BICYCLE STOLEN OFF VTA BUS

STOLEN Surley Long Haul Trucker stolen at 9:55 PM right off the front of a VTA bus. DT San Jose

VTA driver describes suspect as white male 24 years old 5'11" blue ball cap.

Contact with info or seen on Craigslist

Amtrak announces initial rollout of e-ticketing service on Downeaster line

To those now accustomed to e-ticketing among the airlines Amtrak is now introducing the service on their Downeaster line. The Downeaster line which extends from Maine to Boston has initiated a new system in which travellers can print their tickets at home, or have them a pdf file emailed to their account. This would allow conductors to scan the barcodes from the file. Passengers with a smartphone would be able to open the pdf file attached to the email, display the barcode from the pdf file and show it to the conductor to allow her to scan the ticket information.

What this will also do is allow Amtrak customers the ability to change their reservations at the last minute. It will also give Amtrak the ability to have an updated passenger manifest at all times.  This will not apply to all passengers as those who are on group packages, or who purchased their ticket through a travel agent will still use the current paper ticketing system. On a recent Thanksgiving weekend trip I noticed that conductors now carry with them a scanner/printer set allowing them to scan tickets or issue new tickets on the spot.

Although Amtrak issued a press release introducing the service as well as issuing a November 3rd Twiter tweet, I could find nothing on the Downeaster website describing the service.

Amtrak plans to expand the trial to California in February, and if that goes well, the system could roll out on a nationwide basis as early as this summer.


Note: The Downeaster line has recently announced an expansion project to extend the line from Portland to Freeport and Brunswick. Construction was started in August of 2010 and is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2012.

USA Today - Amtrak tests e-ticketing on Downeaster service.

Record Amtrak ridership over Thanksgiving holiday

As I mentioned in a recent post (Rail Highlights - Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor), the Thanksgiving holiday season is the busiest time of the year for Amtrak. On my Thanksgiving weekend trip it was standing room only in several cars. Well, according to Amtrak estimates it looks like this year will set a new ridership record with an estimated 720,000 passengers over the Thanksgiving holiday travel week.

Amtrak's Vice President of Marketing and Product Management Emmet Fremaux stated that this was "due in part to increased capacity and the recent introduction of free Wi-Fi service on several of Amtrak's routes". Comparing Thanksgiving 2011 to Thanksgiving 2010, there was an estimated 2.2 percent increase in ridership nationwide. The previous Thanksgiving ridership records was set in 2010 with 704,446 passengers.

Amtrak gives credit to their operation of every available passenger rail car in its fleet and the scheduling of extra trains to accommodate additional passengers in the Northeast and on the West Coast. This was due in part to the slightly larger equipment fleet this year due to rehabilitated and refurbished railcars and locomotive engines that were recently restored to service.

Yet another Bay Area city faces costly road repair decisions

With recent headlines highlighting our transportation woes, we typically think of highways, bridges, and high speed rail when we speak of "infrastructure", but as I have tried to highlight in other blog posts, while the major national headlines focus on those big ticket items what is really needed is money to maintain your city streets; yes those streets right outside your widow, the residential street.

The East Bay city of Orinda has gone back to the drawing board after two recent attempts to finance a much needed road repair program. The city announced that they will be conducting a citywide survey to see if residents will support measures to fund a road maintenance program.

In a recent Contra Costa Times article ("Orinda my poll residents on how to finance road repairs") it was mentioned that "since 2000, Orinda has spent $15.5 million repaving arterial and collector streets. However, the city's residential roads remain rough. In 2006 and 2007 (Voter Information Pamphlet), bond measures of nearly $60 million fell short of voter approval. Orinda annually allocates an average of about 10 percent, or $1 million, of its $10 million operating budget to road and storm drain repairs."

In the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Report  ("The Pothole Report - Can the Bay Area Have better Roads?"), Orinda's 193 miles of roadway rank in the lowest category with a PCI (Pavement Condition Index) of 49 in 2010. At over $1 million per year that works out to over $5,000 per mile which is extremely low for road repair work. Depending on whether the city wants to maintain or improve conditions it typically takes from $8,000 to $17,000 per lane mile. With the increasing backlog the city's Citizens Infrastructure Committee has now estimated it will take as much as $95 million to keep the city's roads and pipes up to standard. If you amortize this over 10 years ($95million / 10 years) this just about equals the current city budget of $10 million; just for the city's roads!

So we can now add Orinda to the growing list of cities that are caught in that though spot of paying for road maintenance now or major road overhauls later. Stay tuned.

Detroit needs a new app - hooking our youth back on cars



By dmjarvey

 Monday, Streetsblog writer Anne Lutz Fernandez published a post titled "Getting Young People Back Into Cars is Auto Industry Job #1". During these tough economic times when California college students are protesting large tuition increases, its easy to see why owning a car is far from financially realistic. But Lutz also highlights one other factor. The utility of the automobile is being challenged by the smartphone.

Every morning, rain or shine, outside of my local coffee shop sits a group of aging car buffs, most of whom are retired who swoon when any classic car rolls by. Classic in this case refers to any car that was completely made of chrome and steel and built before smog control devices were dreamed up by some Sacramento legislator. Overhearing their conversations, I listen as they tell stories of their first cars; how they fixed them up, modified them and raced them. These cars provided them with identity, access to jobs, to fun with their friends, and to dates. The cars connected them to their world.

But as the author mentions young people now connect through the Internet, and the Internet is no longer a modem, a dial-up, sit down and wait affair. The Internet; their Internet is seamless, instantaneous, and ubiquitous. It is the Internet that gives young Americans their connectivity, not cars. Young people (and baby boomers) also prefer to live in urban areas forgoing the feeling of isolation found in the suburbs ("The Death of the Fringe Suburb" New York Times 11-25-2011). This change of status from car to phone has contributed to the decline in teen driving rates.

So Detroit, and in speaking of Detroit I mean the auto industry in general, has figured out that it is not high gas prices, not environmentalists, not transit and high speed rail that has dented sales of cars to young Americans, but the smartphone. Yes, it is the smartphone, or the iPhone that is changing the way this demographic sees freedom and connectivity, and Detroit is waking up and taking notice.

Yesterday morning the headline in my San Jose Mercury News business and technology section (yes I still read a newspaper, mainly for ceremonial reasons) was all the evidence I needed. The headline read "Toyota looks ahead to a 'smartphone on four wheels'". In the article Toyota President Akio Toyoda, speaking at the Tokyo Motor Show introduced a concept car called the Fun-vii that "works like a personal computer and allows drivers to connect with others with a tap of a touch-panel door." Now I not really sure what he meant by the personal computer comment, I mean no one under 25 years of age even will admit to using a "personal computer", but I get the idea. If you can't sell your car as a car, well sell it has a smart phone.

The auto industry has, somewhat late, begun to realize the need to lure these young shoppers back to the showrooms. And this is where they have an advantage. Although somewhat slow to respond to the trend,  industry will always respond to change faster than government and governmental agencies. Even with the renaissance of the central city, young residents will require better transportation options; better bus systems, bike networks without gaps, bus rapid transit, connectivity to the airport, and cities that recognize pedestrians on par with automobiles. Without real attention given to alternative transportation modes we may see young people abandoning their car-free and car-lite lifestyles in favor car-centric neighborhoods.

Time will tell.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Great autumn commute this morning,

The Good. Yellow leaves on Curtner.
.

The Bad. Black Holes on South First.

The Ugly. The official city tree, sycamores in fall on Meridian.

Guadalupe River bike trail improvements almost complete

For the last year contractors have been working on Reach 6 of the Guadalupe River Trail, the section just south of the 280 freeway. Here is a photo I took this afternoon where the trail is visible. San Jose City Parks officials have announced that trail is scheduled to open in December.

November 29,2011
Palm and Grant St. Looking Southwest
towards Guadalupe River

View Larger Map

Rail Highlights - Amtrak California's Capital Corridor

Capitol Corridor

The mothballed fleet in
San Pablo Bay. Viewed from
an early morning Capital Corridor train.

Reader Note: Yesterday, I posted that Amtrak California announced that it had installed a new wi-fi system on all its California trains. For more details (Amtrak California announces new on-board wi-fi service).

Although most Silicon Valley Train riders are familiar with Caltrain or the ACE (Altamont Commuter Express) train, another key line terminating in San Jose (Diridon) is Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor Train. With 14 daily (outbound an inbound) trains each day from San Jose (32 in Oakland) the line travels north to Oakland, Emeryville, and Berkeley.

I have taken this train many times before, but on the day before Thanksgiving I was able to experience the system at its capacity; yes the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year.

As I have mentioned in a previous post one of the many great things about this line and all other Amtrak and Amtrak California lines is the ability to reserve train tickets through their convenient smartphone app (New Smartphone App). The app allows you to book you train in about a minute. Once you have reserved you ticket just insert you payment card into the in-station kiosks, select your train and the tickets will be printed immediately. You will need to show the conductor a government-issued photo ID card however. This is only required on Amtrak (federally funded system) trains. Capitol Corridor is slightly different than Caltrain in that you do not have to have a ticket to board the train. A conductor has the ability to sell you a ticket on the train with a small service fee. Conductors now carry automated ticket readers and printers on a handy scanning computer attached to their belts.

For those of you who are used to using the Caltrain system the first thing you will notice is the longer train used by Amtrak necessitating the use of track number 1 at Diridon Station (which is also long enough for the twice daily Coast Starlight). In comparison with Caltrain the seats on the Capital Corridor are more comfortable, the trains are quieter, and the ride is smoother. There are two dining cars on each train with a menu of reasonably priced snacks and beverages. Wi-Fi is now available on all Capitol Corridor trains.

Boarding and Train Facts
All seating is unreserved on a first come, first served basis. The seating on the first floor is for disabled passengers or those that find it physically difficult to use the stairs to the second floor. Seating is not guaranteed with the ticket, but it is highly unlikely that you will not have a seat unless you are riding on the busiest day of the year; the day before Thanksgiving.

The seating is ample and comfortable

• Big, comfortable seats
• Fold-down trays
• Individual reading lamps
• Ample legroom

Some seats have a four-person meeting table (see photo above)

There are luggage racks on the first and second levels. Passengers are limited to two pieces of carry-on baggage. Each bag must weigh less than 50 lbs. and be tagged with your name and address.

Capitol Corridor.
1st level bike parking

There is plenty of bike parking with two different types of racks. One type of rack (see picture) can be used as a luggage rack or configured to carry bikes as well.

Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA)
You will notice the the Capitol Corridor is sometimes referred to as Amtrak California or the Capital Corridor Joint Powers Authority. The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) is a partnership among the six local transit agencies in the eight county service area which shares the administration and management of the Capitol Corridor. The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) provides day-to-day management support to the CCJPA.

Through Caltrans, the State of California provides capital grants and support for station and track improvements, signaling, locomotives and passenger rail cars, connecting Amtrak Thruway bus service, and operating assistance for the Pacific Surfliner® and San Joaquin® routes.

These two California train routes and numerous Thruway bus routes, collectively referred to as Amtrak California, are funded and managed by Caltrans, but operated by Amtrak in addition to Amtrak's own interstate trains - the Coast Starlight®, California Zephyr®, Southwest Chief®, and Sunset Limited®. The State of California also provides funding for the Capitol Corridor® which is managed by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority in cooperation with Caltrans and Amtrak.

Capital Corridor Facts
170 miles of track
32 weekly trains
Fiscal Year End: 9/30/2011 1.7 million passengers.
$70 million budget
16 stations (6 staffed; San Jose Diridon, Oakland, Emeryville, Martinez, Davis, Sacramento)
Transfer program with: AC Transit, VTA, and other Bay Area Transit Districts.

Cost per mile: The 127 mile trip to Sacramento costs $37 or about $.29 per mile. Caltrain typically runs about $.15 per mile. One could agree that the ride comfort mentioned above makes up for the price (although not the frequency of trains into San Jose).


Key Connections


On-board Poster promoting
free connecting transger passes.

 While on board the train, ask the conductor for Transit Transfer (or two, if you need to make a round trip). The validated transfer will be punched for the nextday. Use one transfer to travel to your destination, stay the night, if needed, and use the second transfer the next ay. Or, use them both on the same day.

Connections to local transit with Amtrak Capitol Corridor Transit Transfer Ticket (ask Amtrak conductor for up to two free transfers). Good on the transit systems listed below/ Passengers can ask for up to two transfers for their round-trip transportation to/from the train. Transfer is good through the following day.

You can also buy a BART 20% discount ticket ($10 value ticket for only $8), available in the Cafe car.

San Jose Diridon
San Jose Sharks
Diridon Transit Center (VTA)
ACE (Altamont Commuter Express)
MST to Monterey/Salinas
17 to Santa Cruz
VTA 22 San Jose to Palo Alto along the El Camino Real

Emeryville
Connecting Thru Bus to San Francisco

Oakland - Jack London Square
AC Transit
Jack London Square
Downtown Oakland

Oakland - Coliseum/Airport
AirBART - Airport Shuttle

Martinez
Thru bus to Vallejo, Napa, Petaluma, Santa Rosa
Six Flags Theme Park
John Muir House

Suisun-Fairfield
Rio Vista Delta Breeze
Suisun-Fairfield Transit System

Davis
UC Davis
Yolobus

Sacramento

Transit Connections with e-tran (Elk Grove Transit) and Sacramento Regional Transit.
Bus Connections to Chico (North), Placerville (South), and South Lake Tahoe (South)

The following is the Capitol Corridors policy on Bicycles.

Bikes on Board
Most connecting buses can accommodate bicycles. Bicycles must be stored underneath the bus in the luggage compartment, if space is available. Amtrak and the CCJPA assume no responsibility for your bike. Passengers must load and unload their own bikes.


Bikes on Buses

Bicycles are welcome aboard the designated lower levels of Capitol Corridor trains. Most Capitol Corridor coach cars have bicycle racks on the lower level of the car; spaces are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Please bring a bungee cord with you to secure your bike; and if the bike racks are full, please follow the train conductor’s instructions on where to place and secure your bicycle. For tips on how to secure your bike visit capitolcorridor.org.

Social Connections

Capitol Corridor Website
Amtrak Apple Smartphone App
Facebook

Twitter

Blog - "Get On Board"

Introductory video "Get On Board"

Yelp

Amtrak California announces new on-board wi-fi service

Amtrak California which operates three train lines within the state announced today that they will be offering a free wi-fi service to all riders. The train lines include the Capital Corridor, the San Jaoquin, and the Pacific Surfiner. Just in time for Cyber Monday, the online retail version of Black Friday, todays wi-fi introduction has been one of the most requested services.

Amtrak is scheduled to announce the Wi-Fi service at events this morning. The national passenger railroad already has the service on its popular Acela trains and some other East Coast routes as well as on the Cascades line in Washington and Oregon. It's also available to sleeping-car passengers on the Coast Starlight.

During the first week of the service, ambassadors will ride the Capitol Corridor trains to help passengers navigate the new Wi-Fi network, which will have a landing page, or portal, and will require users to agree to terms of service.

Coast Starlight pulls into
Sacramento Station in the
early morning hours.

The Capitol Corridor is paying for the system with $3.75 million left over from a signal project in Emeryville that came in under budget. The rail service has been working, on and off, for about nine years to offer Wi-Fi, and has tested different technologies and approaches, trying to find one that worked consistently and did not interfere with Union Pacific Railroad communications.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/28/BAHQ1M3FMA.DTL#ixzz1f1NysvIk

Some information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/

359 State St. - New Los Altos bike store now open

It seems as though it is becoming a monthly event in the valley nowadays; a new bike store opens in some local traditional business district in the process of being remade as a hipper, friendlier version of the mega-malls. Whereas the last three San Jose based mega-malls have all included the standard Panera and Panda food vendors, smaller historically centered business districts are changing their look with outdoor seating, farmers markets, and (as I mentioned in a post about downtown Campbell) bike shops.

359 State St. which just happens to be on 389 State St. in the heart of downtown Los Altos, right next to Peet's coffee, a local landmark for cyclists who use Foothill expressway as their own local highway.

Jeff in front of Palo Alto Bicycles

---

359 State Street is the latest creation of Jeff Selzer, who many bicycle enthusiasts know around the valley. Jeff is all things bicycle. Bicycle store manager, owner, bike parking fixture manufacturer and tireless bicycle advocate from local Palo Alto issues all the way to the National Bike Summit held in Washington D.C. every year.

Jeff is the General Manger of Palo Alto Bicycles located right across El Camino Real from Stanford University. He also started Bike Arc with a partner to provide a unique type of parking solutions in cities. I first met Jeff with his work at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition where he serves as a board member as one of two bicycle retailers.

April Economides and Andrew Boone
 connect  before hearing her presentation
 on cycling in Long Beach.

In the world of bicycle advocacy and retailing Jeff brings a fresh face to the industry. With a tall and lean demeanour, he carries himself like a former road racer. The absence of any silver tinged facial hair and bright green riding ensembles however sets him apart from other advocates. In fact the ever present smile and upbeat attitude clashes with the stereotypical vision of a bike advocate. As we started the interview, it was readily apparent that he sees the ever changing cycling industry from a different perspective.

Store owner Jeff Selzer
 explaining the Bike Arc
 rack system to a customer

While speaking amongst a small group of local activists, Suzanne Ambiel a Los Altos resident asked, "Where's the shop?" Jeff replied enthusiastically, "Don't have one". Now I knew this was going to get interesting; a bike shop without a shop.

Jeff went on to state that the "store" was to entice local residents who wouldn't normally ride but wanted to use a bike for those local errands within a two mile radius from the house. With his many years in the bike business he noticed that most potential customers feel intimidated when talking with shop technicians or (typically) guys in shop shirts and aprons. I guess that's why car dealers always put their repair facilities at the back of the property. Jeff's goal is to make the traditional bike "shop" look more like a bike "store". His goal is to highlight three main products; the beautiful bikes themselves, fashionable as well as quality clothing, and the graceful racks that he sells under the name Bike Arc.



Clothes by Ibex and Rapha

 Eventually he may consider moving on to even more utilitarian bikes such as bakfiets and Xtracycles (bakfiets vs. Xtracycle), but for now traditional bikes fitted with baskets and racks will suffice. With the bright, light, and light interior its as if he took a page out of Paco Underhill's "What Women Want: The Global Market Turns Female Friendly", or took a couple of pages out of the now ubiquitous Apple store's playbook. The store is open and airy without a hint of bike grease or chain solvent.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the community welcomes Jeff's new store. Stay tuned.

A modular Bike Arc rack

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Caltrain Seeks Volunteers for Bicycle Advisory Committee

Caltrain is seeking four volunteer representatives for the nine-member Bicycle Advisory Committee.

The positions to be filled are: A public agency staff member representing the City and County of San Francisco; a public agency staff member representing San Mateo County; a representative of a San Mateo County bike advocacy organization; and a representative of the Santa Clara County general public.

The nine-member committee serves as the primary venue for the interests and perspectives of Caltrain bicyclists.

The BAC meets every other month at 6:45 p.m. in San Carlos, just one block from the San Carlos Caltrain Station. All meetings are open to the public.

Applications are due Monday, Nov. 21. Members will be selected by the Staff Coordinating Council of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. The council is made up of representatives of the three partner agencies – the San Mateo County Transit District, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

Interested persons can download an application by clicking here or call 650.508.6223.

USDOT awards $21 million to Caltrans for SoCal Rail

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will receive $21 million for three projects to improve the Pacific Surfliner Corridor, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced last week.

“The projects will help relieve congestion, create jobs and help ensure the world’s eighth-largest economy continues to grow,” LaHood said in a press release.

The projects and dollar amounts include:

• $10 million for design, environmental and engineering work toward a plan to connect two sections of double track, resulting in a 10.3-mile stretch of double track. The work is part of the long-range plan to double-track the San Diego segment of the corridor to alleviate train delays and remove a capacity constraint to future intercity passenger-rail service on the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Corridor, USDOT officials said.

• $7 million for preliminary engineering and environmental work for construction of a 1.1-mile section of second main track, replacement of a timber trestle railway bridge and signal improvements. The project is designed to alleviate train delays and improve on-time performance for intercity, commuter and freight trains.

• $4 million for preliminary engineering and environmental work for the construction for second main track and replacement of an aging railway bridge over the San Luis Rey River. The project will help alleviate train delays, USDOT officials said.

BART's Fleet of the Future will employ American know-how

First transit system in the nation to adopt a "Buy America" policy.

BART’s new Buy America Bid Preference policy gives preferences to rail car manufacturers who create jobs in the U.S.A., a first-in-the nation policy unanimously adopted by the Board of Directors Thursday. Board members made the move after saying that as they look to replace BART’s oldest-in-the-nation train cars with the Fleet of the Future, they’ve heard from both their constituents and state and federal officials that putting Americans back to work should be a strong consideration.

“The Buy America policy mirrors the economic goals of federal lawmakers,” BART Board President Bob Franklin said. “Adopting this policy on a regional level demonstrates BART’s leadership in the rail industry. It will also transfer rail car technology to the U.S.”

The Buy America Bid Preference policy scores bids for federally funded procurements by using a formula that considers the domestic content level of a product. It goes into effect on January 1, 2012. To view details on the Buy America program, visit www.bart.gov/board and click on the "Board Agenda and Minutes" link. Choose the agenda for Nov. 17, 2011, and go to the PDF document attached at the bottom of the agenda titled "Buy America Board Presentation."

BART’s Fleet of the Future train car replacement project is a $3-billion capital investment. The preliminary timeline is to award a contract to a manufacturer in the coming months. For more information on the Fleet of the Future, see www.bart.gov/cars.

In another job-related vote, the Board adopted a resolution in support of requiring Project Stabilization Policies aimed to create local jobs and facilitate local economic growth as BART works to build Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) at or near BART stations. This resolution supports a partnership with local unions to achieve a mutually-agreed goal of workers on all TODs construction projects who are residents of counties BART serves.

Another Bay Area transportation agency to push for more pothole funding

In what has become a domino effect around the San Francisco Bay area, another transportation agency has decided to put a ballot measure to the voters to help fix crumbling roads along with a package of transit improvements, pedestrian, and cycling projects, and in this case a $400 million contribution to bring BART to Livermore. The proposed measure plans to double the current county sales tax portion dedicated to transportation from .5% to 1%, making it the second county in the state, after Los Angeles to seek a 1% solution.

Like other local agencies, the concern is that a failure to act will create an ever escalating backlog of projects while road deterioration accelerates with each passing year. The measure is expected to raise over $7.7 billion in new