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Photo by AgentAkit
This TransLink card reader appears out of service on the SF Muni 29 line. Aw. What's more, the above photo was taken yesterday, July 15, 2008, the day Muni and Caltrain was supposed to slowly unleash TransLink on us. Alas.
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what is the freaking problem?!?!?!?!
The Chicago CTA (their version of SF Muni) has had an RFID card system for nearly 10 years now available on all trains and buses and the card is usable on the Suburban PACE system (think VTA).
I was shocked when I moved to SF that they didn't have simple reloadable magnetic swipe cards, something every other metro area has had for at least 15 years.
Although the GPS system is better then Chicago's.
I just can't believe in such a "progressive" "tech-savvy" city is so freaking behind the times.
b/c MUNI/BART officials are more interested in milking every last dollar out of Bay Area residents before making any infrastructure changes. Notice how they rolled out the "GREEN BUS" in no time, yet they still cant get:
- scheduled on-time arrivals under the % that the voters mandated a few years back
- RFID cards like other major transpo centers
- a monitoring system for tracking positioning in-house instead of farmed out to some 3rd party
should I keep ranting here?
I am so incredibly sick of hearing about Translink and how it doesn't work. WTF is their problem??
Translink is a mythological animal.
Equipment failure happens. Shrug. Should I take a picture of a functioning TransLink reader? I saw, what, three? of them on the trip to work this A.M.
Like sasquach, or the 12-day diet, yes.
Although it doesn't entirely explain the many Muni problems or the unfortunate habit of farming everything out to overpriced and utterly incompetent third parties whenever possible I think one of the bigger problems with Translink is the same as the Bay Bridge: bureaucratic infighting between the many counties that all have to be involved in it.
That's usually the reason things don't get done around here from all of the major issues I've seen. Other cities throw money at the problem and usually try to put them under the control of a single agency. We try to form a coalition of disparate groups that all want to do it their own way and will continue to fight about it for years on end. Then an incompetent company is hired to do much of the work and due to a lack of oversight it runs over for years and years without ever actually getting completed.
Why Muni twice bought some of the worst LRVs possible (IIRC both times from companies that have been forced out of the market) including the Breda cars that Boston refused I'll never understand.
Boston bought their Bredas after San Francisco.
Bredas are basically a huge cement bricks on wheels.
They suck, and we can't cram four train cars because of its length and fear from the muni techs that coupling three cars might come loose due to shotty wiring.
Now I'm noticing the air conditioners not working.
You know Translike DOES work but only for special cardholders who do certain city work. Don't be fooled, of course it works; just not for us.
TransLINK!
katio: it works fine for me, and I don't work for the city.
Akit: Almost. The Bredas are trash, no doubt.
Breda is still in the market of making rail cars (unfortunately for us). Both Los Angeles and Boston bought some after we did. Both had very significant problems.
However, the overhead wiring may very well be a pantograph design issue, an issue of how the cars were facing, or something else entirely unrelated to the quality of MUNI's overhead wiring.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantograph_(rail)
This is interesting, Translink just redesigned and published their website:
http://www.translink.org
But no updates about the next phase.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19417968@N00/sets/72157606221727198/
By the end of the day I'll have spent $3 demonstrating this stuff. Oh well, at least I got to help out a few tourists along the way.
Anyone want to guess what DIDN'T work?
a.) ATCS
b.) doors
c.) Coin payments
d.) All of the above