I just wanted to make a quick note about the PAT complaint/ commodation line. I sometimes hesitate to call and complain about things, but with the changes in the routes/ schedules if the 500 bus I need to take does not have a rack I have to wait an hour for the next one, and be late for work. SO I called this morning when it didnt have a rack and the lady on the other end was super nice, I think she even apologized to me like 5 times.
On a side note, the driver is new this quarter and seems nice so far. If I talked to him and asked him to check and make sure the bus has a rack, is this soemthign he could do in the am when he picks up his bus? Ie if the dispatcher gives him a non rack bus and he says to him....I have a guy who uses the rack do you think it will make a difference?
My old driver always had a nice bus with a rack, so on his last day I asked him how he managed this, and he goes "Oh, I just give the guys in the garage donuts !" Then he said he's found that he has to work with the low level guys at the garage, it doesn't work at the "supervisor" level.
Boy, knowing that, I suppose an occasional doughnut or 2 to the driver once in a while couldn't hurt either.
Is there currently a thread about the state of the rack-n-roll system? By this I mean with the ongoing TDP implementations.
Is the new 75 Elsworth part of it? The 64 Lawrenceville-Waterfront? The 59U was officially part of the system, so by phasing it out entirely does that mean its replacement, the 61D Murray, is considered a rack route?
I generally don't complain about what's "official" on trunk routes like to the Waterfront or along Forbes/Fifth because chances are there's enough buses that go by that even if one doesn't have a rack, you'll probably find one on the next one.
Though on the same token, shouldn't more suburban bus routes have racks seeing as many areas are only served by one bus route? In the 'burbs one wouldn't really have the luxury of saying, "oh well, I'll just wait another 5-10 minutes for the next bus".
Keep those cards and letters coming. For all y'uns new folks, I'm part of the Allegheny County Transit Council, the citizens' advisory board to Port Authority. We're independent of PAT, but we have a direct line to the policy makers. We try to avoid being involved in the hour-to-hour problems, but every data point helps.
As I said in another thread, about 175-200 of the 800 or so buses still lack racks, and at the rate of replacing buses, a bit under 100 a year, it'll be a while before they "complete the fleet".
Aside from certain heavy hauling routes using the big 10-wheel 45-foot 1900-series coaches, none of which have racks, most of the routes use the same 40-foot buses. A bus leaving the garage at 5:30 a.m. may start the day on a 71D, but do an 81B trip mid-day and finish the day running an 86A.
But as to Customer Service, yes, definitely do complain every time a rackless bus is dispatched on a rack route. They won't fix it if they don't know there's something to fix.
"Though on the same token, shouldn't more suburban bus routes have racks seeing as many areas are only served by one bus route? In the 'burbs one wouldn't really have the luxury of saying, "oh well, I'll just wait another 5-10 minutes for the next bus"."
Thats a good question, Im not sure how they decided which routes would be rack n roll, I assume they just tried to get some routes at least close to as many people as possible?
Im not sure how the long the program has been around and I wonder if they have a plan to reevaluate it in the near future?
Years ago, I looked at rack and roll.
Many of the highland park/morningside buses seemed to have them - even the minor, neighborhood "go-2-miles" buses - when nowhere else did. Left me thinking there was some seriously squeaky wheel living out there and that was key to the process.
stu?
Mick
The original thought was to focus on buses that traveled through high bicycle use areas (east end), and later was refined/expanded to include routes that cross or meet existing trails (Montour, etc). Ridership/use remained low, as there was still not enough racks to guarantee that you would see a bus with a rack in a reasonable timeframe. They have now selected key "rack and roll routes" which SHOULD have a bike rack on all buses. Of course, there are times when a rack equipped bus breaks down and has to be replaced by a bus without a rack, but you shoudl almost never have to wait for an longer than the NEXT bus. The Port Authority continues to seek funds to put more racks on more buses. They obviously don't have it available to take out of their own coffers right now. I don;t know how the TDP affects the rack and roll program.
TDP has nothing to do with R/R.
Paying for new racks comes out of any of several funding sources, when available. There also need to be white collar staff available to push the papers to make it happen.
Be worried about this not-tolling-I80 story. That will translate into service cuts and white collar layoffs.
Mick, I don't think your concern is warranted. The original 50 or so racks went on Ross and Harmar buses, so they could focus on those high-bike-usage areas, so 77DFG and 500 (Harmar), and 11D and 54C (Ross).
Now that about 600 buses have racks, I don't think they pay any attention to making sure the R/R routes have racks.
Stu, just a mere curiosity, would it even be possible to install bike racks on the older 80's era red & white model buses? I've yet to see this, so my gut says no.
That certainly is a pleasing thing to hear that virtually 3/4 of all the buses have them now. The 77 series routes to have the racks makes a lot of sense to me seeing as the Stanton Heights neighborhood specifically is one of the highest points in the area with some tricky road access.
Also, I actually have considered seeking out the Allegheny County Transit Council, possibly to become a member. I'm hesitant because as of right now I'm unsure of my living situation, but I've definitely considered getting involved with them.
Also, yes the I-80 tolling does indeed worry me. I think short term gas tax is the first logical place to start because if it's marginal enough I don't think it will affect people's driving habits as much. The state really has to look to consolidating government agencies, etc., and somehow find a way to lessen that deficit. Even after all that, I'm not sure some transit cuts can be avoided, unfortunately.
My only reference with TDP had to do with the changing of bus names/route numbers, etc. There used to be a list of rack and roll routes. I don't know if that has been updated to reflect the new route names/numbers.
The TDP does affect the racks to a degree. For example the 59U is a designated bike rack bus (meaning every 59U is supposed to be outfitted with a rack). However the 59U has now been discontinued. Where are those racks ending up now? Can we designate another route or do we just eliminate the 59U from our list? I don't think the Port Authority has figured this out yet. We will be in touch with them about this, and communicate everything we learn to you.
I know Lou Fineberg is speaking at ACTC in a couple of weeks. This would be a great time to raise the discussion of updating the R/R route list.
Another good question to ask (whether Lou asks it or I do is irrelevant) is a timeline for completing the fleet.
Impala26, about 1/3 of the 2600/2700s have racks now, but they're going bye-bye next, so there's no point retro-fitting them. They're 14 years old, well beyond their life expectancy of 12 years. The 5000/5100s are 11yo. I'd be more concerned with fitting racks to the 5200/5300s and newer, and the 3100-series artics, all of which are eight years old or less.
I like the legroom on the old red-and-white GMs.
@alan: Hah, yeah they do have a bit of a "coziness" to them, albeit older.
The 500 was rackless again this morning.......I called to complain and got put on hold, but the little recording said that you can register complaints online. I remember looking for this before, but could never find it. so maybe its new. It is much easier for me to go online with my phone and do it, rather than try to huddle next to a building to drown out the noise of passing cars and talk to customer service.
I've filed dozens of complaints online (link), and have not heard anything back about a single one. I've also filed a few "recognize great work" things online (link), where you can tell them if your bus driver was totally awesome, which also results in no reply.
Has anyone? Do they actually look at these messages, or do they just trigger and automated "we got your complaint" email, before they promptly delete the complaint? I always get the feeling I'm firing off my concerns into a black hole with their online thing due to the complete lack of followup.
They have a twitter account too, (link) which some PR people actually read and reply to, which strikes me as very cool. Unfortunately, if you ask them about a missing bus, late bus, no bike rack, etc. they just tell you to call customer service, since they don't have any information like that. Perhaps they should give customer service a twitter account too.
rsprake has a good email address to send complaints to. maybe he will share it with you if you pm him?
I filed a complaint online, about 2-3 years ago, when a trolley operator insisted I remove my bike, even though it was (just barely) after the evening rush period when they're prohibited. I got a phone call a few weeks later from a customer service person, assuring me that the trolley operator's supervisor had re-educated him on the official policy. I haven't had any such problems since.
Their complaint system, the last I knew, was using 1992 technology. I do know they log them, categorize them, and keep track of numbers. I also know that if you really do have a really valid case and incontrovertible facts (route #, bus #, payroll #, exact time/place, etc.), they will follow up.
ACTC's been on them for a while to do something about the black-holey-ness of the complaint system.
I have contacted Stephen Bland directly about my two run ins with a bus driver over the last year. He answered my second email and said he would look into it but it didn't go any further than that.
Stephen G. Bland
Chief Executive Officer
Port Authority of Allegheny County
(412)566-5311
sbland@portauthority.org
