the bus held their breath, and then the bus roared back to life and we were on our way again.

OK. Better than the mystery door problem. And this bus didn't have the screaming alarms that the newer buses sound when they lose power.

The bus made it around the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club complex and past Kaiser Hospital. Everything was looking just fine. Every seat had at least one rider and the guy who chases co-eds had found a co-ed who didn't immediately try to toss him into the aisle.

And then the bus stalled.

This is where the "dirty dog" comes in. The driver's mike was live when the bus stalled just before the Morse and Northrop intersection. Those of us who had been on the bus for the first stall crossed our fingers, chanted magical spells under our breath and generally held good thoughts in the hope that this would influence the unhappy transit gods.

The bus started. An audible sigh was heard over the roar of the engine.

Stalling twice and filling up with Sacramento State students was having a measurable effect on the ability of the driver to keep the bus on its schedule. By the time we were stuck in traffic at the entrance to Sac State, we were late enough to watch the No. 30 bus departing for downtown. There went my first option for getting to work. I comforted myself with the knowledge that the bus still had time to catch the regular light rail train if all went well.

And then the bus stalled.

We were in the bus-only lane about to turn into the bus stop at Sac State. All of the students got out of their seats. Either the bus started or the passengers were going to storm the exits. Fortunately, the bus started.

I didn't look at my watch. I was resigned to my fate. Getting anxious about whether we would make the light rail connection would, at best, be a waste of time. I went back to my book. I did my best not to worry when the bus stopped and let off a passenger on its way to 65th Street. I was even getting a little -- just a little -- optimistic when we managed to arrive at the bus park at 65th Street light rail station. But as we approached the No. 82's bus stop, we could see the train pulling into the station. This would be close.

Everyone was up and crowding the exit. The bus doors opened as the train came to a stop. I dashed down the stairs and across the street that separates the buses from the train station. I ran to the train in time to open the door. For my good deed of the day, I stood in the doorway to prevent the train from leaving so that an elderly man dragging a piece of luggage would have time to board. Once he was on, I cleared the door and found a seat.

So my Pollyanna persona suggests it was a good day. I made my connection. But the realist wonders about the role of fate in the grand transit scheme of things.

Some days you ride the bus, and some days the bus rides you.