30 Days of Plight. Stephen Dare goes JTA every day.

[Downtown Dweller]

Almost hit by a turning bus on Union last weekend riding to the library (happens a lot) and the buses turning onto Pearl from 8th are notorious! Bus drivers in general are not known for politness, everywhere not just JAX. I had a friend hit by a bus in downtown Charlotte, crossing the street in the crosswalk on green....they just feel they don't have to pay attention. Enough ranting, not really the topic of your research!

[Ocklawaha]

A bit late, but defending JTA on the 4th, the SKYWAY was open to Kings Avenue, before and after the fireworks, but closed during the show (perhaps a bit before and after) due to safety issues with explosive charges on the Acosta Bridge.

Acosta Bridge, which oddly, I never saw fire off during the whole show? WTF? Also wasn't this the shortest? What happened to the Skyscraper fountains this year? I sure didn't catch them?  But of course that's for another thread...

I used the Skyway from Kings Avenue before and after the show, in fact just before midnight, not a bus in sight either time at Kings Avenue. There were some grease stains on the pavement indicating SOMETHING pulls in there once in a while, but who, what and when? One of those great cosmic questions.

Signs anyone? Route Maps? Some REAL TIME BUS INFO? Hey at least at the transfer centers, maybe Rosa Parks, Kings Avenue, Union Station and the eventual Brooklyn Station.

"What about bus 2 way, with such courtesys as transfers and simple call outs like San Succi inbound to Kings Avenue, I have 7 for the Skyway...disposition please, can you hold 2 minutes for connecting passengers?" Drivers with the most customer service calls win some incentive prize. Mike and Mike? Give me a crack at this mess and we'll fix it!

Ocklawaha

[jacksonvilleconfidential]

off to explore the U2 line.
http://jtafla.com/services/lines/u2/u2.aspx

Rattle and Hum

[Doctor_K]

Bet its more like "still haven't found what Im looking for"
especially on "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

And at the end of the month, when this ordeal is over, you'll be able to say that "they took your life but they could not take your Pride," right? 

[jacksonvilleconfidential]

rGeHgEeTnTcOy.

[Dapperdan]

What else was discussed at this meeting?

[Ocklawaha]

The meeting was VERY productive. Starting with a suggestion that I wasn't invited, and moving downhill when Stephen got stuck on the JTA system, lost in space... Finally those little things were worked out, and in we went.


Missing Information? COVERED IN THE MEETING!

Real Time Information? Google? GPS? COVERED IN THE MEETING!

Mr. Blaylock was very genuine with his opening remarks, he went to some detail to explain his vision and what each person in the room was tasked with, then a joint vision for a whole system.


Building into BRT in stages? Some busways? Southbank Service? COVERED IN THE MEETING!


Euro designed Silver Eagle Commuter Coaches for long Distance Runs, Comfort Anyone? Restroom? Starbucks Bar? COVERED IN THE MEETING! ...and Mike and Mike, as an old Trailways Boss, I've got friends at the factory.

Stephendare, then launched into a comic soap opera of JTA screw-ups, misfits, and fools... He praised the information call center. The suggestion that certain bus drivers be lynched or flogged in public brought laughter to the whole crowd. Stephen is quick on his feet in conversation and very able to inject wit and wisdom into the most difficult moments.

So called Trolleys and mixed up routes? COVERED IN MEETING!

Signs, the good the bad, the ugly, COVERED IN THE MEETING!

As Stephen surrendered the chair, I took out a note pad and read through a laundry list of "fixes" for the system. Trying to be gentle, but driving home a fact that there seems a great gulf between Mike Blaylocks vision and the applied solutions within the JTA machine. We were all in agreement that the fixes would be simple and had merit, but who is going to drive the bus through that maze?


Southbank maze? Skyway Duplication? Kings Avenue Information Booth? Kings Avenue as a STATION?
COVERED IN THE MEETING!


Rosa Parks Customer Service? Spreading the Concept? Brooklyn? Kings Avenue? COVERED IN THE MEETING!

Union Station Tunnels? News to EVERYONE! Why not use them, Expand them? COVERED IN THE MEETING!

OCKLAWAHA Using an old Subway car as a Streetcar? Ocklawaha starting a streetcar Company and keeping all the JTA employees onboard? PRICELESS!

Overall, I enjoyed the meeting and think very differently of Mike Blaylock, then the "Blaylock" we have read about in the past. The man seems to be a visionary leader, someone that has some pretty cutting edge ideas on transit application. If they embrace the streetcar concept, it might be a marriage made in heaven. Perhaps now is the moment, the time, the day for JACKSONVILLE to shine! Lead on Mike, Lead on.

Ocklawaha

[Steve]

Well, that's good to hear.

My problem is exactly that - his "vision" and what we have are so unbelieveably, ridiculously apart.  I wanted to attend, but a 1:45 meeting during the week with two days notice is a bit tough.

[Downtown Dweller]

If you can get some changes at JTA, can you do JEA next? I have a VERY amusing JEA story for you next time we chat!

[BridgeTroll]

Good!  Perhaps they need "Phantom riders" more often...

[gatorback]

swallow a LoJack

[gatorback]

It's a tracking device.  People usually attach them to their late model Porsche, BMW, Ferrari's.  When the car is stolen the police can track it down.

[BridgeTroll]

The sad part of all this is that it took an outsider... a community activist if you will, to bring this to the attention of the policy makers.  Otherwise it would be business as usual.  Dont hold your breath that the changes promised will become a reality or that they will stick.  We have seen things like this before... Placate the complainers with promises to fix and do better... wait awhile for things to simmer down... your attention diverted elsewhere then... Voila... back to the past.  For this to actually work JTA needs an autonomous Quality Assurance division willing to put JTA on notice of poor performance... willing to tell management what improvements need to be made, reporting complaints on drivers and being an ombudsman for the ridership...

Im better now... please excuse...

[gatorback]

No city department would ever work that way IMHO.  They are out to protect themselves and the department.  They want the department to get the A+++ each years so fat chance.

[urbanlibertarian]

External auditing and inspection helps any organization.  The best ones seek it out.
How's my driving?  Call 1-800-EAT-DIRT.