Chickens, eggs and transit

cindyn left this comment:

I've been given my very last option: If I can't start catching a bus by 5 p.m. from 9th and J, or at least the convention center, I have to start driving again. And I love being a "transitarian." My husband says he wants me alive, and that's it's not safe being downtown alone in the dark, waiting for a bus. I've got the mile walk home also. Financially, my company offers free parking or free RT pass, but I love trying to do my part to lessen my carbon footprint and the downtown traffic congestion. If others would also, I wouldn't be the only one at the bus stop after 6 p.m.

Between the chicken and the egg stands the ever weakening resolve of good intentions.

If Sacramento Regional transit offered more frequent service, especially outside the so-called peak period, more people would ride the bus after 5 p.m. Then women like cindyn wouldn't feel like they were putting their lives in danger by standing alone on a street corner.

But RT has no bus lines that run more often than every 15 minutes, and even the 15-minute headway routes fall back to half-hour or worse in the evening. Is it any wonder cindyn feels compelled to abandon the bus for the security of her car?

Having said that, I must point out the complicity of the city of Sacramento and the central business district employers -- public and private -- that make it so easy to abandon transit. As long as free parking is provided, transit ridership will suffer. As long as transit ridership suffers, RT's ability to expand service will be undermined. As long as RT is unable to become a more attractive option for commuters and others, transit will struggle to maintain even today's sorry excuse for service.

The problem with dwindling transit ridership is not the money generated by fare-paying riders. It is the community support that whithers when people see that RT offers nothing for them. Where will the support for new revenue to expand the system come from if more and more people like cindyn feel compelled to leave transit and return to their cars?

And it will only get worse from here. Next Monday, the Sacramento Regional Transit board will approve fare increases.

The Regional Transit rider motto

I admit it. I didn't believe I could count on a bus schedule with connection windows of less than 10 minutes. Not once, but twice the buses must run on time or I'll miss my final Amtrak connection.

So four days a week I board the bus and settle into a seat and read a book, each day growing more comfortable with the routine.

Oh, how I wish the return trip were as seamless. When the wife is available, she picks me up at the Amtrak station. That pretty much wipes out the gasoline savings from taking the bus to Amtrak in the morning. Still, we're managing to get by with just one car and that in itself is a significant savings.

My problem in the evening is that the trains and the J Street buses that could meet my No. 82 bus home start running on 30-minute schedules about the time I arrive on Amtrak from Oakland. If my morning connections are too close to be believed, my evening connections are too far apart to be tolerated.

So when the wife is not available my best option is to walk to where I can catch a Watt-1-80 bound train. If the Amtrak train is a little early, which does happen, I can catch a light rail train at St. Rose at 7:44 p.m. If Amtrak is on time or a little late, it's 8:14 before the next light rail ride. Worse, from the perspective of the wait, is having to watch the empty out-of-service trains roll by.

Once on light rail, I ride to the end of the line and then board the No. 1 bus. That's a fairly nice connection, as connections go, but the closest the No. 1 gets to my house is a little more than a half-mile. That walk wouldn't be too bad, except that the streets in that neighborhood have no sidewalks, which means walking in the street in the dark. It can be done, but only if it is the very last option.

Come to think of it, that could easily be the Sacramento Regional Transit rider's motto: It can be done, but only if it is the very last option. And with fare increases on the way, the picture is just going to get less appealing.

Thank you, Mr. Bus Driver

The Amtrak train is rolling out of Sacramento and across the bridge as I write these words.

Thank you, Mr. Bus Driver.

I've mentioned before my anxiety over the limited nature of my bus schedule. I take two buses to reach Amtrak in the morning. If I don't make the connection between the No. 82 and the No. 31, I don't make the train.

This morning I was buried in my book in the rear of the bus, but not so immersed that I didn't hear the bus radio traffic. The bus had just finished picking up passengers at the Watt and Wal-Mart stop when I overheard radio traffic from a bus driver telling dispatch that he had a rider who needed to make a connection with the No. 82 heading for 65th Street light rail.

"Did you copy that, eight-two-oh-one?" asked the dispatcher. I didn't hear what the driver replied. I was hoping maybe another No. 82 heading in our direction was being asked to wait. No such luck.

We waited and I worried. I tried to focus on my book.

Two, maybe three minutes later, an elderly woman struggled onto the bus, wrestling with her rolling suitcase. Once she was aboard, the driver quickly closed the door. As the bus pulled away from the curb, there was loud knock on the side of the bus and a shout for the driver to wait. The driver pulled back to the curb and opened the door to board one final passenger.

There's a certain rhythm that a driver normally maintains to meet the regular schedule. It's a matter of pacing. Driving too fast just causes the driver to have to sit and wait at the timing points. But when a driver is working to make up lost time, passengers can tell. The hard breaking into stops and the quick acceleration leaving stops literally hold back the clock.

I wasn't at all convinced that this would be enough. We still had to pick up the crowds of Sacramento State students who fill the bus to standing room. And then as the bus raced to the finish line, the driver took one final shortcut that told me the bus had a real speed racer at the helm.

Between Fair Oaks and 65th Street station, the No. 82 and the No. 87 buses follow the same route and make the same stops. Normally, the No. 87 is behind the No. 82. When the No. 82 turned onto Fair Oaks, heading toward the J Street bridge and Sacramento State, the No. 87 was in front, stopped at Cadillac and Fair Oaks. Our driver opted to skip that stop and instead moved into the left lane, adding the time saved to the total of his effort to catch up.

I have no doubt that the extra effort of the driver made it possible for me to catch the No. 31 and make it to my Amtrak train on time.

Again, Thank You, Mr. Bus Driver.

Now I'll go get a coffee in the lounge car and get to work.

* * *

Postscript: When I purchased my coffee and bagel, the attendant took my money and gave me my change. When the cash register finally coughed up the receipt, the attendant looked at it and told me, "Give me back that money."

Turns out Amtrak has a lottery going. If your receipt has red stars printed on it, then your purchase is free.

Must be my lucky day. I'm going to purchase a Lotto ticket now.

Giving the bus a chance

This is the third week that I've been commuting between my home near Carmichael and an office in downtown Oakland. By far the toughest part of the commute has been the point from my house to the Amtrak station, a trip of less than 10 miles by car.

The Amtrak Capitol Corridor train I ride leaves Sacramento at 7:40 a.m. On most days, I have been rolling my teenage son out of bed by 6:30 a.m. and having him drive me to the Watt/I-80 light rail station. The trip takes just five minutes. It's about a 20-minute ride to Saint Rose. From there, it's a 10-minute walk to Amtrak. I arrive with plenty of time to stop by Starbucks and get a coffee. Better yet, if I miss the light rail train that leaves at 6:44 a.m., I can take the 6:59 and still make the Amtrak connection.

But I don't like having to take a car to light rail. It's just not transitarian enough. I do have an alternative, but I've been afraid to use it.

At 6:28 a.m., I can catch the No. 82 and get off at Sacramento State at 7 a.m. I then catch the No. 31 to the Amtrak station, which is scheduled to arrive at 7:31. Total walking: Less than 100 yards. Cost: Free, courtesy of my student pass from the Los Rios Community College District.

But what's kept me from using this option is my experience with the No. 82. There's just a nine-minute window between the time the No. 82 is scheduled to arrive at Sacramento State and the time the No. 31 is supposed to depart. If the No. 82 has to pick up and drop off a couple of wheelchair riders, it won't arrive on time. If I miss the No. 31, I can't just go to 65th Street and catch light rail. The next train doesn't arrive at Amtrak at until 7:40, assuming it's on time. I would most likely end up watching the back of the Amtrak train as it leaves the station.

Today I decided to give the bus a try.

The No. 82 arrived at my stop at 6:28. Three women were already on the bus. By the time the bus arrived at Sacramento State, every seat was taken and seven people were standing in the aisles.

The No. 82 pulled to a stop at Sacramento State at 7:03 -- three minutes late, but six minutes before the No. 31 was scheduled. About a dozen people boarded the No. 31 with me at 7:10 a.m., a minute behind schedule. Twenty minutes later while riding under the Downtown Plaza, I looked up from my book and realized I was the lone remaining rider.

The No. 31 pulled to the curb at the Amtrak station at 7:33 a.m. -- two minutes behind schedule, but seven minutes before the scheduled Amtrak departure.

So it can work, but can I depend on it? After the No. 31 arrived at the Amtrak station, I asked the driver whether he has much trouble keeping to his schedule. "I've never been later than 7:35," he said.

I'm going to do this again. I commute to Oakland four days a week. Maybe I'll let the kid sleep in two or three days.

I miss the bus and the time it allows for casual reading. And obviously RT has missed me as well. According to the monthly ridership statistics, bus ridership was down 3.1 percent in August compared to August of last year. But as General Manager Mike Wiley always points out, that decline is actually an increase when you take into account the fact that RT cut bus service overall by 5 percent in January. Light rail ridership, meanwhile, was up 8.19 percent above August of last year.

But an interesting mirror image appears when you compare August with the month before.

Bus ridership in August increased when compared to July -- 1,392,000 million riders compared with 1,388,300 -- while 114,500 fewer riders boarded light-rail trains. For the first time in several months, more people rode buses than rode light rail.

This raises an interesting question: If the price of gas drops below $3.50, how many more light rail riders will abandon their park-and-ride commute?

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.

Back to school

You get a flavor of what living in a transit-friendly realm would be like when you ride to college classes. For a couple of years, I rode by Sacramento State on my way to midtown, joining the famously smart college students who realize that driving alone just isn't worth either the cost or the hassle. Now I'm going off in the other direction, to American River College once a week for a class in creating Flash animation.

The ride to ARC is ridiculously convenient. The campus is less than a mile from my house. If it were'nt for the sidewalkless and breathtakingly curvy Winding Way, I'd hike to school. Instead, I hop on the No. 82 and get off six minutes later across the street from the campus. It doesn't get any easier.

Today, I rode to school around 12:30 with a half-dozen other students. Two hours later, I rode home with a standing-room-only crowd. In between, I marveled at the sea of cars parked in the lots surrounding the campus. Hundreds and hundreds of cars. What a waste.

But, of course, this is hardly a transit-friendly realm. On Saturday, at around 1:30, I rode to ARC to buy my class books. Along the short route, I noticed people standing, waiting for the bus that would head back from ARC. On the weekend, the No. 82 runs just once an hour.

I arrived at ARC in time to make it to the book store before it closed at 2 p.m. I was back at the No. 82 bus stop by 2:10 p.m. All of the people I had passed on my way to ARC were still waiting for the return bus. I listened as a man shepherding three elementary-school-age kids praised the advantages of the shade and grass around the bus stop.

"Would you rather be on that hot sidewalk in the sun like we were before?" he asked the kids. No one wanted to be in the sun. But no one wanted to wait an hour between buses either.

RT's worst-case scenario at a glance

As mentioned yesterday, if California legislators can reach an agreement on the budget that limits cuts in state support to RT to less than $5 million, then a little belt tightening and the extra income generated by recent increases in ridership should cover the shortfall. Fares and service will be unaffected.

But if legislators give in to the governor's request to cut millions more, then the RT board will face several very hard choices when it meets Monday at 6 p.m. at RT headquarters at 29th and N streets.

Here are the fare increases that might be necessary:

RT staff have repeatedly said that service cuts should be the very last option, but if it comes to that, here's where the cuts would be made in bus service: (Click on image to see readable version.)


One other service reduction option is to reduce the hours some routes operate. The following routes would operate between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.:

People who don't want to see these rate hikes and cuts in service need to contact their state representatives.

Balancing RT's budget

The Sacramento Regional Transit directors will consider a cafeteria plan for dealing with the expected cuts in state transportation funding when they meet Monday, Aug. 25, at 6 p.m. at RT headquarters at 29th and N streets.

The board will be asked to give General Manager Mike Wiley authority "to implement revenue enhancements including fare changes and/or cost reduction measures including service reductions determined to be necessary and in the order approved to balance the [fiscal year] 2009 operating budget based on the level of reduced transportation funding in the adopted state budget for [fiscal year] 2008-2009."

The state budget proposal back in January included a $7 million reduction in RT's state transit funds. In June, RT adopted a preliminary operating budget of $151 million, absorbing that $7 million loss. But then the governor proposed cutting RT's state funding an additional $11.5 million. A compromise suggested by Assembly and Senate negotiators would restore some of those funds, but it would still leave RT with a $4.8 million hole in its preliminary budget.

Here's Wiley prioritized budget solution. If the budget compromise holds, the loss could be covered without a direct impact on service:

• An estimated $2.3 million of the shortfall will be covered by the fare revenue brought in with the ridership increases between April and the end of the fiscal year in June.
• By not filling current vacancies in RT's staff, the disctict estimates it could save $1.5 million in labor costs.
• Changing how RT amortizes its pension obligations could save the disctrict between $800,000 and $1.3 million.

But if the district has to make up more than $5.1 million, then Wiley proposes:

• Renegotiating fare and transfer agreements with surrounding transit providers could save $300,000.
• Elimination of free rides for Paratransit-qualified riders -- making them pay the same discounted fare as seniors and students -- would raise approximately $2 million in new fare revenue.
• Charging $2 to use district park-and-ride lots, with a $30 monthly parking pass available for frequent commuters. After taking into account the startup and administrative costs, RT expects to get $1.1 million in the 2009 fiscal year and $2.2 million in subsequent years.

These steps would cover a state cut of $7.9 million. But if the bottom falls out, Wiley wants to:

• Double the Paratransit monthly pass from $100 a month to $200 in $25 steps between 2009 and 2011. RT staff say the higher price will still represent a 50 percent saving for the most frequent users of the Paratransit monthly passes. The $25 increase will generate around $100,000 the first year and $200,000 in subsequent years.
• Increase basic fare to $2.25, the daily pass to $6 and a monthly pass to $100. (Since the Paratransit fare is set at twice the basic fare, it would increase to $4.50.) Increasing fares would raise $2.2 million in the first six months of 2009 and nearly $4 million in subsequent years.

Only if the district needs to find more than $10.2 million will service reductions be considered. Bus routes that operate at "less than 70 percent of passengers per revenue hour" would be eligible for elimination. As an alternative, bus and rail service could be eliminated before 6 a.m. and after 8 p.m. Or the frequency of bus service could be adjusted so that no bus route or train ran more often than every 30 minutes during peak hours. Open for discussion is the idea of ending weekend service.

Clearly Wiley and his staff have correctly prioritized how they will respond to state cuts. What transit riders must do is contact their state representatives to ensure that transit service is not damaged in the process of balancing the state budget.

Games of chance, dragons and bus passes

I heard the sound of tires locked in a skid before I saw the blue sedan fishtail and swerve into the curb. There was no mistaking the sound of the collision with something solid, something unyielding. The car bounced back into the traffic lane and came to a stop.

A young man, maybe in late teens or early 20s, hopped out of the car. Clearly agitated but apparently unhurt, he walked around the car inspecting the damage.

It's like playing a game of chance. Get in the car and spin the wheel. That game of chance is probably the No. 1 reason why I don't like driving.

I've been doing all together too much driving. The wife is still getting a feel for how much she can do during her chemotherapy treatment. This week she worked from home two days, but on three days I drove her to Rancho Cordova, drove home, drove back to pick her up and drove home again.

That pretty much explains why I really wanted to figure out a way to get to Exposition Boulevard and Tribute Road at 9 a.m. without driving. Unfortunately, as far as Sacramento Regional Transit service goes, the district map might as well say "Here Be Dragons." Buses just don't cross the Crosstown Freeway to service the office and commercial area that has been developing for the past two decades.

But Google Transit's addition of "walking" directions when traversing the realm of dragons has made "making do" with RT's limited service a little easier or perhaps more tolerable.

To get to Exposition and Tribute by 9 a.m., I took the No. 82 to American River College, where I transfered to the No. 1. The No. 1 dropped me off at the Watt/Interstate 80 light rail station. I road the train to the Royal Oaks Station. From there it was a 1 mile hike.

Google says the walk from Arden and Royal Oaks to Exposition and Tribute takes 16 minutes. It took 20 minutes for me, but I arrived exactly at 9 a.m.

While I was out, the wife had driven to the Roseville Road light rail station, parked the car and taken the train downtown. She got a ride home, which left the car for me to use.

The walk back to the train and train back to the car were uneventful. And then while driving home I was reminded why I really, really don't want to be driving.

I've been struggling with whether to buy a monthly pass or just pay cash. July was the last month I was able to get a discount pass from The Bee. Now, I'll have to pay the full $85, but I'm not riding regularly.

Today, I bought a $5 all-day pass. The full fare for my trip -- bus to bus to train and back by train -- would have been $6.25. For a monthly pass to be worthwhile, I'd need to take 17 trips like that.

Buy the pass and waste money? Don't buy the pass and worry about having the correct change?

I'm leaning toward getting the pass. I need to get out of the house (not counting driving the wife around) and having the pass will encourage me to do that.

Of course, if I could get a job . . .

Making ends meet at Sacramento Regional Transit

The staff at Sacramento Regional Transit has set the stage for an important discussion Monday over how the district will absorb expected state reductions in operating funding. Among the proposals sure to bring crowds to the board meeting is the elimination of free bus and light rail rides for Paratransit-qualified residents. Instead, they would have to pay the same 50-percent discount as students and seniors.

Without a state budget, RT can't predict exactly how much it will have to cut to make ends meet this year. The cuts proposed by the governor had RT looking at a shortfall of $11.3 million. Thankfully, a compromise is in the works in the Legislature. According to RT General Manager Mike Wiley in his report to the district board, "If the compromise budget is approved as written, RT will experience an operating shortfall of $4.8 million in (state) revenue in (fiscal year) 2008-2009."

That $4.8 million is much better than $11.3 million, but it is still a big hole to fill. Making things harder is the fact that the easy cuts were made last year, when state funding was reduced $14 million below what RT had budgeted. Making ends meet last year required cuts in service. RT wants to do everything possible to avoid more service cuts.

"Staff firmly believes and agrees that RT is in the business of providing service and not cutting service," Wiley told the board.

The one spot of good news in the report is the estimate that the increase in ridership generated by higher gasoline prices and the Interstate 5 fix have brought in about $1.1 million more in fare revenue than the district had budgeted.

That will help, but something else will have to give and first on Wiley's list of options for the board is the elimination of the Paratransit Group Pass.

"The group pass originated to provide a lower cost alternative for Paratransit eligible riders and their qualified care givers," Wiley explains. "The cost of riders to ride Paratransit is now $4, although the cost to RT is $60 per ride."

Anecdotal evidence cited by Wiley suggests that many people apply for Paratransit eligibility just so they can get the free RT pass.

A staff survey of transportation agencies found the free ride option is unusual. "Of the 20 transit agencies surveyed," according to Wiley, "only two, besides RT, offer free ridership."

As Wiley points out, while charging $1 is a big hike from a free ride, it is still a substantial discount from the $4 Paratransit charge.

Making Paratransit-qualified riders pay the same fare as the elderly will generate about $1.1 million in new revenue.

Another proposal that many will find annoying is the addition of a parking fee at light rail park-and-ride lots. Wiley is proposing a $1 to $2 fee, with the $2 option his preferred choice. Wiley estimates the $2 fee would generate $1.1 million, assuming a midyear start.

Wiley and his staff have found some staffing cuts, areas that he admits will cause morale problems, and a couple of options for stringing out how the district funds its pension. (This will not affect the actual pension benefits.)

And, finally, there's proposed fare increases. The staff has put together four scenarios. At one end, riders would see basic fares rising to $2.25, daily passes to $5.50 and the monthly pass going to $95. At the other extreme, basic fares would increase to $2.50, the daily pass to $6.25 and the monthly pass to $106.

Putting all of this together, Wiley offers two examples of how this could play out.

If the district needs to raise $5.3 million, RT could do that with the extra money from increased ridership, the end of Paratransit free rides, reduced staffing levels, a modest shift in the pension contributions and the smallest of the proposed fare increases.

If the state doesn't come through and RT has to make up for a cut of $11.8 million, then the real pain will happen. In addition to the other stuff, RT would institute the parking fee, increase the fares to the highest option, make an even more drastic adjustment to the pension contributions and reduce bus and light rail service enough to scrap together $6.6 million per year to achieve $3.3 million in fiscal year 2009. Wiley provides a number of ways to cut service to raise this money. (See this press release.)

It's time for more of those letters to lawmakers telling them the importance of transit and the reason why it should remain a priority for the state. The alternative is just too bleak to consider.

* * *

The public hearing will be held July 28 at 6 p.m. in the RT Auditorium located at 1400 29th Street (at N Street).

'What should I do?'

The wife walked the short distance from the bus stop to where I was parked. She leaned down and asked me, "What should I do?"

Each morning, I drive the wife to Watt Avenue, where she catches the No. 84 bus. She rides the No. 84 to the Starfire light rail station. She takes light rail to the Mather station and then hops on the No. 73 for the final leg of her commute to work.

In a perfect world, the wife would walk less than 100 yards each morning to the No. 82 stop on our street and then transfer to the No. 84, but the schedules don't align. Before I started dropping off the wife, I was more annoyed with this misalignment. Now I realize that several passengers on the No. 84 get off at the wife's stop when she boards and then wait five minutes and board the No. 82 when it arrives at the same stop. Of course, if the No. 80 and 84 ran on half-hour schedules instead of hourly . . .

Today, the wife had been standing at the stop for several minutes when the No. 82 came into view. There was no sign of the No. 84, which at this point was more than five minutes late.

"Take the 82," I told the wife. "You'll get to work a little later, but if the No. 84 never arrives you'll be even later."

As the No. 82 made the turn from Whitney onto Watt, the wife gathered her stuff. A half-dozen people were waiting to board.

The wife was the last to board. I watched her take a seat and then started home. As I pulled out of the shopping center parking lot I saw the No. 84 finally arrive. I called the wife to alert her. At the next stop, she got off the No. 82 and boarded the No. 84.

Back at the Watt and Whitney stop, two women now sat at the bus stop, waiting for the No. 82, a bus that wouldn't arrive for another half hour.

Noise-cancelling the wife

For the Fourth of July, the wife and I took the bus from our house to the shopping district at Watt and El Camino.

It's something of a challenge to travel during Sacramento Regional Transit's "Sunday/Holiday" service. Our normally half-hourly No. 82 bus slips to hourly, and planning a shopping trip around an hourly bus schedule requires a very relaxed attitude about when you will finally return home.

The wife started the shopping with a spree at Macy's in Country Club Plaza. Across the street at Office Depot, I answered with a purchase of noise-cancelling earbuds for my mp3 player. In between we stopped by Wal-Mart, Michaels and Bed, Bath and Beyond. We had planned to finish with some Chipotle to take home, but it was closed. We had to settle for La Bou.

It was while we were waiting for the bus home that I first experienced the hidden magic of noise cancelling technology.

The theory is easy enough to understand. Sound moves in waves with peaks and valleys. The earbuds have tiny microphones that sample the outside noise. By generating a counter wave, the outside noise is cancelled while, one hopes, leaving the music unscathed.

Seated on a curb in the shade behind the bus stop on Watt outside Woody's Restaurant, I tried the earbuds out. Sure enough, there was a big improvement. The earbuds promise 75 percent noise reduction. I have no idea if the results were that good, but the music was clear and the outside noise so far in the background as to no longer be intrusive.

When I looked at the wife I realized she was talking. I had to pull out an earbud to hear what she had to say.

The reason I wanted the noise-cancelling earbuds was for use on the bus. The few times I've tried to listen to music on the bus have been a real disappointment. The bus is just not a quiet place. This, of course, explains why it is so common to overhear what other riders are listening to. They have to crank up the volume.

When the bus arrived we took our seats and I stuck in the earbuds and turned on the noise cancelling. It was amazing how well it worked. I could still hear the bus noise, but again it was far enough in the background that I could easily focus on the music. And the more I focused on the music, the more the bus noise seemed to disappear.

When I looked at the wife I realized she was talking. I had to pull out an earbud to hear what she had to say.

We had planned to take the No. 82 bus to our house, but the No. 84 arrived first. The No. 84 gets us within a mile and a half of home, and we decided we could use the exercise of the walk to our house. In was after 6 p.m. and the weather was not too hot.

It was during that walk home that I finally realized the real magic of the noise-cancelling earbuds.

When we started walking, I put the earbuds in and turned on the noise cancelling.

When I looked at the wife I realized she was talking. I had to pull out an ear bud to hear what she had to say.

I put the earbuds back in, and when I looked at the wife I realized she was talking.

I tested this for a few more times. Sure enough: earbuds in, wife talks. Even after several minutes of silence: earbuds in, wife talks.

Isn't technology amazing?

Crushed by success

Sacramento Regional Transit is out with more good news:

As rising gas prices continue to fuel the perfect ridership storm, the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) hit another transit milestone -- three all time highs in the month of May. RT experienced its highest total ridership ever, setting system ridership records with over 3.2 million passengers. This record month for RT is the fourth in a row of total ridership being higher than last year, increasing by 8.5 percent, compared to the same period last year.

Last month, total monthly light rail ridership was 1,669,000 -- up 22.4 percent from May 2007. Light rail ridership has steadily increased over the past year and has now surpassed bus ridership for the second month in a row. At 69,000 average weekend light ridership is also at it's highest ever, this positive surge is most noticeable at RT's 18 free light rail park-and-ride lots where heavier use has many lots filling up earlier in the day. Commuters should not be daunted, as there is an abundance of parking spaces available at the Florin, 47th Avenue, Hazel, Swanston, Marconi/Arcade and Watt/I-80 light rail stations.

And then they drop a car.

Today, I was standing in the muggy heat at 16th Street waiting for the next Folsom bound train. There had to be nearly 100 people lining the length of station. Just after 5 p.m. I could see the train turn the corner into the 13th Street station. I counted the cars. Three! Not good.

I was standing at 15th Street, planning to ride the very last train. As the train approached 16th Street I walked to where the end of a three-car train would stop. As the train passed me I looked inside and stopped. There was no way I was going to get on that three-car train. It was already full. The doors opened near me and I watched as the crowd attempted to squeeze on.

That wasn't going to be fun. Since I didn't need to get anywhere soon, I waited for the Sunrise train. Peole waiting for Folsom were out of luck.

If RT is going to cut back trains, the half-hour service to Folsom doesn't seem like a good choice at the height of the commute.

Second Saturday on the train

So the wife and I took the train downtown this time. Last month, we rode the bus from home. But taking the bus means leaving midtown for home by 8 p.m. to catch the last bus home. By driving to the Watt and I-80 park-and-ride lot (about four miles from our house) and taking the train, we were able to stay much later. In fact, the last train leaves downtown after midnight.

I love the art on the side of the Convention Center at 13th and K streets. The late afternoon sun provided some dramatic lighting.


The Convention Center was hosting the 7th Annual All American Tattoo Festival. And, of course, that means a lot of bikes. I loved this bike.

The Second Saturday Free Shuttle was a neat idea. The shuttles ran in a circle around J and L Streets between 29th and 16th streets. Suggestion: RT should offer "free" rides in its "Downtown" service area.


Now you can't have an art walk without art that walks.

And, of course, Second Saturday isn't complete without live music. Here's a band playing next to the News and Review building on 20th Street.

Imagine that -- Hare Krishna without the saffron robes and shaved heads.

And right next to the Hare Krishna band were several Obama supporters registering voters. I found the juxtaposition amusing.


On the way to the train home, we walked past the Memorial Auditorium. This photo nicely captures the recent renovation work.

The wife and I had amazing good fortune with the train. We drove to the Longview Road exit on Interstate 80 without knowing when the next train would arrive. We parked our car and walked to the station and sat down. I got out my schedule and discovered the train would arrive in two minutes. The same thing happened on the way home. We walked to the Cathedral Square stop and sat down. Again, the next train was due in just two minutes.


When the wife and I were in midtown, we ran into a friend of the kid. He and his date had driven down. He said it took 45 minutes to find a parking spot. Even with the extra walk to get to and from the train, light rail certainly beats trying to park in midtown during the Second Saturday Art Walk.

Riding the bus

"Just you and me today," said the driver as I boarded.

I looked into the coach and was surprised by how big an empty bus looks.

Taking my regular seat in the first elevated row at the back of the bus I took out my pocket-size notebook and began drafting this blog post.

Yesterday the wife and I took the bus to the University of California, Davis, Medical Center. We boarded the No. 82 at the stop down the street from our house. The bus had a lot of people already and then, three stops later, two dozen middle-school-age kids and their chaperons filled every open spot. The bus was standing-room only until it stopped across from the bowling alley on Watt.

The passengers seemed to let out a collective sigh as the bus disgorged its bowlers.

Nothing like today's bus. It's summertime and the Sacramento State and American River College students who normally help take up space on the No. 82 are busy elsewhere. Still, by the time the bus reached Watt today, I had been joined by a half-dozen passengers.

On the trip to UCDMC yesterday, the wife and I rode to the 65th Street light rail station and then the train down to 39th Street. I had noticed the signs for the hospital shuttle at 39th Street before but never used it. On past visits, both the wife and I instead used the No. 38 bus. This time, however, I called the "parking" information number and learned that the shuttles run between the 39th Street station and the hospital every 20 minutes. Inside the hospital's complex, other shuttles run every seven minutes. And, best of all, they are free.

It was only after we boarded the shuttle and took the short ride to the hospital that I realized how close UCDMC is to light rail. We could have easily walked to the hospital that morning, but we were thankful for the ride in the afternoon after the wife finished her round of visits. We caught a shuttle from the Ellison Building to the main hospital. It was after 3:30 and we were hungry. We thought we'd catch a bite to eat across the street at La Bou. Silly us. La Bou closes at 3:30 p.m. And so does the diner just down the street. Not one but both eateries closed at 3:30? It's a conspiracy!

So we walked back to the hospital and caught the shuttle to light rail and light rail back to the No. 82. One of the "nice" things about having a weekday off and riding the bus on a monthly pass is the ability to get off, do stuff and catch the next bus. We got off at the Butano and Sam's Club stop and walked to the Michael's store. The wife bought some stuff and we walked to Panera's to buy some bread and, since we were now really famished, some sandwiches.

I digress here to give a cheer for the designer of the restaurant portion of Panera's. The shop offers free wi-fi and -- here's the treat -- power outlets at every booth. I set up my laptop and the wife and I checked our e-mail and had a relaxing and enjoyable break. Eventually we walked to Watt and El Camino to catch the next No. 82. ...

At this point, my notes from this morning's bus ride end. I had been busily scribbling while the bus stopped and started, letting people off and on. And then we stopped on Morse Avenue and I looked up to see a long line of elementary-school-age kids holding hands in single file, lined up next to the bus stop sign. After a brief negotiation between an adult and the driver, the hoard descended on the back of the bus, taking up every seat, including the vacant half next to me.

I tried to finish my notes, but it was soon just too distracting. The "indoor voices, please" lasted about -- oh, maybe, a bus length down the street. The kids weren't screaming, but each one had to talk louder to be heard over the other kid who was talking louder to be heard over the other kid.

So I put away my notepad and pulled out my book. I was surprised by how small a full bus looks.

Dear Mr. Transitarian

Here is my dilemma, my son, who just turned 15, finds himself totally annoyed with me for moving us all the way to the other end of Truxel (near Club Center & Natomas) from where we once were. It is too far to ride his bike and I won’t let him cross over the Interstate anyway because he would be killed dead by the crazy non-pedestrian respecting drivers in Sacramento at the entrance/exit ramps for I-80.

I told him he could take the bus from Natomas Blvd and be dumped off by Natomas High School, but then realized I have no idea how to do that. I can’t make any sense of the schedule. How would he go about this? How much would it cost? And, can he always take his bike and have it loaded on the front of the bus? Help me Oh Great Transitarian.

Let's put the bottom line up front: Dumb move on your part.

Sacramento Regional Transit is rightfully criticized for having failed to expand bus service as residential development has spread. Since RT took over for the old Sacramento Transit Authority in 1973, all of its "expansion" has been focused on light rail.

Today, RT has one bus route serving residents north of Del Paso Rd. in Natomas. That's the No. 11. And the No. 11 would be perfect for connecting your kid with Natomas High School -- if he wanted to ride during regular commute hours and didn't mind staying home and helping you around the house on the weekends. The No. 11 ride from Club Center and Natomas to Truxel and San Juan takes 16 minutes and costs $1 with a student ID.

If your son wants to get to Natomas High School on the weekend, he'll have to ride his bike down to Truxel and Arena Boulevard, where he can catch the No. 14 east -- which runs hourly between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. -- and then transfer to the No. 86 west at Northgate and San Juan. The trip will take 39 minutes and cost $1.10 with a student ID.

As for taking the bike, buses can carry two bikes. If a third bike rider shows up, he's out of luck.

RT's Web site at infoweb.sacrt.com and Google Transit at www.google.com/transit can help with specific times. But pay close attention to what Google offers for weekend options.

I've blogged before about its suggestion that the wife walk across Highway 50 for the final leg of her commute to work. If you ask Google for suggestions for leaving Club Center and Natomas at 12:02 p.m. next Saturday, May 31, Google Transit says the best option is to wait until Monday, June 2, and catch the first bus of the morning at 6:07. Bring a sleeping bag and a camp stove.

If anyone at RT is listening, the plight of the No. 11 bus in Natomas is still another good example where a little improvement -- evening and weekend service -- would go a long way to improve RT's image as a transportation service of choice.

What Others Say

Uneasy Rhetoric, another local blogger, has posted an appropriately scathing criticism of Sacramento Regional Transit's failure to reach out to commuters who will be inconvenienced by the Interstate 5 rebuilding project at the end of this month. Read his report here.

This is just one more example of RT's failure to communicate. A huge planned traffic tie-up and there's nothing on www.sacrt.com about it. Why?

I know from the RTDriver guy that RT is working on options for handling the extra load, including running more frequent light rail trains. And yet they insist on keeping this information to themselves.

The Natomas Buzz has info on the Natomas shuttle service during the I-5 construction.

This is one area where The Bee might actually be of some assistance. Check out www.sacbee.com/i5. The Bee plans to offer one-stop shopping online for info on the status of the work and ways of coping.

Yes, even on The Bee web page there's nothing about RT's plans other than references to vague plans to expand bus service. But if RT ever does announce something, one assumes it will end up there.

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 . . .

Second Saturday on the bus

Today was National Train Day and Second Saturday, the perfect storm for things to do in downtown Sacramento. Unfortunately, I completely forgot that the train festivities only ran until 2 p.m. The wife and I didn't board the No. 82 bus for downtown until 1:30. By the time we arrived on light rail at the Amtrak Station there was no sign of National Train Day.

So we were too late for National Train Day and early for the Second Saturday festivities, which run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nevertheless, we wandered around and the wife found all together too many excuses to buy things. By the time we headed out of town on the No. 30 bus heading for Sac State we had two full bags of stuff.

We had an interesting experience on that ride to Sac State. The No. 30 was running late, and I asked the driver if he expected to get to Sac State by 8:18, when the No. 82 was scheduled to depart.

"Not a chance," he said. And then he picked up his radio and called dispatch and asked to have the No. 82 wait for us. I've heard drivers do this before, but I've never requested it myself.

After checking with dispatch, the driver let us know the No. 82 would wait for us. We were very happy with that news. If we missed the connection, we would be sitting at Sac Sate for an hour until the next No. 82.

As it turned out, the driver was able catch up with his schedule enough to get us to Sac State before the No. 82.

Here are some pictures from the day:

We've come to consider the No. 82 as our personal bus, taking us from our front door to points across the great suburban wasteland of unincorporated Sacramento.

The wife waiting for the train.

You know you are old when you go into a "vintage" store and keep saying, "I remember that . . ."

I was fascinated by the wedding party I saw walking across L Street to take pictures on the Capitol steps.

...

Once we reached Midtown, we ran into a parade with floats . . .

And marchers . . .

And mayoral candidates . . .

And even group of drummers from Sacramento High

The wife and I are going to do this again. The weekend bus schedule requires that we leave before 8:30, but that still leaves lots of time to see some art, hear some music and have dinner. And, of course, the ride down and back on RT is "free," courtesy of our monthly passes. Not a bad deal.

The family that rides the bus together . . .

The No. 82 pulled into the Watt and Wal-Mart stop as the No. 84 was pulling away. I called the wife on her cell phone.

"Tag, you're it," I said.

Today, I had a dentist appointment at 8:30 a.m., which meant the wife and I would be on the bus at the same time, all be it different buses.

This morning, the kid took the wife to here stop and then drove to school. Meanwhile, I packed my stuff and put the dog out. I walked down the street to my stop. I had cut it close. The bus arrived less than a minute later.

From Watt until Morse and Arden Way, we traveled together on our separate buses.

The wife would love to take the No. 82 and transfer to the No. 84 in the morning, but the schedule -- both in the morning and on the way home -- has the buses running in the wrong order. Recently, however, we've discovered that on Monday and Tuesday, the wife can skip the reliably unreliable bus connection at Starfire and continue down light rail to 65th Street. Then I can leave work shortly after 6 p.m. and meet her at 65th. Together, we then take the No. 82 home.

The family that rides the bus together . . .