Whitehorse Transit – A Complete Revamp
Posted: January 13, 2012 Filed under: Transit Leave a comment
Almost all of my posts here tend to revolve around Ben Franklin Transit and topics related to the Tri-Cities, WA. However, I haven’t always lived in this area, so I thought it would be fun to talk a little about the transit agency where I was born and raised: Whitehorse, Yukon (Canada).
In the far north of Canada lies an isolated city called Whitehorse, Yukon. It’s in this city where Whitehorse Transit (which is just one of the two northern Canada transit agencies) operates.
The reason I want to showcase Whitehorse Transit is because of what they did last year in July.
The System Map – How Much Information Does It Need?
Posted: January 10, 2012 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentAs some of you may recall, a few months back I wrote a post on what I would like to do to revise the whole BFT system.
With that post, I designed a map to give a visual aide for my proposal. Compare it with the official BFT system map, and you’ll see that I took a lot of artistic liberty with my map. Geographic accuracy was not my primary concern, though I did strive to have a map that was reflective of the true street grid of the Tri-Cities while still being considered mostly accurate. If you look closely at the official BFT system map, you’ll notice a lot of streets (or rather, just about all of them) don’t run in a true north/south/west/east direction, or even at “proper” diagonal angles. Needless to say, this doesn’t make designing these maps any easier.
For many reasons, I wanted to try redesigning my map.
Girls in a Fishbowl
Posted: January 9, 2012 Filed under: Fun, Transit 3 CommentsTake one abandoned ex-BFT GM “Fishbowl” and add one local girl who’s into fashion and photography, and what do you get?
A photo shoot!
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times before, BFT operated with GM Fishbowls in the early days when they were first starting operations. As they grew older and bigger, they eventually started getting rid of the Fishbowls and moved on to bigger and better things (the Gillig Phantoms purchased in 1988, which were the first brand new buses they’d owned). I don’t know what happened to all of the old BFT Fishbowls. Presumably, some ended up as scrap metal. However, at least one still survives to this date.
Ben Franklin Transit #121 – 1961 GM TDH-4517
Photo Credit: Zachary Ziegler
The Car vs The Pedestrian
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: Pedestrian Leave a comment(Spoiler alert: It’s a pretty one-sided affair.)
Just in the last two days here in the Tri-Cities, there have been not one but two separate incidents of a car striking pedestrian(s).
Yesterday, a student walking home from Pasco High School was struck by a car at the corner of 12th Avenue and Sylvester Street. Initial reports indicate he may have been jaywalking, but there has been nothing to confirm that as of posting this.
Today, two students were struck while in a crosswalk immediately in front of Park Middle School (in Kennewick). The driver reportedly had been running late and thus had failed to adequately remove frost/ice from his windshield, so he was cited for “second-degree negligent driving.”
In yesterday’s incident, the student was transported to the hospital, but there was no indication if he suffered any serious injuries. The students from this morning’s incident had minor bruising but no major injuries.
The thing I really, really want to know is this: Why are these incidents still happening?
Rider Alerts (Or What Not To Do)
Posted: January 3, 2012 Filed under: Transit 2 CommentsSometimes routes change. Other times bus stops may be temporarily closed. Whatever the case, there is (or rather, there should be) a general sequence of events that occurs to communicate this to transit riders:
- Decision is made (on route change, stop closure, etc).
- Informational flyers are printed up.
- Said flyers are then distributed appropriately to be placed upon buses and the affected areas as needed (and this should all be done a minimum of two weeks prior to effective date).
- The website is also updated appropriately to provide notice to riders.
- Customer Service Agents are given the needed information to properly inform riders and answer any questions.
- Bus Drivers should also be given information on the change(s) so that they can let their riders now, especially if they’re driving a route that will be directly effected by the action.
- When said action becomes effective, all means of communication mentioned above should continue on, so that all riders, frequent and infrequent, have had a chance to get the information they need.
- Finally, if the change in question is semi-permanent (“long-term”) or fully permanent, any and all literature (pocket schedules, bus books, online route maps, etc) are appropriately updated within 48 hours of effectiveness to reflect the new and current information.
I mention all this because of a small route change that I mentioned in a post last week. Since Monday, Route 225 has been extended in Richland to serve the Columbia Point area via Columbia Point Drive and Bradley Blvd. Over the last week, my personal experiences related to this change have gone like this:
ROUTE CHANGE – Route 225 in Richland
Posted: December 28, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentWhile riding the bus this morning, the driver made an announcement over the PA system to inform all the riders that Route 225 is going to be seeing some changes starting January 2nd. When I later checked Ben Franklin Transit’s website, I found this alert posted:
Attention Route 225 Riders
The Route 225 will travel East on Columbia Point Dr, pass Winco, then take a left at Bradley. It will travel on Bradley turning right onto George Washington Way, then left on Knight St going into the transit center at the currently scheduled time. This route will be reversed when traveling to Pasco. The stop located in front of Chase bank, on Jadwin, will now be served by Route 120 only. For information please call BFT Customer Service at 735-5100.
If you’re not a regular rider of Route 225, or are just unfamiliar with the route, this all probably makes no sense to you. How about I explain it a bit more?
Greatest Hits – Songs of The Bus Driver
Posted: December 27, 2011 Filed under: Fun Leave a commentI’m not even going to explain this video. I’ll just say this: Watch it, and you’ll laugh. Guaranteed.
BFT Night Service
Posted: December 10, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentHere in the Tri-Cities, regular fixed-route and paratransit service stops running after 6 o’clock in the evening. However, there is still demand for some sort of transit service to run later into the evening. It is because of this that Ben Franklin Transit came up with a unique solution: “Trans+Plus Night Service.”
Explained in a short summary here on the BFT website, Night Service is a rather simple operation. Sub-contracted to local taxi operator Tri-City Taxi, riders call to make their ride reservation, and then they receive a curb-to-curb ride which more often than not will be combined with the rides of other users. With this service, one can ride between any two points in the Tri-Cities (excluding Hanford) for only $3. Other fare payment options also include a 10-ride ticket for $22 $25, or a Freedom Pass for $44 $50 (which allows unlimited Night Service rides for the month, as well as unlimited fixed-route rides and all other BFT services).
New Buses for Ben Franklin Transit
Posted: December 9, 2011 Filed under: Transit 5 CommentsTo start this post, let me bring you up to speed: In 1992, Ben Franklin Transit bought 8 1992 40′ Gillig Phantom buses (numbered 234-241). Since then, these buses have spent a lot of time on the road. And when I say “a lot” I mean “A LOT.” Some of these buses have managed to rack up an astounding 1 million miles on the odometer. If anything, this serves as a testament to the amazing work BFT’s maintenance staff does to keep these buses running. Obviously though, it would be wildly cost-prohibitive to keep these buses running, so something needs to be done about it.
BFT Transit Development Plan 2012-2017
Posted: December 6, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentToday, December 6th, there was a public hearing held at Three Rivers TC in Kennewick for public comment on the updated Transit Development Plan, or TDP, for Ben Franklin Transit. If you were hoping to attend that hearing, I’m sorry to say you’ve already missed it, as it was held at 2PM. (Though my late reporting on this news item isn’t helping either…) Luckily for you, I did attend it.
Quite honestly, this may have been the most boring BFT-related meeting I have ever attended. The only thing that really happened was a review of the TDP itself, and the information contained in it. (If you wish to view it, the draft as it currently exists is available here.) I, along with 4 other attendees (one of whom arrived late) listened in to the presentation, and we all made a few comments or asked a few things along the way. All in all, there was no major breaking news development or anything out of the ordinary. Things are running along just fine at BFT, and the TDP just basically shows how they intend to keep doing so for the next 6 years.
This Thursday, the TDP draft will be presented at the Board of Directors meeting, where they will vote to approve or reject it. If approved, it will then be sent off to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s offices for their approval. When that happens, I’ll make another quick post here or just mention it on Twitter.
Transit 509 