Aaron Antrim's dashboard

Transit Sense:

I think I should clarify that my activities on this "user-powered customer service" forum do not represent a response from HTA in any way. First and foremost here, I act as an independent citizen, transit advocate, and volunteer for Green Wheels, and so my comments on service schedules and government regulations come from that perspective, not one from within HTA.

However, I do work as an independent contractor to develop and maintain some of Humboldt's online transit information resources, and so sometimes I may respond to comments on the websites in my role as an independent contractor. I am not authorized to speak on behalf of HTA, and nothing I say should be considered representative of the organization's positions.

This message aside, I wish to defend my response to Carol, as well as apologize for specific aspects of its tone.

First, my experience working with Green Wheels, and contributing to some of the changes that have led to an approximately 25% increase in scheduled Redwood Transit System service over the past year, has required that I learn about a lot of "obscure" numbers and government regulations. One of the realities, and challenges, for successful citizen advocacy in the transportation field is that its funding and decision-making is very complicated. Perhaps this can be simplified (I don't know if it can), but until then, successful transit advocates will be forced to understand all of this. Information empowers people to make change in our democracy.

If you look at this forum, there are many, many requests that HTA expand their service. Until people understand that HTA has no authority to increase their own funding on their own, these requests will (sadly) result in little or no change.

My comments on land use in Trinidad stem from the advocacy goals of Green Wheels. It is important that people understand the challenges of providing viable transit service in rural, spread out areas (like much of the Trinidad area), so that we can begin to build in a pattern that results in a fairer, more equitable world where people have access to healthcare, jobs, and food closer to their home, instead of incurring costly travel expenses.

Finally, I apologize for my somewhat snarky final paragraph about carpooling and rideshare. It was not necessary. Carol and I had an interesting and rewarding email conversation off of this forum about these issues. She, I, HTA, Green Wheels, and others are working together to create solutions. I believe we're entering a new age of grassroots citizen-based advocacy.

Henry,

The "code images" you refer to are is the CAPTCHA form to make sure you are human when commenting on the Green Wheels site. Right now, you're at the feedback site for HTA. The Green Wheels and HTA sites are not connected other than the fact that I administer both of them.

As far as your question of why there is no evening or Sunday bus service (presumably in Eureka), I believe the answer is that this is not possible to do within HTA's current budget. In other words, this is a budget issue best taken up with the county and with HCAOG.

I also suggest writing letters to the editors for local papers.

Aaron

Hi,

I don't know all the considerations that have gone into the current schedule, but I do understand that the current RTS schedule has been the product of an effort to squeeze the most out of a limited budget for Redwood Transit System. Neighboring transit agencies (in Mendocino and Del Norte) spend more, proportionally to their gas tax revenues, on transit. For more information on this circumstance, see this article: http://www.green-wheels.org/node/211

If you want to improve this situation, I suggest writing a letter to a local paper, contacting your county supervisor, or joining or volunteering with Green Wheels at www.green-wheels.org.

Aaron

Ryan,

Good news! HTA has informed me there ALREADY is a second bus to Willow Creek in the afternoon which leaves Arcata at 5:30pm.

This information had been poorly represented at http://redwoodtransit.org/schedules/w... before (it showed the bus serving Valley West, but not going all the way to the Arcata Transit Center). I apologize.

I have fixed the schedule display, and Google Transit will be updated shortly.

Aaron

I noticed that the Willow Creek bus makes two round trips in the morning, and one in the afternoon. This balance strikes me as something which should be considered and evaluated.

Might it make more sense for there to be only one trip in the morning, as commuters traveling to both work and school generally need to arrive around the same time, and for there to be two afternoon/evening trips, one for students and the other for working commuters after 5pm?

Also, I notice that the bus actually makes four round trips daily, but only three and a half are revenue earning. The bus probably travels from the yard in Eureka to Willow Creek in the morning (non-revenue earning). It takes passengers on the last return trip of the day from Willow Creek, but probably not many. If the bus could be stored in Willow Creek and and driven by someone who lives in Willow Creek, perhaps more service could be added? I don't know about the feasibility of this idea -- it might be difficult to have the bus away from the maintenance yard overnight -- but I am just throwing it out there.

-Aaron

Hi Marnie,

Thank you again for bringing this to my attention and helping to diagnose the issue. I have produced a new version of the .zip archive using different Linux-based software that may be more universally compatible. If you could, please try downloading the new archive here (http://www.redwoodtransit.org/schedules/) and tell me if this unzips on your PC without Stuffit Expander.

Also, I am interested to know how you would suggest reorganizing the RTS downloadable schedules for mobile devices. The schedule is much more complicated than AMRTS and ETS schedules, so presently the trip schedule files are arranged in a hierarchy of folders for service schedules and routes.

Cheers! I am always welcome to your suggestions and feedback in the future.