I tried at a Kroger and a Valero here in Clear Lake to reload it 'on site' and the workers were unable to work the machines.

I think this is a bigger problem.

Note to METRO:

Here's a solution=>FIND PEOPLE WHO IS ABLE TO WORK THE MACHINES!

I know Metro discourages people from having more than one card, but I have two and have actually needed my trusty spare - not for reloading issues, but for reader issues.  I've had bus readers refuse my Q, at which time I dug out my other card, which the reader accepted.  This has happened with both cards at different times, so if there are faulty cards out there, then I've got two of them.  The problem is sporadic, and I've never had both cards fail at the same time, so having an extra just in case has worked great for me.  I'd rather have a spare Q than remember to keep exact change all the time.

question, if the reloader on the bus is not working, what is metro's policy on the fare? Some times drivers allow those free rides. other times drivers charge the fare. there is no consistancy on how your drivers handle the situation.

What I can't figure out is this:  The P&R machines take plastic only.  The bus machines take paper money only.  The ones on the rail system and the Downtown TC take BOTH.  DAH?

COOG.....I am a bus Operator!!

To answer your question, "WE really don't know"! just as confused as you are.

In the begining, we were to DENY ANY FREE RIDES!! then, there were certain circumstances.  NOW, THERE IS AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION...BUT I NEED MY JOB AND I AM GOING TO LET MARY ANSWER THIS ONE!!

We get what's called "MYSTERY RIDERS" on these buses perhaps never driven a bus before to critique our fare collecting driving etc.  but one thing i do know after years behind the wheel, every situation is different and must be handled accordingly!!  and NO MYSTERY RIDER can dictate how to handle a situation!

I actually had a bit of trouble with some of the TVMs.

The one on the southern end of the Southbound platform at Main Street Square never wants anyone's Q card. I've watched other people and it's not just me. The reader on the refill portion of the machine gives a read error when you stick your card in.

And the machine at Downtown TC in the bus area somehow put $20 on my card after it canceled my debit purchase twice, and spit out a $20 bill I tried to put in. I checked my statement to make sure I didn't get charged $40, so it's fine now.

My problem is even worse than not being able to reload the Q Card. I can't even get it loaded in the first place! On June 29, 2008, I set up a "subscription" on a Q Card that I received in the mail from Metro. As of July 8, 2008, this "subscription" Q Card has a balance of $0.00, so I assume that this Q Card cannot be used the pay for fares yet. I have contacted Metro twice via "Feedback" about this matter, giving my email address and phone number, but Metro has not responded.

Metro may prefer that riders not have multiple Q Cards, but I went to the nearest Randall's and got another Q Card and loaded it at the store. I intend to stop using this new Q Card as soon as my "subscription" Q Card shows a balance--IF this ever happens.

C. Wangler--

Something METRO may have not told you is that your subscription will not load until you actually use your card.

It will show zero dollars until it is tapped on the bus. That will activate the subscription and deduct the money at the same time. That is granted your card isn't faulty. Give it a try...

"mizz_porkie said:

To answer your question, "WE really don't know"! just as confused as you are."

Thanks for responding. Its disgusting to see that  this issue has never been properly addressed by metro. It seems that for fear of further offending its riders metro  rather leave to its frontline employees (drivers) to implement policy and in doing so take said responsibility and harrasment from said policy. Now I see that the smart drivers just let everybody ride free while the dumb employees face the wrath from the public.

If METRO cant fix their crap, then activate the transfer machine so the drivers can issues transfers if the Qcard loader isn't working. Theres no point in it just sitting there taking up space with a "do not use" sticker on it.

If the passenger HAS a Qcard and attempts to load it but METROs loader is broken. Then allow the passenger to pay cash and the driver can issue a paper transfer. And if its someone who doesn't have a Qcard then they pay and don't give them a transfer.

Cause I'll be damned if I have to transfer and the Qcard loader isn't working and im depending on that "FREE" transfer you people just love to advertise. And if a driver ever tells me to pay or get off because YOUR machine is broken... its going to be some drama... eh!

BUT!

I was riding the 102 home one day (and it happened to be a crappy New Flyer because the Nap. was in the shop). An airport employee boarded, tapped his card and it showed a red light. So he tells the driver that he was going to load his card. Guy goes to the back and behold the great Qcard loader is broken. So he returns and tells the driver its broken. Driver says put your $1 in the farebox, kid says I need to transfer.

SO to my surprise this driver tells this kid he was stopping at the next stop and to get off or put his LAST dollar in the machine???? So I gave the kid 2 bucks. But that was embarrassing for that kid.

Okay... And lets work on placing some better buses on 102. I was on there last week and the freakin' condensation from the a/c was leaking in the bus. I gave up calling, I think their tossing my complaints in the garbage.

Chris (102)

re: mizz_porkie said:

"We get what's called "MYSTERY RIDERS" on these buses perhaps never driven a bus before to critique our fare collecting driving etc."

Half of those "mystery" people would never drive in the neighborhoods some passengers live in, let alone confront them about something. For your safety, I say let them ride. METRO (or any company) really doesn't care anything about you anyways. Thats why they love blaming the "little man" for crap THEY screw up. Yep, lets send a "mystery rider" on the bus and find a way to screw the driver.

I say, send a few "mystery office workers" and the FTA to snoop around 1900 Main for a few days.

Same thing for the hierarchy at 1900 Main. You think they would confront some of those passengers???

Sometimes people aren't realistic when it comes to certain things. I mean theres a real world the driver's drive in. And if you actually knew the person sitting behind you, you probably would have passed them up in the first place.

okay... back on topic

As an operator on the 102 I assure you that we are left with very few alternatives in "taking" these crapboxes out on the streets.

Penalty for refusing a POD? Days off.

Then when they crap out, It is like pulling teeth to get a decent non-POD to replace it with.

The problem does not exist with the operators, it starts with the gamble taken by scheduling personnel that a bus will actually be able to "make" its daily assignment.

These people in the assignment jobs get a list of recommended buses to go on a particular run.To avoid putting their jobs on the line they assign these PODs to the route that it calls for.

SO..... the problem is that scheduling would rather place the worst buses that we have so that visitors to our fine city can be greeted with the worst that we have to offer in public transportation.Gives us a great first impression..

Couple that with the illusion of "more service" by removing recovery time from schedules and you get PODs being driven by guys and girls that haven't went potty in 4 hours cause of 1-4 minutes of recovery time on each end. Result? Crappy bottom of the line buses being operated by people that are full to the eyes,resulting in a bad deal for everyone but the people getting bonuses for saving money.

wi11ie

Wi11ie,

Another perfect example of METREAUX shortchanging Houstonians as a result of the ill-devised policy to divert precious taxpayer resources away from critical bus service, and squandering funds on wasteful urban rail.

Since the tram start-up, METREAUX has decreased the fleet by about Two Hundred (-200) buses, slashed full time operators, and route miles.  This was after they duped the voters in 2003 with the hollow promise made to Houstonians of a 50% INCREASE in bus service!

Also, remember when there were stand-by buses?  METREAUX thinks nothing of abusing the bus transit dependent.  But hey! you're getting five more boondoggle tram lines to suck the remaining life out of the bus system.

"wi11ie said:

SO..... the problem is that scheduling would rather place the worst buses that we have so that visitors to our fine city can be greeted with the worst that we have to offer in public transportation.Gives us a great first impression.."

So the new signature IAH service will really differentiate  from your 102 service now though at a cost of 15$ a pop!!!

I think some of the ops on the 102 also run some trips on the 108.  So, we get the NeoBroke buses!

Maybe we will get some better buses via the "bump-along" system once some of the 5000's show up!

Now, how about some 3 axle hybrid buses in the 5100 series.  Oh, the axels are evenly spaced, so SOMETHING has to give..........er bend!

"So the new signature IAH service will really differentiate  from your 102 service now though at a cost of 15$ a pop!!!"

Yeap and you can bet your booty they will be the high dollar "we ain't got none" Hybrids.

willie

Whatever the case

Yesterday 7/11/08

I was on the 102 (NF #4119) and there were 19 NINETEEN passengers, including myself, standing because there were NO SEATS available. And we had to ride all the way downtown in this uncomfortable position.

The passengers were already cranky, then came the shift change in the middle of the street at 45 and Fallbrook. We had to WAIT almost 6 minutes while the relief driver did her pr-trip. Anyways no one on the bus was happy about this.

Now METRO knows they should have larger capacity buses on this route. And when one breaks down DO NOT replace it with a low capacity, New Flyer.

I had the same issue when I went home at 6;47. There was a New Flyer. By the time the driver made it to McKinney, 3 passengers had to stand up.

Im just curious... Does this happen on the "other" routes? MCI breaks down, goes in for maintenance, etc... then gets replaced with a New Flyer and passengers have to stand?

Oh yeah... And the Qcard loader wasn't working on #4119. Of course I know to keep a balance on my Qcards.

Question,

What is POD?

And whats the real reason behind this so called "express" service from IAH? Sounds like a few travelers complained to the hierarchy at METRO. Maybe they didn't like being SQUEEZED in a bus with a bunch of airport employees for and hour?

And METRO would rather listen to people who don't even live here, rather then those of us that ride 5 days a week?

And what are the cab drivers saying about this? They pretty much depend on those fares to and from Downtown.

And I am in the process of starting an online forum for METROs passengers and employees (the bold ones at least).

Chris

Try this, it is a bit slow and has some issues but it is there..

Magoo

http://metrosux.host.sk/

MrMagoo:

Any relationship to the bald, elderly gentleman cartoon charater with poor eyesight?

The passengers only "go off" on drivers because they cant get to to the people who actually cause the problems. They're all conveniently locked up at 1900 Main.

But im getting with some Union reps to see what the "real" problems are. I will be marching into 1900 Main around 11 Monday to bytch about having to stand up with 18 other people on the 102 (#4119) Friday. WHERE'S OUR BUS??? Why cant they use the "out of service" MCI's at Fallbrook for midday traffic on 102? That didn't make any sense. And the drivers were all stressed because of stressed passengers.

And I purposely rode the 219 Midday to the Northwest Station P&R last Monday at 10:40am. I was the ONLY passenger on the MCI from Downtown all the way to the last point. Why doesn't METRO place a New Flyer on that route and give the 102 and other busier routes the high capacity, MCI buses so we wont have to freakin stand up for 25 minutes??? Not to mention riding at 50+ mph on 45 in those New Flyers isn't a pleasant ride.

I need to stay on topic before I get blocked huh?

O yeah...

About 2 or 3 weeks ago I saw a new MCI parked at the Transit Center around 9am, which I found odd so I hung around a few minutes to be nosy. So I counted just 17 (SEVEN-TEEN), METRO employees that took the new MCI bus marked as "shuttle" somewhere.

Why couldn't they use use a New Flyer for their "shuttle"? Why use a 50 passenger MCI to transport 17 METRO employees to wherever? Don't they ride free anyways, why didn't they use the "local" routes or METROrail to go where they were going? You care so much about the passengers eh!

So don't tell me there are no buses available, METRO. I wish I would have had my camera.

But I see the drivers crammed into the mini-bus everyday downtown. Whats wrong with you?

I don't think an MCCI would have worked on that 102 situation.  However a 4400 or 4500 bus would have.  Then again, its got that black thing in the middle, so we will not be getting more of them....hybird or not!

Chris said:  "And what are the cab drivers saying about this? They pretty much depend on those fares to and from Downtown."

About what?  What purpose does the cab driver have to do with this?  Also, what "new" MCI?  Since METRO has had those 4949-4973 coaches (if that's what you're talking about) for quite some time now, they're not new anymore.  The new coaches that METRO will get are the hybrid MCIs---which haven't arrived yet---at least the production coaches.

"And I purposely rode the 219 Midday to the Northwest Station P&R last Monday at 10:40am. I was the ONLY passenger on the MCI from Downtown all the way to the last point. Why doesn't METRO place a New Flyer on that route and give the 102 and other busier routes the high capacity, MCI buses so we wont have to freakin stand up for 25 minutes???"

Question:  Why must METRO be that DUMB to place a local bus on a P&R route?  Doesn't make sense.  If these New Flyers are made for local routes, then they should STAY on local routes---PERIOD!  If they ARE placing local buses on P&R routes, then that should STOP---immediately!

There are certain bus manufacturers that can attepmt to make a low floor bus that can look like a P&R coach from the inside---whether or not it'll have ALL of the fixings of a P&R coach.

BTW, ALL of the MCIs seat 55 people.

Now---on to the Q Card reloading problems.  I'm not going to worry much---only because I have enough money left on it.  If I didn't and the reloading machines don't work, then---and ONLY then---will it become a problem that METRO needs to fix ASAP!

I roade with Wi11ie on one of the new conventional MCI's this last winter.  nice Bus.  Did not know it could seat 55.

Now, as somebody asked:  POD = ?

Piece of Defecation...

Forgot that POD is a Yankee thing!

willie

Wi11ie,

Thanks for your er, clarification!

Now, some good news for the 108.  Bus 4800 was running the route!  We we see more of the same start to replace the NeoPods?

NeoPods...

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I don't care who you are, that's funny

wi11ie

Wi11ie,

There is an old NeoPlan off N Wayside near Loop 610 which looks in better shape han some of the Pods working out of Fallbrook....Cedric, you know where I am talking about.

It seems to me the NP bodies don't look very sturdy.  Actually, some of METRO's fold and tab paper bank buses seem to have stronger bodies!

Dominic,

       Usually, the MCI public sector coaches are supposed to seat 57 people so why 55?  Can't answer that.

Check this out=>http://www.mcicoach.com/NewCoaches/PublicCoaches/publicHybrid.htm

This is new to me---and to anybody else who may view MCI's website.

DominicMazoch said:  "Actually, some of METRO's fold and tab paper bank buses seem to have stronger bodies!"

HA!  My paper model replica METRO buses can beat those fold and tab wannabe 10-1 (if you use the right kind of "cardboard" paper and not the regular printing paper you use---and to add insult to injury, what I have is more real enough!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry but I just had to say that.

.......wannabe.......

There should of been an "S" at the end of that word.  *LOL!!*

Cedric:

Minus 2 for the wheelchair elevator and seats?  That is on the side of the bus, not in the door like the the local route buses!

I used the bank concept because some people don't know about your paper bus site.

Not only do the Cards not work on all the buses, they double charge you at times when you are transferring to complete your trip. The system fails and METRO is ripping us off at the same time. Not only that, go to the web-site and try to read the card there. The numbers do not match ever and the site is usually down and you can't get there. What a waste of our and the governments money. I have written to the Transportation Board and awaiting an investigation on the infamous Q-Cards. As much money as METRO gets from the government and as big as our great city is, public transportation should be free. Look at the Chronicle web-sit on how much these fools make to rip us off. Including the I don't give a crap about the rider (customer) attitude from the drivers. There are some drivers that are close to triple digit salaries.

" There are some drivers that are close to triple digit salaries."

Think about it mr C, anybody can approach triple digits if they are willing to work double shifts, days off, ect. Metro is exempt and does not follow federal guidelines when it comes to hours worked according to one driver I speak with.