New License and Disclosure Statement

I realized that my blog licensing is no longer congruent with my views on the free culture movement. Specifically, restricting the use of my content to non-commercial uses takes it out of the realm of free culture, and imposes an unacceptable burden on the freedom of my readership. Effective immediately, I am re-licensing all content contained herein under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States license. Users may use any content published prior to today, 15 February 2013, under either this license or the previous one at their option, although I can't imagine why you'd want to further restrict your use of my content. Accordingly, I am posting a new license and disclosure statement.

Disclosure Statement

In accordance with new FTC regulations covering bloggers who make statements about products or services, I am hereby publishing a policy regarding advertisements and endorsements on this blog. This policy is effective immediately, 2-15-2013, and will remain effective until a new one is published.

This blog is a personal blog. Though I strive to be informative, I make no pretense of objectivity. In former Air America host Thom Hartmann's exceptional phrasing, Riding in Riverside is "fair and slightly unbalanced." Independent of ideology, however, what I report here will be held to the highest standards of factual accuracy.

The opinions posted here are my own. All content on this blog belongs solely to me, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of my employer or any organization of which I am a member unless otherwise stated. All content on this blog is copyright Justin M. Nelson, licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA v. 3.0 license. This means you are free to quote my work and even modify it, so long as you cite the source and extend these permissions to any work incorporating mine.

I run ads on this blog. They are automatically generated by Google AdSense, and I have no control over the content of these ads. I am paid for these ads by Google, who is paid for these ads. I don't even see these ads on most occasions, because I am an AdBlock user, and these ads do not, in any way, affect my writing.

I occasionally mention products or services, usually ones that aid me in my travels. I have not received any compensation from the producers of these products or services to date. If I do receive any compensation, I will disclose it in the relevant post. Regardless of compensation received, readers should understand that my endorsement of a product is not for sale. My review of a product or service should be understood as my opinion of that product, free of the influence of the entity that provided it.

I am not an employee of RTA, Omnitrans, OCTA, Foothill Transit, Metro, SCRRA, Sunline or any other transportation provider, nor am I an employee of a subsidiary or a contractor that provides services to any transportation provider. I am an employee of the University of California at Riverside, which purchases transportation from RTA as part of the U-PASS program, supporting route 51. This contract does not change my opinion of these services, and I would enjoy them regardless. I receive free transportation from RTA as a UCR student, through the U-PASS program. My readers know that this does not soften my criticisms of the Agency in any way. Prior to the implementation of this program, I held a monthly RTA pass, and if the program were discontinued I would expect to continue riding.

Sorry for the dense legalese. This post will be linked at the side of the blog, next to the license notice, for ease of reference. If a change in policy occurs, I will notify readers with another blog post.

Bike Progress is Coming for UCR

Two projects are currently making their way through the morass of transportation bureaucracy that will hopefully make life better for UCR-area cyclists. One is a two-way cycletrack on the north side of Canyon Crest from Linden to University. For cyclists coming from the huge swathes of apartments on the north side of campus, there really isn't much of a way to get from along Canyon Crest on to the UCR campus. (Personally, I stay on the southbound Canyon Crest bike lane until University, move over to the median, and cross University at the corner, but that's me...) That will change when this cycletrack goes in- just cross at Linden or Bannockburn and ride down the two-way cycletrack.

Another project is on deck to reconfigure University Ave. between campus and the University Village. Currently, the idea is to remove a lane from the westbound side of University and build a sidewalk on that side. I think this is a much less useful design-- a sidewalk on the west of University would put pedestrians in more conflict with cars (crossing two freeway ramps, one with both exiting and entering traffic, instead of one) and be further away from campus and the natural flow of traffic.

And, at the same time, every day I ride back from getting lunch in the surrounding neighborhood, I find myself dodging skateboards, kick scooters, joggers, and more than anything wrong-way cyclists. Cyclists rode down the eastbound bike lane on University when it was complete; they continue now, even after Caltrans put them in further danger.

What we really need is the extension of the future Canyon Crest cycletrack all the way down to at least the University Village intersection, where cyclists could cross at the signal and continue west on University. And, since this section isn't designed yet, we could still get it! The city is in talks with Caltrans about how to configure the street and associated on-ramp, which means that you can make your voice heard on the project. Call your councilman today and tell them that you want a two-way cycletrack to the UV.

By the way, the city will be bidding both of these projects simultaneously, according to the city's bike coordinator. So, as soon as Caltrans and Public Works settle on a design, the project will be put in the pipeline. They expect to start working on it over the summer, while school traffic will be reduced.

Pet Peeve Resolved!

So, up until the last few days, Megabus had been one of the perpetrators of my huge transit geek pet peeve-- since the restoration of California service, they had identified their Riverside stop location as the "Riverside Downtown Metro Station."

Trying to be kind, as they are new to the area, I sent their customer service folks a letter:

To Whom it May Concern:

At the moment, your web site lists the Megabus stop in Riverside, CA as the "Downtown Riverside Metro Station." We southern Californians insist on being complicated, and name two local transit agencies very similar things-- Metro is the advertising name for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Agency, which serves LA County with local bus and rail service. Metrolink is a commuter rail system that provides service throughout the greater LA area. The station in Riverside is, in fact, a Metrolink station, not a Metro station. Please correct your information.

Thanks for your time.

 As of tonight, the Megabus web site shows this:

 

Every once in a while, we can get something fixed.

Metrolink to switch to RFID tickets

KPCC is reporting that Metrolink and Metro have worked out a solution to the faregate debacle-- All Metrolink tickets will be embedded with an RFID chip to allow passage through Metro faregates.

Didn't we just get rid of expensive, hard-to-manufacture fare media?

A much more sensible solution would be to allow Metrolink riders to pay for their fare with their TAP cards, and set up participating transfer agencies to detect and accept those Metrolink fares. This would also give suburban bus agencies outside of LA county an incentive to start accepting TAP, which I could see unifying the transit system of all of Greater Los Angeles, much like the Clipper card has knit together much of the Bay Area. But, for whatever reason, Metrolink seems as dead-set against using TAP for fare collection as Metro is set on the inane quest to lock their faregates.

That said, it is Metro's dumb decision to spend all this money on turnstiles. I hope they're paying for the new tickets.

Bicycle Advisory Committee

The next Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Thursday at 5pm in the 5th floor conference room at City Hall. We've also apparently decided on a regular schedule: last Thursday of the month, 5pm, 5th floor conference room.

Just a quick thought...

but am I the only transit geek that gets annoyed when people call Metrolink "the metro"? Because it happens ALL THE TIME. You get on the train and someone talking loudly on their cell phone says to their conversational partner "Yeah, I'm on the train... you know, the metro... to LA..."

Metrolink is a thing. Metro is also a thing. They are two totally different things. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, and probably only mine.

A Mega Review

So I posted last month about Megabus' recent triumphant return to Southern California. Last week, I had a chance to ride said bus to Las Vegas and back, and I figured I'd post a review on it.

Megabus' California/Nevada fleet is composed of VanHool double-decker TD925's, although I'm not sure yet how many. These coaches seat 81, with Megabus selling 77 revenue seats per trip. They're equipped with relatively comfortable reclining seats, a restroom (of the typical intercity bus variety), two doors and stairwells, and a rear luggage compartment. Because the bus is a double-decker, there are no overhead luggage bins-- carry-on items have to fit under your seat. Each passenger is allowed one carry-on and one checked item, although I saw the staff bend this rule a few times.

I boarded the 01:30 bus out of Riverside-- at least a little hesitant about waiting for a bus at the downtown Metrolink at 01:30 in the morning. The bus was around 10m late, but the boarding process was smooth and well-organized, with three Megabus crew members emerging from the bus and assisting passengers. One checked reservations, while the other two handled bags. I always travel with only a carry-on, and although Megabus' web site says that bags near the airline's maximum allowed carry-on size may be carried as checked luggage, I was able to fit mine under my seat without difficulty. Sitting on the upper deck, I was treated to the pleasant surprise of a full-bus sun roof. The windows in the front of the upper deck are also large, affording an excellent view of... well... I-15. And, at the time, I-15 at night. The only minor annoyance of the boarding process was a ~10m video, played after we departed, explaining safety features and how to connect to the on-board Wi-Fi. At nearly 2am, the last thing I wanted was a perky Megabus lady telling me to buckle up, but it didn't last long. I promptly reclined my seat and slept the entire ride-- I woke up to an early arrival in Las Vegas.

On the ride back, I had a little more time to actually check out the features of the bus and terminal. The South Strip Transfer Terminal, where Megabus arrives in Vegas, is the southern of RTC's two local bus terminals. It is also the platonic ideal of what a bus terminal should look like. There are snack and drink machines, transit information (including real-time arrivals) and ticket vending, clean restrooms, chairs and tables, and power outlets. Most of this was inside a large, indoor waiting room, which was really helpful when the desert chill struck. I was surprised to see this terminal in a city like Las Vegas, which isn't really known for its transit system. It may be the nicest local bus station I've ever been in.

When the time came for the Megabus, the boarding process was again well-managed. The bus arrived nearly half an hour late, which made waiting in the cold a bit unpleasant, and which was really strange, considering that Las Vegas is the terminal station on the route. When we did board the bus, it was maybe 3/4 full, and I had a row to myself. I tried out the free wi-fi, and tried to find the advertised power outlets. That's easier said than done-- they're poorly marked and in an odd location. You'll find them between the seats in the row, slightly below the seat itself. There is one for each passenger on the bus. Some rows, such as the rear ones, have the outlets overhead. Once the outlets were found, power was reliable and not enough to upset my tablet's delicate sensibilities. I also tried the free Wi-fi, which is a cellular-based system. This means exactly what you might think-- you'll get reasonably good service in populated areas, and very little out on the Interstate. It was okayish in Vegas (although sluggish with everyone connecting at once), dead from Primm to Barstow, and basically correlated with population density from there on in. I spent most of the ride reading.

We arrived in Riverside at around 7:15, around 15m behind schedule. This brings me to the next thing I love about Megabus-- at least in California, their stops integrate closely with the local transit system. In Los Angeles, the buses stop at Union station. In Riverside, they stop at the Metrolink. In Oakland, it's the West Oakland BART. In San Jose, Diridon station. In San Francisco, it's the 4th/King Caltrain station. Megabus serves car-free customers as well as they serve their automobile bretheren.

The only real downside of Megabus service in Riverside, aside from minor schedule adherence issues (which I'm sure will be fixed in their next timetable), is the limitation on destinations. From Riverside, you can only travel to Las Vegas. I understand why they limit Riverside-LA traffic, so as to avoid clogging seats with commuters, but I would love to see the possibility of through-ticketing Riverside-San Francisco via Los Angeles. (This could be because I find Vegas kind of meh and really love San Francisco.) You can, of course, take several transit options to LA (RTA/Foothill, Metrolink, Amtrak) and Megabus to SF, but through ticketing would open up more options and schedule flexibility. Oakland and San Jose are in the same place as Riverside vis-a-vis Sacramento and Reno service.

That said, if you're heading to Vegas or the Bay Area, I strongly recommend Megabus-- and, if you watch closely and book well in advance, you too might get a trip to Vegas for $2.50.