Today was slow going

There was an accident on 5600 west that kept traffic moving slowly for quite a way. At about 31st south the bus driver was convinced to take it to Bangerter. I think we ended up worse off than if we had stayed our route. It was a VERY painfully long bus ride this morning. It normally arrives around 8:05 and this morning I got to work around 8:40. Yeah, not horrible but definitely the longest bus ride I've had yet on the 356. To compare this I could have driven and on a good day gotten to work around 7:40 instead. I did get some reading done and some podcasts listened to though. I'm saving the ride home for some programming I've been meaning to do.

Car to Bus to TRAX

I am the epitome of a weird bus traveler. I drove to a park-and-ride, took a UTA bus, and then transferred to TRAX this morning. I was surprised at how many people were on the TRAX train this morning and figured I'd never take it again. It was so crowded that people at the next stops down the line were unable to find room to get on. It looks like this wasn't a failure of UTA however, and simply an unfortunate early morning fire.

Time to add a new Bus to the Schedule?

Well, they shifted the bus schedule for the 327 by about 10 minutes. It looks like they should have shifted it the other way, or spaced them out more or added another bus. Maybe they should have done all three.

What say you? Do you think it's safe to stand while in a moving vehicle? I can see standing in a TRAX train but on a bus? No way. This should stop and when all seats are full passengers should not be allowed on.




It's just too unsafe and is a liability for UTA and Utah.

I Would Have Been Late

So, I was sort of planning on catching the 62 this morning and then transferring to the 327 on 6200 South. Well, I think I'm glad that I was running a little late and decided to drive to the park-and-ride instead. Generally I'm behind the 62 but this morning I was well ahead of it as I passed stop after stop along 6200 south with people waiting for their beloved transportation to arrive.

I have never been impressed with UTA punctuality. Generally they aren't really that bad, but sometimes you'll just get buses that don't show up, or buses that are 10-20 minutes late. I called a couple times and I was simply told that they are in normal operating conditions if they are up to 30 minutes late. I can almost get anywhere in the valley in 30 minutes. Why would I wait for a bus? Because most of they time they work out ok and I don't have to drive.

Bring in the Old

So, after driving to work the past two days, I've decided to try and take the bus more largely because I pay for a pass at work and because I am trying to save how much gas I use. I am back to using the 327 and driving to a park-and-ride to catch it. The difference between catching my bus at the park-and-ride or just catching the bus near my house is about 10 minutes difference. Even though I left my house about 8 minutes later than if I were to catch the bus near my house, the 356 ended up right in front of us as we entered downtown. So, it was quicker to go to the park-and-ride.

Tomorrow I want to try the 62 and catch the 327 at a park-and-ride, although it's more like a transfer since I won't be parking. I will then take the 356 home since it seems to do much better in the afternoon. I might just wait until 5600 West is not under construction until I take the 356 again.

What I liked about my commute this morning

Here is a list of things I liked about my commute to work in my car instead of the bus:

1. I liked listening to my podcast on the radio using my tuner card instead of lousy headphones.
2. I could merge where I wanted and wasn't being constantly cut-off by inconsiderate drivers.
3. I wasn't sitting next to anyone that was smelly - just myself, but that shouldn't count.
4. I got to go the speed limit I chose.
5. I could choose alternate routes.
6. I passed people that were slower than me.
7. I added to greenhouse gases without remorse.
8. I got to park in the parking garage.
9. I got to work in less time.
10. I only have myself to blame if my drive is lousy.

Argghh!! Lame Bus

I will not be taking the 356 again. It is too much of a pain. This morning I was getting to the stop late, but since there was a person in a wheelchair waiting for the bus I figured no big deal, he'll take 5 minutes loading and then I can get on. Nope. The bus driver didn't see the person and was almost to the corner where I caught him and told him he missed the guy. Anyway, after he tried to deploy the wheelchair ramp and determined part way through this that the ramp wouldn't give enough room for the guy to get on, he decided to pull the ramp back in and close the door -- Only the door wouldn't close for him. I figured he must be getting ready to do something but about 10 minutes later he still doesn't have the door closed. I decided that this was my stop and proceeded to go home and drive myself to work. I still beat the bus. Even on it's regular schedule. It's a sad park-and-ride route. Very pathetic. It needs to only stop at park-and-rides. It's still trying to be a bus for everybody, just making fewer stops than the REAAAALLLY slow buses used to. In fact, I can't imagine that the really slow buses are all that slow actually, considering average times of 65 to 90 minutes on this bus. Express bus? Indeed.

Protect the Gerbils!

I have thought about posting on this before, but this morning made me think about it more. When I took the bus this morning a person in a wheelchair was buckled into the bus. Right after that the bus driver seated himself and fastened his seat belt. I wonder when the Federal Government will make laws about buses having seat belts for passengers. Will this be before or after we lose a few passengers? Probably not.

My bus was slow this morning. I think the bus needed to have it's gerbils wakened as those gerbils were definitely sleeping this morning. I'll even bet those gerbils had seat belts on.

It was another new driver this morning as well. I wonder when they'll get a driver that is a little more permanent. Anyway, not my favorite day on the bus. It took more than an hour to get to work this morning (7:10 - 8:20).

A Very Pleasant Week

I sure loved taking my park-and-ride bus this week. I call it the park-and-ride bus because I drive 5 miles to catch it. It still beats the other bus, but with 5600 West looking like it's much closer to completion I'll be trying out the 356 next week instead. I might have to take the park-and-ride bus on Thursdays because I just have to have biscuits and gravy and the cafeteria closes at 8 AM. Anyway, not a lot to say except I have had a great week commuting even though I've had to drive. I get to listen to my podcasts and have enjoyed taking the last 327 in the morning. It means that I share a seat, but I don't mind and I like how I can get up and get all the important stuff done before I head to work.

My Stuff Needs a Seat Too

I didn't post yesterday because my camera wouldn't transfer my pictures to my computer. The IR link was not working and I didn't have time to reboot Windows.



My bus ride was pretty good. I sat down in one of the first empty seats because I figure that's my strategy for now; if I have to share a seat with someone then I might as well sit near the front so I can get off first :) One lady looked around to see if the bus was full probably because I hadn't migrated to the back. Her stuff was on the seat next to her and she appeared to think she should move her stuff if there weren't any other seats.


Another lady took a phone call; something that is sometimes a little annoying when you travel with a crowd of people. Some are respectful of others and talk quietly or not at all and others talk for many minutes at high volume. I wonder if they think it's their own private vehicle and they're by themselves.

This morning's bus trip was uneventful and I enjoyed catching the bus at my usual park-n-ride. It sure is nice getting to work in a decent amount of time. It matches driving or about as quick as I could drive it in.

So Hot!

It was sooo hot in our little bus on the way home. Apparently it was the same bus yesterday as well but luckily I wasn't on it. Isn't my life so hard? Here's a few shots from my bus ride.

It looks like 5600 West is still under construction and the giant sign that says "Expect major delays" isn't a good sign for a quick bus ride to or from work. I might just take my favorite park-and-ride bus the 327 until the construction signs come down.

The road looks like it will be really nice... I can sense the cars trapped in their single lanes just wishing for the double lane efficiency that awaits them.

And I took a picture of my laptop doing things while I was being driven to my house. It sure is a nice thing being able to program/read/(fill in your favorite hobby) on the bus while I don't have to worry much about what the bus is doing or where it's going (not always the case, but I like to simplify things). I'll have to see if I can capture a picture of a lady who trims, polishes and gives herself pedicure and manicures on the bus. Disgusting.

This morning's drive in to downtown was excellent. Ok, so the driver was going so fast I wondered if the Devil might be chasing us, or if his wife had called and needed him urgently. I guess I'll never know, but this driver knocked the socks off of any other driver we've had on this route for a while. In all fairness, I think that the quicker arrival time was mostly due to less traffic on 5600 West and taking I-80 instead of the 21st south freeway.

I was only able to get one picture this morning - I'm trying to get one of the UTA console. I'm not sure if they would freak out if I were to take a picture of it and this is as good as I could get with the phone I had.

Regular Bus Day

Today was a good bus-day for me. I have an early breakfast meeting on Thursday so I had to make sure and arrive to work on-time. Taking an express bus from a park-and-ride is one way that I found to be a very efficient use of time. I arrive to work over 1/2 an hour earlier than with the bus near my house. Overall drive time it takes about 50 minutes to get to work. It's now after breakfast, I've listened to my favorite podcasts and I feel ready for the day. Thank you park-and-ride!

How Disgusting

It's a good thing the bus wasn't crowded, because I would not have sat on this seat if it was the last one available - and it definitely would have been the last seat available. Is this just from rude people who think seats are for putting feet on? Are people so darn inconsiderate and illiterate they can't read signs? Do UTA bus drivers need to be more aggressive with these louses and kick them off? These images were taken on a UTA Bus on September 23rd.

Insanity

Sometimes I think it's pure insanity why people in Utah take buses. Either we're green as can be or we enjoy punishment. Many of the bus routes that are available are pretty lousy alternatives to just driving in. For instance, we have a new route on the west side that takes about an hour and 15 minutes to get downtown. It takes me around 30 minutes using a similar route. What makes this route bad? I think currently it's just how much construction is going on and the freeway entrance at 21st south is fairly backed up in the morning, especially during rush-hour when this bus decides to meander its way downtown.