Write On METRO : Broken and Late Buses

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robertwade said:

I was left stranded by a Metro bus years ago. The 163-Fondren Express ran out to Missouri City only until a certain time of the day. After that, no more buses would return to Missouri City; they would head off on the so-called "Airport Branch," miles away from the park and ride where I'd left my car.

On my way back to the Missouri City park and ride at the end of a long day, I saw my bus to be disabled at the transit center. Sure enough, that was the last bus out to Missouri City.

I find such disturbances to be uncommon, particularly on commuter routes. However, Metro should create contingency plans for such events. I cannot plan to just not go home one night if the last bus breaks down.

Does that guaranteed ride home deal work if you're left stranded due to a problem with Metro's own operation?

# May 7, 2007 5:01 PM

DominicMazoch said:

This would cost METRO some money, but it would help out when a bus did beak down. At each of the BOF's, there should be ops on standby. If, in this case, there was a bus and op at the West BOF, op and bus would be diven a schedule of the block/run of the broken down bus. That bus would run the route(s), until the op goes off duty, or the original op is relayed back.

# May 7, 2007 7:33 PM

MetroBusFan said:

WOW! This is a first---coming from a METRO employee. What are you going to tell METRO? I hope you say something because this can happen to anybody---not just commuters but also to people who ride "local" buses and it shouldn't. What bus route was this you needed to ride when all of this happened? I can see (by what you said about people being behind you not happy that the bus did not arrive) that you were taking a Park & Ride bus. That happened to me a number of times when I was riding the 214-NW Station Park & Ride bus. There were times when something was wrong with the first bus I got on and either the bus got going again or we would have to wait for another bus to get us and we AND the driver would continue on---LATE. On one occasion, I rode a bus that broke down so many times (it started while we was on I-10) I lost count but we was able to get to the Northwest Transit Center and waited for other buses to come. May I add that the bus was PACKED!!!! I even remember the bus #---4439 from the Northwest Garage. The engine would cut off and then the driver would get it back going again ONLY to cut off again and---you get the point. Since I'm a bus fan, I can safely say that METRO NEEDS MORE AND BETTER BUSES!!!!!! It may not be the driver's fault (they may also complain about this) but something must be done about this problem.

# May 7, 2007 8:05 PM

Casey56 said:

On the first I-Fest weekend I hoped to take the #50 bus eastbound from Dallas & Smith. Knowing it went south on Bagby before turning east on Dallas, and that Bagby was blocked by the I-Fest, I went to Metro website that morning. Nothing listed under "Detours" (for "permanent" detours only I later learned), and no change shown on the #50 schedule page itself. So naively I went to the corner and waited under the sign for a bus, which runs every 15 minutes on Saturday afternoons. No bus came, of course, so I called the number on the sign. Put on hold for about 3 minutes, and then the live operator told me the next bus would arrive at 4:38 or some such. I asked him if the I-Fest would change this and he said No. No bus came at 4:38, of course, so when I got home I filed complaint on Metro website. A lady called Monday to apologize, and said the buses had been deviated to come south on Milam rather than Bagby. I suggested that their operators should be informed of such so they could better server Metro patrons. Same story the next weekend. Nothing on website about the deviation. I called the sign number and pretended I was on Dallas at Smith. The operator told me a bus would come along soon. I reminded him of the I-Fest, so he put me on hold for several minutes. When he came back on the line, he said "Yes, he had forgotten that the buses were diverted." My complaint is not so much with the operator, who can't possibly know all the diversions for all the buses. But the computer system should have the correct info available both for patrons checking on line and for the operator info when patrons telephone.

# May 7, 2007 8:55 PM

wi11ie said:

Keeping ops on standby @ the facilities is no good..what if the facility is 15 mins away? Next bus should already be there..

The old way works best! Ops IN BUSES on standby at the Park 'N Rides and in strategic locations all over town

wi11ie

# May 8, 2007 5:49 AM

mizz_porkie2003 said:

Well!!!! I am a METRO bus operator and i hope my comments will not "HAUNT" me.

We used to have stand-by buses up until a year or two ago. Each BOF (bus operating facility) had their own stand-by operator and bus both on the AM. and PM. side.

But ofcourse when our new management resgime took over it was deemed unnecessary and a waste. I really believed they though an operator was out on the bus "CHILLIN" but in fact, we worked and filled time on any bus that broke down weather or not it was out of our BOF or not. We had a book of maps, schedules, sign codes in a rolling suit case and equipped with a hand-held radio ready for work!! I belive with enough unrest about the situation it will be back it is desperately needed!!

# May 8, 2007 10:00 AM

wi11ie said:

Exactly,

Previously we had operators that waited @ the Park 'n' Rides and in the downtown area.

Their job? To take trips that were going to be unfilled by other operators and see that the schedule was kept.

New management, new ideas. Net result? Horrificly late buses or no-shows..

And yes there were some days that operators spent their "standby" time sitting and doing nothing.

Were they worth the cost? You betcha. Ask our resident blogger. Could she have kept her meeting? Most likely.

The cost saver idea was to rely on operators going out of service to fill these spots for a little overtime $. But as we all have like from 2-5 hours in the middle of our days to waste waiting to begin our second halves it is hard to get someone to give up their time to help. Since in our professional lives our days start around 5am and end around 7:30 .

Time to get our personal stuff done? Like 2 hours a day out of 16.Heh... 8 hours of sleep of course!

The solution? Return the standby buses to the force.

(From over my shoulder the comment is made that all persons working at 1900 Main be required to ride buses to and from work. No exceptions.)

Well don't get me started on that...

wi11ie

# May 8, 2007 10:25 AM

mizz_porkie2003 said:

willie,

the stand-by buses WERE never at the BOF'S we were always placed at stategic locations mostly in and near the downtown belt. i believe Hiram Clarke and West would have theirs sometimes in med ctr and southwest areas. Also each Bof had a Park and Ride stand by as well AM. and PM. that would stand by at the p&r lot. but guess what they cut that out too!!!!!

the location of choice was the old union station underneath 59 elevated at china town, after enron field was built, we moved to GRB (George R. Brown). after the construction of the Hilton, we moved to the lower end of the pierce elevated near dowling.

# May 8, 2007 10:29 AM

mizz_porkie2003 said:

metro bus fan,

if you only had an ear for the times we have complained about "BAD" buses

# May 8, 2007 10:32 AM

xmetro said:

Don't worry mizz porkie. For your comments to "haunt" you, someone from the current management would actually have to read them.

This post by Ms. Sit is the exact reason that Metro would not survive were it not a tax funded entity. More effort goes into making decisions that do not directly benefit Metro users while services intended for public use get cut or our greatly reduced. While the latter supposedly reduces the operation budget, how are the tax payers benefiting from this?

Secondly, when was the last time an executive level manager from Metro addressed the public on this blog much less read the comments? Until that happens on a consistent basis, this board is a waste and only a forum for Metro bashers to continue hammering away their frustrations and rightly so.

I appreciate public transit, but decisions of the current executive management leave users with more questions than answers.

# May 8, 2007 12:16 PM

MetroBusFan said:

mizz_porkie2003:

I can only imagine how often bus operators complain about "BAD" buses. I can bet it (the number of complaints) goes through the roof---if you know what I mean.

xmetro:

I don't think this board is a waste. If it is, it's a waste of...what? So this place is just a place where people go and voice their frustrations about METRO? Not likely---or at least---not all the time. I'll say this again to all, "Since I'm a bus fan (a person who like buses a lot, so what?), I can safely say that METRO NEEDS MORE AND BETTER BUSES!!!!!!" If that can't happen anytime soon, how much longer are we going to have the old buses?

# May 8, 2007 1:46 PM

wi11ie said:

mizz__porkie2003,

Please see the comment posted @5:49am on Mat 08,2007.

it seems that there is a delay in our posts that has it looking like we are not in agreement. Not true. As we both know the standby buses were the best thing to happen to on-time performance

wi11ie

# May 9, 2007 11:21 AM

twotrees2007 said:

I see the Houston bus system hasn't changed. I used to ride from the Gulfton area to downtown back in the late 1970s. This bus only ran during the morning and evening rush hours. Many, many times a scheduled bus would drive right by the bus stop and not stop to pick us up. I would sometimes have to call someone to pick me up from downtown. The only thing that made it worth my wait was the bus stop was across the street from the Hyatt Regency. I would have a drink in their bar while I waited.

There was also the park & ride I took down 59 to the southwest part of town. On one ride it rear ended a compact car, not a fun time. The worst ride that I can remember was the time the engine caught on fire and we waited on the side of the Southwest Freeway for over an hour for another bus. It was November and the day had started out dry and warm and ended up colder and rainy. I was sick for 2 weeks.

In fact, riding the Houston transit system left me so against public transit, that I didn't get on another bus for 25 years. I now live in Dallas and, although the transit system isn't perfect here, I haven't experienced the problems I did in Houston.

# May 9, 2007 11:49 AM

Steve Palmer said:

A couple of times, I've waited over an hour for the #26 to take me home from the medical center. The second time it happened, I called METRO and found out that one bus had broken down and the next was stuck in traffic. Having a standby bus at the TMC Transit Center or even the Fannin Park & Ride might have solved this problem.

# May 9, 2007 12:02 PM

Henry Ramsey said:

The problem of broken buses is chronic! I've lost count of the number of times I've wrote in or called customer service about busses that are in danger of breaking down. On my local route the #19 Wilcrest they had #4297(I think) out on the route with a bad tranny. The bus would not got faster than 10MPH for about 30 seconds after the driver 'floored' the accellerator. The engine was racing like crazy and then there'd be a loud thump and a jerk and we'd all of a sudden be going 30MPH or more. It was very uncomfortable and it made that particular run late all day long. The driver(s) repeatedly 'wrote up' the bus by using their 'bus defect card'. The bus wasn't fix until it finally went dead while out on the route. But it wasn't 'fixed';the problem persisted. They assigned this one bus to the #19 route day after day for months then it dissappeared and reapeared but it wasn't fixed and it was doing the same thing. I called in and complained and nothing happened except I wasted my time. Finally after it went down again on the route it was fixed properly and it's *still* being used on the #19 route. It took no fewer than *6 months* to fix that one bus. I've lost count of the number of times busses either just don't show up or are experiencing a mechanical failure while I'm on the bus. Just last week on Wednesday, on the #82 Westheimer route the bus I got on was hotter than H***. The driver was told by his dispatcher than there was no replacement available and so everyone was miserable with it being hotter inside the bus than outside. Later that same day the bus going the other direction pulled a no-show. Coinsidence? I think not... BTW, I've has some problems with my posts not showing up anyone else having this problem? I made two posts last week and both in different thread were either removed(why?) or 'something else' happened.

# May 9, 2007 8:18 PM

xmetro said:

Metrobusfan:

This board is a waste when you consider it on these premises: 1) who is paying for it? Taxpayers. 2) who is it supposed to benefit from it? Taxpayers. 3) Is this blog accomplishing its intended purpose (whatever that is)?

How much money does it cost to operate and maintain this blog and would that money better serve the taxpayers in other areas of transit like say, keeping buses on stand by in the event of breakdowns?

Most importantly, who at Metro, besides Ms. Sit actually reads or cares about the contents of the comments by the public?

# May 10, 2007 8:32 AM

MetroBusFan said:

"BTW, I've has some problems with my posts not showing up anyone else having this problem? I made two posts last week and both in different thread were either removed(why?) or 'something else' happened."

Easy there, bub. *lol* Hopefully your post will EVENTUALLY show up on here. I'm guessing the blogger is "moderating" every last comment? That's what I'm guessing.

There are certain e-mails I have made to a certain person and I have received nothing---yet.

Anyway, sorry about your problems on the buses you be riding. Not to jinx it but I have yet to (recently and/or up to now) be on a "local" bus and something is wrong with it. I hope to keep that streak going!

# May 10, 2007 8:53 AM

Michelle Torres said:

Today, I was waiting for the #40 Pecore - Acres Homes TC to arrive at Travis & Lamar at 8:35am. This bus did not show up until 9am! This is normal for the #40 Pecore - Acres Homes TC. In the 2 years I have ridden this route (the only route I can take to work), it is on-time according to the printed schedule only 1/2 the time. Riding the bus is NOT convenient for me but unfortunately, it is my only option for the time being. In order for me to get to work by 9am, I need to be on my park & ride bus by 7am just to take into account that the 40 will either be a little late (10 min) or very late (15 min or more). I won't even go into the waits when it's time to go home! Sorry for the long rant, but, I missed a meeting this morning because of it and it really burned me up!

# May 10, 2007 10:25 AM

wi11ie said:

Henry, it happens to me also. so I date the post with the time and then copy it to notepad then keep posting it until it appears.Mary is not losing our posts the IT guys are doing their usual job.

wi11ie

5/10/9:57pm

# May 10, 2007 9:57 PM

wi11ie said:

@All,

Broken down buses is an every day occurence.

Can't be helped what with over 1,000,000 miles a month driven stuff breaks.

The deciding factor is can the technicians that are responsible for repairing these beauties do the job.

In a word? Yes. Can they get the parts to fix these state of the art(1997 'N up) babies?

Not always.It was said today that parts are ordered then shipped to the field service center warehouse where they are renumbered then sent to the facilities to be stocked and used.What?! About a 3 week job? I feel sure that doing this is the second dumbest thing I have ever heard of. FACILITIES NEED PARTS NOW NOT DAYS/WEEKS LATER!! Not another make work job renumbering parts that have part numbers that the manufacturers assigned to them.

If the parts system needs revamping to match the manufacturers part numbers wouldn't it make more sense to ..Oh I dunno... Renumber the part in the system to match the one we bought it as?

Our second in command today mentioned that this needed fixing.BRAVO. Hey maybe the folks remumbering parts can be trained to clean or repair buses!

And this is where I will get slammed by everyone.. SO here goes.........

Bus repairs are done better and more quickly at some facilities than others. I left the facility that was responsible for the bus you mentioned cause I was tired of crappy buses everyday.At my present facility if you get a bus that is defective 2 times with the same problem you can walk right into the maintenance facility SUPERINTENDENTS office hand him the paperwork and that sucker WILL BE FIXED!That evening or the next day.

Life is good here I would not trade my facility for any other.

wi11ie

# May 10, 2007 10:23 PM

MetroBusFan said:

xmetro:

You said this, "Most importantly, who at Metro, besides Ms. Sit actually reads or cares about the contents of the comments by the public?" May I ask---who in God's name would want to come on here just to read what we have to say, huh? The least that can happen (if you want your voice heard via here) is to get the blogger to forward what you said to the proper department and take it from there.

If you really want your voice heard (verbally), go to the public board meetings. That may work way better than this in certain cases.

This board (or whatever you call it) may look like a waste to you but not to me because who else is going to go on a public website place (like this BLOG) and say what needs to be said? Eventually, something good will come out of this.

"How much money does it cost to operate and maintain this blog and would that money better serve the taxpayers in other areas of transit like say, keeping buses on stand by in the event of breakdowns?" Anybody else want to care about this? I sure as H*** don't.

As long is it's free to the public (you don't have to pay to get in) and we can practically say what we need to say on here (in an effort to get it over with and off our chests), I'm happy for that. As long as METRO has enough "moolah" to go around, let them do what they want with their money.

If you really (still) think that this blog is a waste, then PLEASE make a recommendation to the blogger to get rid of this place. This may make some people on here want to find me and have my head for this for saying that I'm not "feeling" this (board is a waste) thing. It's like telling me that I'm wasting my time saying what I want to say on here just because it may not benefit anything that'll make you happy. I'll just ignore that---if y'all don't mind because as long as it's still here, you'll eventually see me saying something.

"Is this blog accomplishing its intended purpose (whatever that is)?" Ummmm---what was the intended purpose, might I ask?

Sorry for that rant but what needs to be said---needs to be said. Yeah---I'm not happy about it, so what?

# May 11, 2007 10:02 AM

wi11ie said:

P.S. forgot to mention that it seems to be a thing to not have the same bus on the same route every day.

The only reason I can think of is that they know some operators are too lazy to write up defects.

So in the overall scheme of things it looks like a bus has not had 2 write-ups for that same defect.

WRONG! We remember if the bus was crappy before and is still a piece we do remember!

Operators, I know that some of you read the blog. PLEASE write up these wonderbuses and let's put the maintenance department workers on the line and get this resolved

wi11ie

# May 11, 2007 12:15 PM

Mary Sit said:

To everyone who has had problems with your comments not showing up:

I am sorry that has happened to you and am not sure what is going on. There has certainly been no censoring on my part. I have been publishing every comment that has come in.

Our server went down for an afternoon on 4/27 - so am not sure if that had something to do with comments mysteriously disappearing into cyberspace or not.

I have asked our Webmaster to look into this. If you are experiencing specific problems, would you mind e-mailing her and giving her the exact time/date of your comments? Her e-mail is: webmaster@ridemetro.org

Thanks.

Oh, btw, I was not at a P&R lot when my bus never came. I was trying to catch the 131-Memorial Express.

As to whether anyone in management reads this blog or not, I know that Frank Wilson, our CEO, has highlighted the blog in a presentation to the board on 4/26/07 and yesterday, talked about it again at an all-employee meeting.

I am e-mailing this post to various operations managers, so hopefully, they will see and respond to your comments.

# May 11, 2007 2:10 PM

David said:

Just a general comment: I really appreciate the Metro operators who comment on this blog. As with any business that serves the public, it is the folks "at the coal face" who make or break the "business" of Metro. Reading the comments from those of you who are operators gives me a bit of hope that there are plenty of operators at Metro who take their job seriously. My own experience of riding Metro for about 15+ years is that the operators are generally a very friendly and concientious group of folks. The comments on this particular topic confirm my belief there are lots of operators who would rather run their routes on time and get folks where they want to go on schedule! Thanks from one of your customers! David

# May 11, 2007 6:10 PM

DominicMazoch said:

OK, ya'll had buses posted at P&R's and downtown, not at the BOF's. Good! Bring it back. But not just for breakdowns in the buses. Have them ready to go if: 1. Freight train breaks down, fowling crossings. 2. The daily 18-wheeler jack-knifings 3. Water main and gas line leaks. 4. Sinkholes. Also, routes which run near major malls (Galleria, Memmorial City), need to have a mini sign-up period btween November 15-New Years. holiday shopping can make routes like the 53, 82 and 131 run as if they have NO schedule.

# May 11, 2007 6:28 PM

wi11ie said:

LOL Dom!

Yeap, I have worked the 53 82,131 during that "SPECIAL" time of year.

That is the time when nothing else but the $300 pen will do that you saw @ the Galleria.

Then there are the 'I need to be seen at the Galleria" folks (all my friends will be there).

The stores are full of wonderful people buying "use it once a year stuff".

'Oh my God I just had to get these Frosty the Snowman kitchen towels.They are made from road kill fur and recycled dryer lint.And such a bargain at only 160 bux".

God help me...

End of rant

wi11ie

# May 14, 2007 9:43 PM

mizz_porkie2003 said:

Dominic.....

Trust me if we, the drivers, HAD ANY SAY SO WHATSOEVER, THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WOULD BE OPERATING MUCH BETTER!!

** We would have NEVER stopped stand-by

** Contracted NORTHWEST BOF to First Transit

** Had Light Rail on Main Street

** Took away Security Guards at P&R"s and Transit Centers

** Took all timing out of schedules for trains, traffic, wheelchairs, etc....

** NEVER I mean NEVER eliminated so much Service Route changes

** Never started the daypass...Because we told them 10 yrs. ago when they wanted to boost ridership when you have to take it away...there would be MASSIVE PROBLEMS!!!!!!

*** AND THE LIST GOES ON.... AND ON.... AND ON!!!!!!!!

I am a 14 year VETERAN i can talk as long as you can LISTEN!!!!!

and i bet....after these post from the OPERATORS are read, figured out who's writing them.....we'll be cut from that TOO!!!!

we have TO REGISTER INCOGNITO...Thanks david for your compliments...we need an uplift from someone some times....Thing is, when you see a driver up tight...TRUST ME MANAGEMENT HAS KNOCKED HIM/HER DOWN AS FAR AS HE/SHE CAN GO WE USED TO HAVE A HIIGH MORALE AT THIS JOB....BUT NOW, SINCE SHIRLEY DE LIBRO AND HER SUCCESSORS, ITS LOW, VERY LOW!!

AS A MATTER OF FACT, I MAY EVEN HAVE TO GO TO EEOC AFTER THIS!!!

# May 15, 2007 8:20 AM

DominicMazoch said:

Actually, I am a paramedic. I ride METRO onmy days off because the traffic can drive me CRAZY! You ops have to put up with the traffic, patrons, and 1900 Main....... If I have a choice, I prefer a METRO op over one from First Transit. Generally, the former seem to have a better attitude. And thanks for letting my gas tank go a few miles longer.....

# May 15, 2007 7:48 PM

Henry Ramsey said:

My bad. After I posted I checked back the next day and found the 'missing posts'. Both threads had the post I thought weren't there. Maybe this was a server delay or something. I've been posting very late at night(it's 11:15pm on Tuesday,btw) so maybe they were lost and found again... I don't care as long as they're posted. And thank you wi11ie, for the idea. I did just when I posted that comment above and I'll do it with this one too...just in case. ;)

# May 15, 2007 11:23 PM

wi11ie said:

5-16 11:07am. mizz--porkie2003: Thanks for keeping it real. Dom: The attitude of those drivers is shown to us also. Not very communicative when we speak to them either. I don't understand why that is...they are obviously allowed to operate their buses while conducting personal business on their cell-phones (we see them all the time doing it) and we are not. They can load and unload passengers in the second lane at will ( which we are disciplined for doing). They are constantly leaving the curb lane to pass in the downtown area and then pull in ahead of other buses (now blocking 2 lanes instead of just the curb lane (something we can get slammed for doing, and do). If it looks like they will not be able to stop in time for a light they are allowed to "Honk and hammer down" instead of attempting to stop. Perhaps the effort involved in doing all those things has embittered them about the job.... wi11ie

# May 16, 2007 12:17 PM

DominicMazoch said:

Wi11ie:

Maybe some of the problems you mentioned in your post might be stopped if METRO would stop every 3-4 blocks downtown, instead of every 2. Fewer buses per stop, increased trafic flow, less wear & tear on brakes and transmissions. Some changes in operations I think could go a long way to keeping buses healthy!

Because Houston has different distances between blocks, bus stops should be based on a fixed distance, not the number of blocks.

# May 18, 2007 9:30 PM

wi11ie said:

Dom,

METRO inspects the brakes every 6,000 miles,I think they replace them at that time too regardless of the amount of wear.

A lot of our transmission problems seem to occur when PLASTIC BAGS are let loose to fly all over and by some incredible coincidence I do not understand, end up covering the cooling system intakes on our buses. Oh and don't forget those wonderful "free" papers that litter all our bus stops as they play the same kind of role in overheating these babies too! FREE papers cost us all in time to clean up this advertisement crap, which these BOZOS claim is free speech.Uh take out the ads and actually say something and it is a deal. Keep pulling ad dollars and it is not free speech it is advertisement. No cooling? Hot trannys. Hot trannys =bus breakdowns.Bus breakdowns = whining and complaining about late buses etc.

wi11ie

# May 23, 2007 11:08 PM

MetroBusFan said:

Well folks---it happened. Don't laugh, wi11ie (you, too---Mary) (or any of you other bus drivers who comment on here)---and don't say, "I told you so"---or anything like that. My streak has finally ended with being on a local bus that didn't have any problems while I was riding. It wasn't too major but the driver couldn't continue the route. You can say---I jinxed it. YES, I'm "sort of" kicking myself for this. Here's what the heck I'm talking about. Today, it was an adventure for me riding one particular New Flyer bus from a particular garage. I was riding bus #2905 out of the Kashmere Garage and it had problems while I was riding the 2nd #77-Liberty/MLK bus that leaves the Mesa Transit Center. The driver (this was her FIRST DAY OPERATING THAT ROUTE---mind you) kept having the "Check Engine" light come on. She would have to shut the bus off, and she could turn it back on with no problems but all of a sudden, the "Check Engine" light would come back on. Oh yeah---we would also hear a weird noise that nobody would like to hear. Me, mom, and two other female passengers had to get off on North Wayside (before we had to turn onto Sunbury) and wait for the next bus to come and pick us up. Notice that there were only FOUR folks on the bus---minus the bus driver. What's adding insult to injury was when I had to work late, we (me and mom) finally got to the Downtown Transit Center. Our bus came and what do I see? You guessed it---bus #2905!!!!! Want more adding insult to MY injury? You got it! We was riding with a driver who DIDN'T know where he was going. Other passengers had to tell him where to go along the route. What I want to say about that is when y'all bus drivers changes routes, PLEASE learn them [the new route(s) you have to operate on] quickly!!! That can make my life---and my ride---MUCH EASIER!!!!! That's my story for today and I'm sticking to it! Enjoy!

# May 29, 2007 9:41 PM

DominicMazoch said:

Transit buses must need a large volume of air to cool the engine, A/C, and trans. Even in the (low voice) HouTran era, it seems there were always "stuff" hanging to the air intakes of the old GM "goldfish" buses.

# May 31, 2007 10:09 PM

wi11ie said:

Bringing me back to a rant from awhile ago.

"Free" publications,plastic shopping bags, and other crap that gets tossed into the streets is a detriment to the operations of buses.

Thanks John and Jane Q. Public for causing yet another of the problems that face OUR city.Not only does it look like H*** but it affects your lives in ways you never even thought of.

Nothing about "free" ever is.Picking this stuff off of the streets has become an industry all in itself.

Fortunately for you, METRO is doing its part by sucking this waste into its cooling system intakes and ridding the city of yet another blight.

wi11ie

# June 5, 2007 4:59 AM

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Comments

robertwade said:

DominicMazoch said:

MetroBusFan said:

Casey56 said:

wi11ie said:

mizz_porkie2003 said:

wi11ie said:

mizz_porkie2003 said:

mizz_porkie2003 said:

xmetro said:

MetroBusFan said:

wi11ie said:

twotrees2007 said:

Steve Palmer said:

Henry Ramsey said:

xmetro said:

MetroBusFan said:

Michelle Torres said:

wi11ie said:

wi11ie said:

MetroBusFan said:

wi11ie said:

Mary Sit said:

David said:

DominicMazoch said:

wi11ie said:

mizz_porkie2003 said:

DominicMazoch said:

Henry Ramsey said:

wi11ie said:

DominicMazoch said:

wi11ie said:

MetroBusFan said:

DominicMazoch said:

wi11ie said: