Zac

If I'm not driving the bus, I'm probably riding the bus. (Tweets are my own)

[Zac @transit509]

Been ruminating a bit on my time here on Twitter. I’ve gotten to know and meet some awesome people, networked and learned new things, and even ended up living my childhood dream of being a bus driver thanks in part to Twitter. We’ll see what the future brings I guess…

[Spokane Transit @spokanetransit]

Help us celebrate the launch of the Connect fare system with fare-free rides. Whether you get an ecard through the Connect app or get a physical one at the Plaza or through the mail, free rides are on us all November as long as you use your Connect card!

[Zac @transit509]

As a bonus, I checked out everyone’s favourite streetcar: The Delmar Loop Trolley. It’s hard to say it’ll ever succeed when they have to be forced to restart it in lieu of returning $25m, but an hourly schedule for ~7.5hrs/day 4 days a week is pitiful. At least it was fare free.

[Zac @transit509]

I travelled out of town this past weekend with perhaps an odd goal in mind (though not off-brand for my account): Explore all the rail-based transit in the state of Missouri.

[Zac @transit509]

Lastly, I explored St. Louis thanks to @STLMetro’s MetroLink. Unique in the US as the only light rail to cross a state line, it’s also quite long. Service is reduced right now with the Blue Line only running it’s western branch right now, but I still found it to be very reliable.

[Zac @transit509]

Something interesting I noticed earlier today in Vancouver: @TransLink added their distinctive door closing chime from the SkyTrain onto their buses too. (I don’t think it’s fleet-wide, as an older Orion V on the 354 and an AD double decker on the 351 didn’t have it.)

[Zac @transit509]

And while we’re on the subject of the trolley’s in San Diego, we can’t forget about the best transit-themed beer out there: Red Trolley Ale from @KarlStraussBeer!

[Zac @transit509]

Interesting to see some of the old SD-100’s still running on the @sdmts Green Line. I thought they were all retired by now, so this was a nice surprise.

[Zac @transit509]

Now to take the other rail option back to Miami.

[Zac @transit509]

Trying something a little different in Florida.

[Zac @transit509]

With the new @spokanetransit schedule changes that went into effect today, I can fly all the way back home and make the bus from the airport to downtown now on Sundays.

[Zac @transit509]

Two of my favourite things: public transit and great music.

[Zac @transit509]

Saw a Bolt Bus heading west down I-90 towards Seattle a bit ago. Talk about a blast from the past. Shame we never got to see them introduce E-W service in WA, though FlixBus seems be doing pretty well with that.

[Zac @transit509]

Sometimes the bus decides it needs an early start to the weekend. There are worse spots to break down at I suppose.

[Zac @transit509]

I think it’s also worth noting that the age of the bus sometimes factors in. This was one of the newest buses in the fleet, so it was still economical to repair it. Another much older bus was retired for good recently after being t-boned by a red light runner.

[Zac @transit509]

It is interesting to see how truly complex a bus can be, behind the “curtain.” It’s also fascinating how much work can go into repairing a bus after suffering significant damage.

[Transportation Choices Coalition @TranspoChoices]

WE DID IT! 🎉 Tonight in a 7-2 decision, the Ben Franklin Transit Board rejected moving forward with a ballot initiative that would have slashed #transit funding and services for residents in the Tri-Cities region.

👉READ OUR PRESS RELEASE: https://t.co/StgbVLEeMF

[Zac @transit509]

Back in Stuttgart today, I had a bit of time to check out the “Zacke,” or rack railway. I also made a visit to the Standseilbahn (funicular railway).