A Blister in the Sun....

One of my resolutions for this the 2009th year of our Jewish subjugation was to get more in touch with my inner musician which I formerly engrossed myself during formative years.

Like any proper suburban adolescent, I loathed the KSFM swill that was popular in my Cordova High years, but as I’ve grown more detached from it, I’ve realized the special comfort inherent in surrounding yourself with that which you despise to the core. Though my fortunes have been whirling downward of late, it centers me to know that there are still plenty of reasons to hate the world. This retrospective yeast started brewing back in October, whilst listening to Sacramento radio I realized that the only songs I recognized were the ones in heavy rotation at Centerfolds.

So, in between Steel Reserve swilling and chain smoking, I spent a large part of the holiday break burning the retina in my eyes and squeezing the blood from my ears watching MTV and VH1, and listening to podcasts of all paths in an attempt to re-discover what “the kids are saying is hip,” and though I’m a better neo-pornographer than music critic, I came to at least one important conclusion during this time: we must bring back the New Kids on The Block.

It might surprise some of you to know that I was the world’s oldest, hairiest, penis-toting New Kids on The Block fan, but before you get your thong in a knot and begin questioning my bulletproof heterosexuality, allow me to explain.

Yes, I owned a copy of the New Kids on The Block epic self-titled debut, and yes, I clotheslined more than a few 12 year-old girls in a scramble for their follow-up, Hangin Tough. I also accompanied a large bottle of Jaegermeister one opening-night show at the old Arco, and was unceremoniously ejected from said arena for disorderly conduct.

But what makes The New Kids on The Block infinitely more tolerable than the latest crop of bubblegum throwaway bitch-pop artists is that they embraced their worthless musical contributions instead of masquerading as real artists. 98 Degrees, I’m talking to you.

So now, after we swallow a gooey load of regurgitated Michael Jackson riffs, we aren’t even rewarded with a look at Ginger’s floating HRM McTitterson money-shot carriers or Britney’s lycra-wrapped roast beef – only some whiny mallrat whose managers spend $200,000 a year to make them look like they just walked out of a thrift store.

Call a spade a fucking spade, people -- if you’re going to sell the souls of nubile young people for platinum records, at least give us, the record-buying public, something to incubate our intrinsic contempt for the shite we hear on the radio..

Fuck it – I should just go back to Centerfolds.

Please don't go girl,

Easy Like Sunday Morning.....Blue Line Edition

Easy I think, every Sunday that is.

Not so much.

Infinite wisdom swirling around the upper echelons at RT deems that one car trains are sufficient to shuttle folks from Watt to Meadowview and back again.

I drive the train, and it just don't cut it.

The Gold Line has 2 car trains on Sundays, so why not the Blue Line?

Why not?

Some people grumble about racial inequity, some people rage about new LRV'S versus old LRV'S while most happily pay their fee to ride every day.

Based on my observation as a train operator, the Blue Line needs 2 cars every Sunday.

EVERY SUNDAY.

From what I hear, you should call Bonnie Pannell!

She said 1 car trains were golden for the South Area.

Finally some frigging truth

This morning was pretty tame considering it was just after the 1st of the month. Normally things on the ramp are out of control........

Cart.....lawn Mower.......Hand Truck.......Etc.

This morning was weird.

All I rolled across the ramp was wheelchairs.

Yeah, Wheelchairs.

19 to be exact, and thinking back the last 2 weeks that the most ever. PERIOD.

But don't get me wrong, I am happier than a leprechaun with a pot of gold.
The Senior and Disabled area in my train continues to get crowded by baby mama and lazy ass people who refuse to climb 3 freaking stairs.

And then I ran into Virgil.

Virgil rolled onto my train at 47th Avenue, mumbling something about Marconi.

I caught that drift and assumed he wanted Marconi Station, which he did. Call it what you want, but we anticipate and know what and where folks go......

It's the RT Curse.

Until that asshole Virgil stood up from his mechanized chair and moved it 3 feet away from my Cab door so someone else could bail at Alkali Flat.

He picked it up, and moved it.

When I asked him about being wheelchair bound his response was-

"I Bought this Motherfucker"

"There's no reason why we couldn't use Arden Way as it is today," Wiley said. "It's very doable to accomplish that."

General Manager Wiley speaking to the Sacramento Business Journal on the pipe dream of an Arena at Cal Expo, and how public transportation is an absolute key component of said pipe dream.

Don't get me wrong....

It could happen.

In fact, it is probable.

But at what cost?

Should RT cut the service on a few more bus routes to cover the cost of this Cal Expo experiment?

Please read the entire piece written by Melanie Turner over at the Sacramento Business Journal.

The Cap City Freeway, also known as Business 80 has been a major bottleneck in Sacramento from it's inception. Business 80 was built in 1956, mostly lacking the infrastructure to handle the traffic that Sacramento has supplied endlessly since then.

In 1996 an additional lane was added between E Street Downtown to Watt Avenue in North Sacramento which yielded a minor relief to gridlock during commute hours.

Current CalTrans stats show that 6,000 vehicles per hour brave a 9 mile stretch of the Cap City from E Street to Watt Avenue.

How does Arden Way play into this scenario?

Transit Taxes and how they impact your daily life

Here in Sacramento, transit related expenses are paid with tax payer money collected and placed in buckets to be disbursed depending on what County/Jurisdiction you and I might live in.

And then came Measure A....

Measure A was designed and intended to fund the future needs and expansion of the transportation network in the Sacramento Region (Which consists of 6 Counties).

The language for measure A read like this-

To relieve traffic congestion, improve safety, and match state/federal funds by: Improving I-5, I-80, US 50, SR 99; Constructing a new road connecting I-5/SR 99/US 50; Maintaining/improving local roads; In creasing transit for seniors and disabled per son; Expanding/planning for light rail and commuter rail; Shall Sacramento County voters continue the existing half-cent transportation sales tax for thirty years, including creating an Independent Tax payer Over sight Committee to conduct audits ensuring all voter man dates are met?

I would agree that we managed to improve US 50 and SR 99 by running 15 minute Light Rail service in and out of South Sacramento (SR 99) and Folsom, (US 50).

Reading local rags like the Sacramento Bee, and the Sacramento News & Review could actually influence people in Sacramento that RT is totally fucking up on so many levels.

WRONG

Sacramento RT has managed to stretch every last peso to minimize the impact of service reductions to the public who relies on RT, and who we drive our asses off for.

Welcome back Elk Grove!

Senate Bill 1561....Whats that you say?

This RTDriver feels the proposed Senate Bill would be the first and most critical shot in attempting to rid Sacramento's Light Rail and Bus system of rookie troublemakers who start out hassling passengers and whom never, ever buy a ticket to more felonious crimes...such as robbery, assault, rape, etc.

Thing is, SB1561 seems to lack teeth. I mean, you know.....some real deal no nonsense bite.

SB1561-

Bill No: SB 1561
Author: Steinberg (D)
Amended: 4/9/08
Vote: 21


SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE : 8-1, 4/15/08
AYES: Lowenthal, McClintock, Corbett, Kehoe, Oropeza,
Simitian, Torlakson, Yee
NOES: Ashburn
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Dutton, Harman


SUBJECT : Passenger misconduct on Sacramento Regional
Transit

SOURCE : Sacramento Regional Transit


DIGEST : This bill authorizes Sacramento Regional Transit
to convene a task force and report to the Legislature on
alternative approaches to minimizing passenger misconduct.

ANALYSIS :

Existing Law

1. Establishes the Sacramento Regional Transit District in
order to meet the present and future public
transportation, and mass and rapid transit, needs of the
Sacramento region. Sacramento Regional Transit (RT)
currently operates 97 bus routs and 37.4 miles of light
rail within a 418 square-mile service area. RT served
CONTINUED

 SB 1561
Page
2

31 million passengers in fiscal year 2006.

2. For all public transportation, makes it an infraction,
punishable by a base fine of up to $75 for a first
offense and a base fine of up to $250 for a second
offense, or by community service of up to 48 hours, to:

A. Operate, interfere with, enter into, or climb on
the property, facilities, or vehicles owned or
operated by the transit district without the
permission of the transit district.

B. Interfere with the operator or operation of a
transit vehicle, or impedes the safe boarding or
alighting of passengers.

C. Extend any portion of the body through any
window opening of a transit vehicle in a manner
that may cause harm or injury.

D. Throw any object form a transit vehicle.

E. Commit any act or engage in any behavior that
may, with reasonable foreseeablitiy, cause harm or
injury to any person or property.

F. Violate a notice, prohibition, instruction, or
direction on any sign that is intended to provide
for the safety and security of transit passengers,
or the safe and secure operation of the transit
system.

3. Make it an infraction punishable by a base fine of up to
$250 and community service of up to 48 hours to engage
in any of the following acts on a public transportation
system:

A. Evasion of the payment of a fare of the system

B. Misuse of a transfer, pass, ticket, or token
with the intent to evade the payment of a fare.

C. Playing sound equipment on or in a system of
facility or vehicle.

SB 1561
Page
3

D. Smoking, eating, or drinking in or on a system
facility or vehicle in those areas where those
activities are prohibited by that system.

E. Expectorating upon a system facility or vehicle.

F. Willfully disturbing others on or in a system
facility or vehicle by engaging in boisterous or
unruly behavior.

G. Carrying an explosive or acid, flammable liquid,
or toxic or hazardous material in a public transit
facility or vehicle.

H. Urination or defecating in a system facility or
vehicle, except in a lavatory.

I. Willfully blocking the fee movement of another
person in a system facility or vehicle.

J. Skateboarding, roller skating, bicycle riding,
or rollerblading in a system facility, vehicle, or
parking structure.

K. Unauthorized use of a discount ticket or failure
to present acceptable proof of eligibility to use a
discount ticket.

3. Makes it an infraction to deface with graffiti the
interior or exterior of the facilities or vehicles of a
public transportation system. This infraction is
punishable by a base fine of up to $1,000 and between 48
and 200 hours of community service.

All of these infractions may be cited by either transit
police or local police.

This bill authorizes RT to convene a task force composed of
persons with expertise in the fields of law enforcement,
mental health, homeless programs, public safety, and
transportation to assess issues related to passenger
misconduct. The task force may make recommendations to the
Legislature by January 31, 2009, regarding alternative

SB 1561
Page
4

approaches to minimizing passenger misconduct.

FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No

SUPPORT : (Verified 4/17/08)

Sacramento Regional Transit (source)


JJA:do 4/18/08 Senate Floor Analyses

SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE

**** END ****

And then some near sided community super hero sets eyes on the proposed legislation and throws up all kinds of road blocks, hence the neutered version of SB1561-

Please note the passages from the proposed SB1561, compared to what we have now. The language removed is in red, crossed out. The remaining language is in black.

An act to amend Section 369i of the Penal Code, and to amend Sections 99170 and 102122 of, and to add Section 99171 to, the Public Utilities Code, An act relating to transportation.

Legislative Counsel's Digest

SB 1561, as amended, Steinberg. Transit districts: prohibition orders.Sacramento Regional Transit District: task force.

Existing law provides for the creation of the Sacramento Regional Transit District, with specified powers and duties relative to operation of public transit services in its service area.

This bill would provide that the district may convene a task force of specified persons to assess issues related to passenger misconduct, with the task force to make recommendations to the Legislature in that regard by January 31, 2009.

Existing law prohibits certain acts by a person with respect to the property, facilities, or vehicles of a transit district. A violation is an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $75 on a first offense or a fine not exceeding $250 or by community service on a subsequent offense.

This bill would authorize a transit district to issue a prohibition order to any person committing one or more of certain prohibited acts and under various other circumstances. The prohibition order would prohibit the person subject to the order from entering the property, facilities, or vehicles of the transit district for not more than one year. The bill would establish notice requirements in that regard and would provide opportunities for initial and administrative review of the order. The bill would require a transit district exercising this authority to establish an advisory committee and to ensure that personnel charged with issuance and enforcement of prohibition orders receive training.

Existing law provides that any person who enters or remains upon rail transit related property owned or operated by a county transportation commission or transportation authority without permission or whose entry, presence, or conduct upon the property interferes with, interrupts, or hinders the safe and efficient operation of the rail line or rail-related facility is guilty of a misdemeanor.

This bill would extend the applicability of these provisions to rail transit related property owned or operated by a transit district. The bill would also modify the definition of rail transit related property to include transit vehicles. By revising the definition of a crime, this bill would thereby impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law provides for creation of the Sacramento Regional Transit District, with specified powers and duties relative to operation of public transit services in its service area. Existing law authorizes the board of the district to designate persons regularly employed by the district as inspectors or supervisors with specified authority to enforce district ordinances and specified state laws, and sets forth the procedures to be followed in that regard.

This bill would additionally authorize the board of the district to designate security guards regularly employed by the district for this purpose. The bill would revise the authority of all of the persons designated by the board to incorporate additional procedures relating to arrest and other related matters.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal Committee: yesno. Local Program: yesno.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The Sacramento Regional Transit District may convene a task force composed of persons with expertise in the fields of law enforcement, mental health, homeless programs, public safety, and transportation to assess issues related to passenger misconduct. The task force may make recommendations to the Legislature by January 31, 2009, regarding alternative approaches to minimizing passenger misconduct.

A task force?

Give me a friggin break.

Banning habitual problem passengers from the system is a start. Revoking transit privileges from habitual assholes is the key. If you get cited more than once without fare....your effectively banned from the system for 6 months. If you have to be roused by myself or a transit officer for your passed out drunkenness, your ass is banned.

If you URINATE on my train, you are most certainly banned....thats just fucking gross.

Can you think of any other ways to "minimize" passenger misconduct?

They may not be politically correct, but I can.

Choke Hold at the Gas Pump?.......Your not the only one!

From www.sacrt.com-

RT Experiences Record Ridership - System Ridership Up 20 Percent, Light Rail Ridership Up 43 Percent

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.

In April 2008, total monthly bus ridership was 1,429,400 – up 2.5 percent from April 2007 (despite a five percent reduction in bus service in January 2008). Last month, total monthly light rail ridership was 1,534,000 – up 43.3 percent from April 2007. Light rail ridership has steadily increased over the past year and has now surpassed bus ridership – unprecedented since light rail service began in 1987. In addition, the positive trend has carried over to usage at RT’s 18 free park-and-ride lots. 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.

“Rising gas prices and the upcoming closure of the Interstate 5 ‘boat section’ have certainly generated interest in public transit,” Mike Wiley, General Manager/CEO, stated. “RT riders are putting their money in their pockets, not the gas pump. Now, is the perfect time to try transit.”

For route, schedule and fare information, call 916-321-BUSS (2877) or visit www.sacrt.com.

If there was a an opportunity to make an impression on new ridership, now is the time.