This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on November 5, 2012 11:45 AM.
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A reader sends us a photo and -- can you believe it? -- a complaint about Tri-Met:
Take a look at the attached photo. This is a seat on one of the new MAX trains. Notice the white lip encroaching on what should be leg space? This is just one of many horribly designed features of the train. Probably half of the seats only fit people under 5'5". The train fits bikes well and stand up passengers. I feel totally fleeced.
It is to humble you, comrade. Humility builds strength -- strength that can be put to work in the service of our dear leaders in the West Hills. And so you must treasure that cramping in your lower extremities; it is the sensation of freedom from planet-destroying fossil fuels.
Comments (11)
One of transit's dirty little secrets is the fewer seats, the more people can get on the vehicle (standing up!)
TriMet will probably replace those perfectly good (if cramped) 400 series cars with the type 6 cars, before they retire their 17-22 year old buses that are mechanically worn out.
Incidentally, I drove alongside one of the new streetcars this morning at around 10:30, heading south, from the Convention Center to around the Hawthorne Bridge. 2 riders. Nobody waiting at any of the stops.
All the regular riders have a riding strategy depending upon the type of train. For this particular model, if I'm able to find a seat, I sit on the aisle. Having that ledge in the picture jab into your calf all the way downtown is nearly unbearable. This particular model has some seats that only a dwarf could fit into and are basically unusable. I believe these were the trains that Tri-met bought from the compnay that later went bankrupt. Not only are they uncomfortalbe, but they seem to breakdown more often than the older models.
This particular model has some seats that only a dwarf could fit into and are basically unusable. I believe these were the trains that Tri-met bought from the compnay that later went bankrupt.
Nope. The "Type 4 LRVs" are Siemens S70 models, made by that big huge German conglomerate Siemens. Basically a newer, "improved" version of the Type 2 or Type 3 cars. (The Type 1 cars were built by Bombardier, which at least is in Canada.)
The company that went bankrupt was Colorado Railcar, who built the WES cars. And they didn't actually go bankrupt, they basically shut themselves down and liquidated. Of course, not without TriMet taking effective control of the company for the last several months of its existence, with TriMet employees moving to Colorado to manage the company and pay the utility and phone bills and make sure payroll was being met.
I'm a long-time Trimet user, and after many strange happenings, I nearly never use MAX anymore. A bit of streetcar, but mostly buses. MAX just isn't right.
Old and smelly as they are, buses still seem to be safer (and less prone to total system meltdown). They also go a fair piece closer to where I want to go.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (11)
One of transit's dirty little secrets is the fewer seats, the more people can get on the vehicle (standing up!)
Thanks
JK
Posted by jim karlock | November 5, 2012 12:15 PM
The 400 series rail cars are real crap compared to the 300 series.
Posted by reader | November 5, 2012 12:32 PM
TriMet will probably replace those perfectly good (if cramped) 400 series cars with the type 6 cars, before they retire their 17-22 year old buses that are mechanically worn out.
Posted by Erik H. | November 5, 2012 12:38 PM
Great photo. You can practically smell the stale urine.
Posted by Allan L. | November 5, 2012 1:12 PM
Incidentally, I drove alongside one of the new streetcars this morning at around 10:30, heading south, from the Convention Center to around the Hawthorne Bridge. 2 riders. Nobody waiting at any of the stops.
Posted by Dave J. | November 5, 2012 2:02 PM
My Chevy 3/4 ton has all the leg room I need, without the bums, heroin addicts, and pan handlers. No thanks...
Posted by HMLA-267 | November 5, 2012 3:40 PM
I thought that was a litter box we were looking at....
Posted by john dull | November 5, 2012 3:53 PM
All the regular riders have a riding strategy depending upon the type of train. For this particular model, if I'm able to find a seat, I sit on the aisle. Having that ledge in the picture jab into your calf all the way downtown is nearly unbearable. This particular model has some seats that only a dwarf could fit into and are basically unusable. I believe these were the trains that Tri-met bought from the compnay that later went bankrupt. Not only are they uncomfortalbe, but they seem to breakdown more often than the older models.
Posted by ron | November 5, 2012 7:44 PM
This particular model has some seats that only a dwarf could fit into and are basically unusable. I believe these were the trains that Tri-met bought from the compnay that later went bankrupt.
Nope. The "Type 4 LRVs" are Siemens S70 models, made by that big huge German conglomerate Siemens. Basically a newer, "improved" version of the Type 2 or Type 3 cars. (The Type 1 cars were built by Bombardier, which at least is in Canada.)
The company that went bankrupt was Colorado Railcar, who built the WES cars. And they didn't actually go bankrupt, they basically shut themselves down and liquidated. Of course, not without TriMet taking effective control of the company for the last several months of its existence, with TriMet employees moving to Colorado to manage the company and pay the utility and phone bills and make sure payroll was being met.
Posted by Erik H. | November 5, 2012 8:21 PM
I'm a long-time Trimet user, and after many strange happenings, I nearly never use MAX anymore. A bit of streetcar, but mostly buses. MAX just isn't right.
Old and smelly as they are, buses still seem to be safer (and less prone to total system meltdown). They also go a fair piece closer to where I want to go.
Posted by Downtown Denizen | November 5, 2012 8:23 PM
I don't commute and I long ago learned to stand up when riding MAX. I'm 6'4" and none of the seats fit me, much less give me legroom
Should I file a discrimination lawsuit?
Posted by T | November 5, 2012 8:37 PM