All blog posts for December 2008
Gift ideas for transit riders
Submitted by Steven on 20 December, 2008 - 11:48am
Don't know what to get your transit-riding friends for the holidays? Want to convince folks at work that riding transit can be cool? Get them some transit-related gifts!
OCTA has a lot of corporate-logo merchandise such as beanies, visors, water bottles, canteens, squishy stress buses, and even cute teddy bears. I've found most of this merchandise for cheaper than even general stores — the water bottle in my pic came to about around $4. You won't be able to buy these items online; you'll have to stop by OCTA's main headquarters at the OCTA Store, 550 S Main St, Orange, CA during weekdays. I'm sure they have plenty of items in stock.
Los Angeles Metro store has much more trendy apparel, Christmas ornaments, and large toy replicas of their buses. Metro sells posters with beautiful artwork that makes the thought of riding transit pleasant. However, their higher quality products translate to a higher price. The Los Angeles Times even featured the Metro Store a few years back: "Wearing a Los Angeles Metro T-shirt is 'completely counterculture, ... Because L.A. is car culture.'... Enthusiasts say part of what makes transit systems interesting in London, Berlin, Paris and New York – and why people want to buy merchandise from those places – is that they were marvels of their time when they were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."
New York MTA's Transit Museum Store sells cool station signs, toys, drinkware, and more. If you happen to visit New York, stop by their museum!
Happy shopping! read more→
OCTA service cuts, fares rising
Submitted by Steven on 15 December, 2008 - 12:57am
OCTA's new quarterly schedule (in effect today) doesn't look too hot. Bus schedules have been trimmed, and service has become less frequent. On line 57, for example, buses will arrive every 10 minutes instead of 8 minutes. Fares have raised from the once-cheap $1.25 so they're on par with other transit agencies at $1.50. read more→
Will Orange County's new rapid bus system be a success?
Submitted by Steven on 10 December, 2008 - 10:01am
Only two members of the public were present (I one of them). I asked the board to consider UC Irvine as a stop with the Bristol-Irvine Rapid Bus (what will be route 557). I don't think I articulated it particularly well, but I brought up my fears that: read more→
Bravo!: BRT or HAR?
Submitted by Steven on 8 December, 2008 - 5:29pm
At today's OCTA rapid bus public hearing, it was clear that OCTA's board is not in sync with what's really going on. read more→
