Monorail for city centers?

[Goofyernmost]

And with Lynx, just wait until the first time that second bus just... doesn't show up. So your daughter waits the obligatory 20 minutes, calls them, they call the driver and the driver says that he was there on time. But they have no way to actually track him by GPS. By the way, this marvelous GPS (which Lynx buses DO have on them to show passengers a moving map) was on Portland's Tri-Met buses sometime in the 80's. I have a GPS app on my iPhone called InstaMapper, so that my wife can track me any time.

And in case you couldn't tell, yes. I had this happen to me once when my car was down and out.

Lynx sucks.

First off let me say that I am not in any way saying that this is what happened here, but I will tell you my experiences in the management end of public transit, the scenario that you described happened over and over. The reality was that the person was not getting there on time or their watch was not set for the same time that the buses have. 30 seconds can make all the difference in the world. Most of the time though it was kids not wanting to go to school so they did everything they could to be late and then told their parents that the bus never came.

All I can say is that due to routes and schedules, it is highly unlikely that the "bus never came"...it is possible that the bus was early. It isn't supposed to be but it is possible which is why every transit company I know always recommends that the person be at the bus stop at least 5 minutes early. A bigger likelihood is that the bus is very late. Most of the time it is because of traffic (accidents, jams, etc.) or a breakdown. People seem to enjoy blaming the bus company or driver when the bus is late. Always remember that there is absolutely no incentive for a driver to be running late...it just screws up the rest of his/her day. Being early consistently will also not have a happy ending for the driver. If it were possible the life of a bus driver would be greatly enhanced by being able to arrive at a bus stop exactly when the schedule says it should be there, but this like life doesn't always work out the way we want it too.

[Big Wallaby]

I know always recommends that the person be at the bus stop at least 5 minutes early. A bigger likelihood is that the bus is very late. Most of the time it is because of traffic (accidents, jams, etc.) or a breakdown. People seem to enjoy blaming the bus company or driver when the bus is late. Always remember that there is absolutely no incentive for a driver to be running late...it just screws up the rest of his/her day. Being early consistently will also not have a happy ending for the driver. If it were possible the life of a bus driver would be greatly enhanced by being able to arrive at a bus stop exactly when the schedule says it should be there, but this like life doesn't always work out the way we want it too.

I certainly understand being late, it happens. Once when I was in high school I had the bus driver write a note and I got an excused late to my first class. But that was in Portland.

Meanwhile, in the story of the bus that never showed up, I was actually at the stop ten minutes early. The place where I lived at the time was a loop that, if the bus was running late, he could just skip the loop and would regain about 3 minutes. They called the driver and since he couldn't be tracked, of course he went through the loop.

And so I was late to work at my job... driving a bus.

There was also the time I got kicked off the bus for a mistake on the transfer printer. On 192 east of Disney, 56 and 55 run the same route. Going west, 55 goes the rest of the way down 192 to highway 27, and 56 goes to TTC and MK Cast parking. Since I lived west, I took the 55 to where they meet up and then the 56 onto Disney property.

I got onto the 56 and the ticket I had said it came from a 56 bus, so the driver wanted me to pay the extra fare. I didn't have any money, so he kicked me off on World Drive.

I called Lynx and they, of course, were completely unwilling to help. They were not responsible for errors with the printer. I was late to work and got a point.

Needless to say, I was not impressed. And so I am giving them the publicity they deserve in our community. I think I'll let them know to take a look at what happens, even a year later, when they are unable to help out with an issue that is their fault.

I am reminded of a story, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. There is a college professor who tells a story to every class that comes through his theater, the story of his childhood trip to Walt Disney World.

He found a salt and pepper shaker in Frontierland, and wanted to buy it for his mother. He had just enough money, so he bought it.

As he ran out of the store, he fell, and the shakers shattered in their box. A cast member came and helped him up, and took him back to the register, where the CM apologized for not wrapping the shakers well enough to be handed to an excited five-year-old. She pulled some new ones, wrapped them well enough that you could have dropped them out of an airplane and they'd be fine, and sent this future professor on his way.

He gets letters several times a year from current and former students who, when a vacation opportunity arose, would remember his story and have to experience the place that had generated such a true tale. He estimates in a book he wrote that because of a $5 kitchen tool and a Cast Member handling the situation with grace and tact, he has influenced over $100,000 to Disney, and that was at the time of writing a few years ago.

They say that you repeat a good story to one or two people, and a bad story to at least ten. I would love it if my story became a crippling enough force for Lynx that they would upgrade their technology to better take care of their drivers and passengers... Especially on routes that go through areas of Orlando that make the worst parts of Portland, OR (whose buses, again, have had GPS tracking within 30 feet since the 80's) look like Lake Eola.

[turkeyham]

A few years back route 50 picks up in Long Beach and goes all the way to the Mall of Orange.

One day I got a call from my friend asking where bus 50 was? The bus did not show up. The air conditioner broke and the engine over heated causing the bus to catch on fire.

I ended up picking up my friend and taking him to work.

[Big Wallaby]

One day I got a call from my friend asking where bus 50 was? The bus did not show up. The air conditioner broke and the engine over heated causing the bus to catch on fire.

I ended up picking up my friend and taking him to work.

To me, this is much more acceptable than what I experienced, where their only way to find out where the bus was, was to ask the driver.

[Lasolimu]

I remember an instance of a bus not showing up. It was late and the second to last bus of the night (fortunately, I wouldn't have gotten home otherwise). I get to the bus stop incredibly early like I always did, it was kind of a habit so I would never miss it. I ended up waiting over an hour for the last bus of the night to show up at a not very well lit bus stop. Needless to say I am unhappy about the situation. I sent them an email detailing it, and the response I got? "Our records indicate that the bus arrived at that stop on time." I was at the stop about 10 minutes early as I usually was(at a time when I set my watch based on the clocks in the buses), and it never showed up, I think my experience is better than their records.

[Moonstone]

Lynx runs every 20 minutes? Nice! When I first started to look into PalmTran I found out most busses only run once an hour. Miss that and you're really in trouble.

I guess I'm just spoiled. When we were living in the Boston area my family managed fine with one car. We used public transportation all the time. Sometimes it was unreliable, but it was still there. Eventually, we made it to where we wanted to go. I really wish Florida had more rail. Maybe the theme parks could help push it through. Most people who live in Florida drive to Disney. If we could take a train then Disney could offer the Magical Express and then we could be Disney captives too.

[Shorty82]

I really wish Florida had more rail. Maybe the theme parks could help push it through. Most people who live in Florida drive to Disney. If we could take a train then Disney could offer the Magical Express and then we could be Disney captives too.

The entire nation needs more rail. It doesn't help that Amtrak has not restored full service to the Sunset Limited route, which before Hurricane Katrina ran between Orlando, Florida and Los Angeles, California. Due to the damage caused by the storm the route was shortened to San Antonio, Texas for a time before service being restored as far east of New Orleans, Louisiana. Every bit of track has been repaired but Amtrak has yet to restore service to Florida.

There was also a proposed high-speed rail line that would have connected Orlando to Tampa and the federal government was going to give the state a good bit of money for it. The governor decided to cancel the project and turn down the funding citing how much it would cost the state on top of the federal funding and a few other reasons. IMO he didn't realize how the building and running of the line would create a large number of jobs and bring in revenue from the tickets and the like.

[Big Wallaby]

Lynx runs every 20 minutes?

Maybe on the Lymmo. Okay, that's more like every 5 minutes.

The rest are at least every half hour. If your bus doesn't show up, they won't check until 20 minutes later.

[Goofyernmost]

Meanwhile, in the story of the bus that never showed up, I was actually at the stop ten minutes early. The place where I lived at the time was a loop that, if the bus was running late, he could just skip the loop and would regain about 3 minutes. They called the driver and since he couldn't be tracked, of course he went through the loop.

And so I was late to work at my job... driving a bus.

There was also the time I got kicked off the bus for a mistake on the transfer printer. On 192 east of Disney, 56 and 55 run the same route. Going west, 55 goes the rest of the way down 192 to highway 27, and 56 goes to TTC and MK Cast parking. Since I lived west, I took the 55 to where they meet up and then the 56 onto Disney property.

I got onto the 56 and the ticket I had said it came from a 56 bus, so the driver wanted me to pay the extra fare. I didn't have any money, so he kicked me off on World Drive.

I called Lynx and they, of course, were completely unwilling to help. They were not responsible for errors with the printer. I was late to work and got a point.

Needless to say, I was not impressed. And so I am giving them the publicity they deserve in our community. I think I'll let them know to take a look at what happens, even a year later, when they are unable to help out with an issue that is their fault.

OK, you convinced me that Lynx sucks big time. The ticket problem is usually caused by the driver putting the wrong route number in or changing it ahead of time. Either way, I don't know who's fault it would be if it weren't the bus companies. I guess our little municipal bus company in Vermont was quite a bit more accommodating.

[Cranbiz]

GPS tracking of buses is great...... If you buy the right equipment. Other than that, it's as reliable as calling the driver.

I was almost a victim of this tracking technology flaw, working DTD befor ethe clubs closed. I was driving the 6:45 to 3:45 shift and about 12:30am, we would get directed to stage at Team Disney. Well, I pulled in and parked on the main road into TD. about 10 minutes later I get a call from a manager wanting to know where I was. I tell him Team Disney and he said, that's not what the ops center says.

I say well that's where I am and you can ask about 6 other drivers. So he comes over and finds me right where I said I was. He calls the ops center and asks where is 4934?, they said I4 west before Epcot Center Dr. So he calls back and says cancel OCSO, the bus is at Team Disney, where the driver said he was. Ops center says, no, he is on I4. Manager says, No damnit, I'm with him and he's at Team Disney! So much for GPS tracking, the location was a 1/2 mile off and I was stationary! (and kudo's to a manager, Cecil, who looked before leaping)