Jo and I, while checking out the new apartment in downtown on Sunday, decided to swing by Powell’s to find some books.  We arrived with no fuss via the streetcar and went about our business.  As we walked through though I noticed a table where TriMet was taking a survey of drivers, riders, or whoever.  I decided I was a perfect candidate to take the survey so went back after walking by to put in my two cents.

First off, I have to complain.  Whoever setup the survey setup a broken survey, but I get the gist of what TriMet was trying to get to.  The key points were as follows:

1. What type of stop do people prefer.
2. What type of vehicle/mode do people prefer.
3. What is the wait time people allow before driving.
4. What type of seating to people prefer.
5. What type of security do people prefer.
6. Walking vs wait time.
7. How important is vehicle/mode cleanliness.
8. How important is driver friendliness.
9. What of the above is more important to you.

I might have forgot one or two.  Here’s my take on how and what I prefer.

1. I don’t care about the stop, and personally am bothered by the wasteful amounts of money TriMet spends on some of the stops.  Especially for the streetcar.  There are lots of streetcar systems, some with better frequency and ridership, that basically have no real curb or stop of any sort.  The extra time it takes for these fancy stops in mixed traffic modes is just annoying.  Forget it, non-functional.  Give me a marker and a schedule and I’m a happy rider (maybe a shelter in places where the traffic may splash waiting riders, etc)

2. This is easy.  In order based on Portland’s available modes:  Light Rail (Type 2 & 3, Type 4, and Type 1), streetcar (2nd gen, 1st gen), and bus (high floor bus, others…)

3. As long as I have transit tracker, I’ll schedule around the bus.  Without transit tracker the bus better have a 10 minutes or less frequency, otherwise I won’t use transit.  The simple rule I go by, is I’m not standing at a stop for an extended amount of time if at all possible.

4. I’d prefer plush, but I really don’t care.  The seating TriMet has is just fine.

5. Security is not TriMet’s responsibility.  Saying it is, the fact that TriMet is somehow forced to be responsible, is a direct violation of logic.  It is stupid to have TriMet setup this way, the plain fact is society allowed police departments to be setup for the purpose of personal security.  It is THEIR JOB to enforce security within society.  The police, not TriMet.

On another point that I have contention with.  Anyone that relies on others for their personal security endangers themselves and those around them.  Always, ALWAYS be prepared to flee, defend, or otherwise take charge of your personal security.  If you expect others to do this for you, you might as well give up.

6. I’ll walk up to 10 minutes if it is an infrequent trip, and up to 8 minutes for a daily commute.  For multiple trips during the day I won’t walk more than 2-6 minutes to a stop.  Once at a stop I prefer not to wait more than 5-6 minutes at most.  This is of course resolved by simply timing my walk & wait times with Transit Tracker.

7. Cleanliness only gets to be important to me when things are really dirty.  If a mode is dirty, I will turn around and call a taxi if it is too bad.  Otherwise newspapers, mud on the floor, water, etc is not a big deal.  Human or animal feces, other rancid items, or overpowering stenches will have me in a taxi without a second thought.

8. I get along with the fact that many drivers are not much more than blank faces and spent as human beings.  But I commend and LOVE when a bus drivers enjoys, loves, and thrives as a driver.  I like it when I hear a driver make announcements and chats with riders.  Al M, Dan Christensen, streetcar driver Fred, and others come to mind.  These drivers are GREAT!  This is VERY important to me.  It is (and Al may hate this statement) to me the last semblance transit has to the private existence it started as in this country.  The streetcar operator stories, the human elements, these are the things that draw transit into the very human existence that it is.  Put simply, this is the one thing that buses have over light rail and the “modern streetcar” of Portland.  The human-less, face-less experience on light rail and streetcar is frustrating.  Here Portland is building a human city versus a car city and we have these faceless transit modes.  But I will choose the financially reasonable option that provides more for society than the human face of the bus, only because the community is still involved in the ride, but I’d rather have both features.

9. The most important aspect of transit to me is complex.  It however boils down to something that isn’t the actual transit itself.  Instead it is the lifestyle that it allows.  The car-free, worry free, relaxed lifestyle and relaxing trip enabled by transit service.  The ability to get home and not be strung out or mentally warped and skewed from commuting via the automobile.  The zoning changes and more compact and connected communities that transit also enables (more so than automobile based zoning).  So overall, it is the lifestyle, not particularly the transit.  But one really doesn’t go without the other.

So what are your priorities?  What are the most important things for you in the transit service you use (or don’t use)?

[11/14/09 – Correction:  I stated “and personally am bothered by the wasteful amounts of money TriMet spends on some of the stops.”, which is a faulty statement.  TriMet does not and did not fund any of the stops for the streetcar, the City of Portland, or more specifically the non-profit subsidized Portland Streetcar spent the money on those stops.  I still am bothered by their spending taxpayer money (and lots of it) on stops that are ridiculously overbuilt.]

During the stay in Phoenix I’ve had a chance to converse with probably over a hundred people.  I didn’t write down every single thing everyone said, but here are a few of the notes I’ve made from random conversations with random Phoenix Residents.  This list is only the transit related conversations.  I have another entry in the works for the “suburban suburbanite” conversations, which are a jolting reminder of the lifestyle differences.

Scenario #1:

Riding the light rail from Mesa into town.  A professional lady sat across from me, she was looking out the window so I figured she’d be a candidate for conversation.

Transit Sleuth:  Hey, you ride the light rail much?

Sally:  I’ve ridden over 50 times since it has opened.

Transit Sleuth:  What do you think of it so far?

Sally:  It is great.  Before they built this I just drove everywhere, but now I get to take this a lot since I go downtown and live in Mesa.

Transit Sleuth:  Do you work downtown or something?

Sally:  Yeah, [I didn’t understand this part, a bunch of people were boarding and a loud truck was driving by].  Oh, here’s were I get off.

Transit Sleuth:  [I jump up to get off also, since I was heading downtown] I’m just wandering around downtown today, any food suggestions?

Sally:  Yeah, check out the coney place or the sandwich factory.

Transit Sleuth:  Awesome, what’s your name?

Sally:  Sally.  [Shook hands]  Have a good day.

Transit Sleuth:  You too.

Scenario #2:

Walking around downtown near the sandwich shops just referred by Sally.  I saw someone carrying a pistol on their side.

Transit Sleuth:  Excuse me, I’m kind of a 2nd amendment advocate, and was wondering are you law enforcement?

Gun Toter #1:  Nope, it is legal to carry and I have a CCW.

Transit Sleuth:  That’s awesome.  Phoenix seems to be pretty safe downtown here?  Ever need to unlatch the side arm?

Gun Toter #1:  Fortunately no.  I go through some questionable areas outside of downtown though.  Sometimes at night it gets [racial epithet for Mexicans].  I’d rather be prepared than sorry.  Just a few months ago somebody got shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  That aint gonna be me.

Transit Sleuth:  I can understand that.  Do you ever ride any of the transit in town?  I’m putting together information on the light rail and bus system here, and you’d be an interesting candidate to discuss this with.

Gun Toter #1:  I’ve ridden it a couple of times.  I don’t live anywhere near it though so I don’t have any use for it.  The buses are full of [Mexican racial epithet] & [Black person’s racial epithet].

Transit Sleuth:  You ever feel those words a bit prejudice?  Not that I want to talk about that issue?

Gun Toter #1:  If they would stop killing people and each other I wouldn’t feel this way.  You grow up here you might have a different attitude.

Transit Sleuth:  Alright, well, thanks for talking to me.

So after that little conversation I ate lunch, and wasn’t particularly inclined to speak with anyone else.  I didn’t really want to get into another edgy conversation with someone that would spurt out some dumb racial epithet every 10 seconds.  I was looking for cohesive and intelligible conversation on the topics of Phoenix and transit.

Scenario #3:

Leaving the Sandwich Factory, which I might add was awesome, I saw another armed citizen.  This was the 4th or 5th person I saw armed.  Just a side arm, appropriately holstered on their side, nothing crazy like a strapped rocket launcher or anything.  I walked toward the guy and with an inquisitive raised hand asked…

Transit Sleuth:  Quick question for ya.

Gun Toter #2:  Yeah, what can I help ya at?

Transit Sleuth:  I’m a 2nd amendment advocate, just visiting Phoenix and checking out the light rail, and was wondering if you’re a law officer.  I’ve found it intriguing the number of armed citizens downtown today.

Gun Toter #2:  Yeah, I’m bit into that sorta thing.  Why you checking out the light rail though?  What does it have to do with anything?

Transit Sleuth:  Oh, that is completely unrelated to the 2nd amendment for me, just an interest in the history, economics, and function of transit and general passenger transportation.  So what do you think of it?

Gun Toter #2:  I kind of dig it.  I’ve taken it to a few games and stuff.  I don’t ride it everyday though.

Transit Sleuth:  What about carry on the light rail?  Do you know the rules are for it on the light rail?  [Context:  I have zero idea here either, I’m just asking.]

Gun Toter #2:  I didn’t think they can…  the company is a public company, they gotta follow as wrote down in the Constitution and State Law.

Transit Sleuth:  Just my own paranoia about states and transit authorities abrogating Federal Constitutional Rights, I’d check just to make sure.  If they had some dumb rule, would you still use transit?

Gun Toter #2:  If I got a use for it, I’ll use it, I don’t think they gonna mess with the laws.

Transit Sleuth:  That’s good to hear.  You keep riding, I gotta run and catch a light rail train.

Scenario #4:

While riding back toward the Mesa Station on the first day I rode the light rail, I came upon several short conversations.  This first one started when a young lady asked out loud,

Young Lady:  Where am I going?

Transit Sleuth:  Where have you been, maybe I can tell you where you are going.

Young Lady:  I was down there [pointing to the western end of the light rail].

Transit Sleuth:  And you’ve forgotten where you originally got on.

Young Lady:  Like, I got on to go not where I got on.

Transit Sleuth:  [Chuckling out loud, with a big grin on my face.]  Do.  You.  Realize.  What you just said?

Young Lady:  What?  Like, that didn’t make any well, like, sense huh?

Transit Sleuth:  Nope.  None at all, logic is nonexistent in that statement.  [I sat back down to let her figure out where in the universe she was at.]

Young Lady:  Do you know where you are going?

Transit Sleuth:  Yup.

Young Lady:  Well, can I like get off where you get off and call someone to figure out where I am going?

Transit Sleuth:  [Realizing she didn’t think she could use a cell phone on the light rail]  You could call someone right now while we are moving.

Young Lady:  But it’s dangerous to like, use a cell phone, while moving.

Transit Sleuth:  [Realizing this chick was a slight bit dumber than stupid]  Yeah, you’re right, better not use the cell phone while we’re moving.  You might wreck into someone huh.

Young Lady:  Yeah.  So can I get off where you do?

Transit Sleuth:  You can get off anywhere you want to, even where I get off.

Eventually she got off, before I did.  No telling where she ended up.

Scenario #5:

While on the same trip back to Mesa.  An older grungy looking guy approached me.

Grungy Guy:  Hey you!

Transit Sleuth:  [I don’t pay any attention because I don’t always answer to “Hey you!”, maybe “Hey” or Hey you.” but not “Hey You!”  I continue looking out the window on the high floor part of the light rail vehicle observing the area we’re passing through.]

Grungy Guy:  Hey man, do you know where the stadium bar is?  Where people go after the game?

Transit Sleuth:  [Now that he’s fixed his tone I jovially retort to his question.]  That doesn’t narrow it down very much dude, you’re gonna have to try harder.

Grungy Guy:  Oh, the bar near the stadium.  Do you know where it is?

Transit Sleuth:  I know about 10 bars near the stadium and I’ve only been here for about 22 hours.  But I don’t know what you mean by “near the stadium”.  Besides, isn’t there one over by ASU and one downtown?

Grungy Guy:  Yeah, but I want to go to the one on Mill Avenue.

Transit Sleuth:  [Keep in mind, I’ve not been to Mill Avenue at this point, I only know it is near the stadium]  Why don’t you get off on Mill Avenue & 3rd and just walk a few blocks down the street.  The stadium is right close by.  Worse case scenario you have to walk 5-6 blocks around the area to find what you’re looking for.

Grungy Guy:  Dude, that’s a good idea.  It’s probably right by the stadium.

Transit Sleuth:  [If you’ve read scenario #4, this statement might sound familiar, and I wanted answers]  Do people in Phoenix commonly restate the exact fact they’ve just stated, after someone answers them?  You’re the second person that has said something like that to me.

Grungy Guy:  What do ya’ mean?

Transit Sleuth:  Well…   oh you better head out, here’s your stop.  [Saved by the bell.]

Grungy Guy:  Thanks dude!

Scenario #6:

[…and yes, if you read this scenario all the way through, there IS a transit related point.] As I approached the end and pulled into Mesa two college girls and I suspect a frat boy of some sort stood with them by the door waiting to get off.  The train came to a stop and the girls stepped off first.  As the two girls exchanged some conversation, that I couldn’t understand, the guy looked at them and interjected something.  One of the girls looked at him with a sullen face.  The girl not looking at the frat boy all of a sudden dropped all of her books and papers.  The slight wind started to blow them and I immediately grabbed a few and stopped some with my foot.  The frat boy just walked off and I realized that he was just going to leave the young lady in this fix.  Her friend reached down to help and a slight gust of wind blew her papers off, she instinctually reached out to grab the papers.  Well since she was holding the books and reached out by reflex, she then threw her books forward all over the exit ramp of the platform.  I leaned down and started helping them…

Sullen Girl:  Oh thank you thank you thank thank you.

Transit Sleuth:  Yeah, no problem.  I see your comrade took the asshole route and just left you two.

Sullen Girl:  He’s a prick.  We were dating, but like, he sucks, so like, I dumped him.

Other Girly:  He is a prick, but she’s just like, upset, cuz like, it wasn’t…

Transit Sleuth:  Here’s your books.  [Handing the “Other Girly” her books she had dropped.]

Other Girly:  Thank you so much.  [Looked up with a great smile, thus I couldn’t help but smile.]

Sullen Girl:  [Stops gathering her books]  F#$% IT!  [Just sits down, she is apparently very upset, and she starts to tear up while sniffling.]  I don’t want to do this, can you just take my books [speaking “Other Girly”]?

Other Girly:  Well yeah, what are you doing?

Sullen Girl:  I just, I need time to think.  I don’t want to go home.  I can’t think at home, I hate it I want to just get away for, like, some time or something.  Please just take my stuff.

Other Girly:  Ok [She takes the rest of her books and I hand her the papers I retrieved for “Sullen Girl”]

Transit Sleuth:  [Looking somewhat befuddled, because I do NOT deal with emotional situations like this well, even when I have zero investment in the situation]  Are you ok?

Sullen Girl:  I’ll be fine, I just need to think and not be around anyone.

Transit Sleuth:  [Yes, this is what I said next, I am a transit nerd and it is my “2nd Place” where I go to think]  You ought to just get back on the light rail, find yourself a seat, and ride the line.  That’s what I always do when I’m down and out – not that I know ya or anything.

Sullen Girl:  No, no you, that, it’s.  [Tears up a bit]  Thanks, that’s a good idea.  I’m going to… [tears up a bit again]  Yeah, I’m going to do that.  Thank you.  Thanks, I.  I’m such a mess.  Thanks.

Transit Sleuth:  Yeah, hope you feel better.  Just get that seat and get lost in the ride.

At this point she walked off and got back on the train about to depart.  Crying herself into a tizzy.  I almost felt bad, because with how choked up she was, she might get a lot of concern from people on the train.  Well, did what I could.

Scenario #7:

After the wedding Jo and I had moved to the downtown San Carlos Hotel.  The first day I left the hotel to take photos I ran into some kids skateboarding downtown.  They where hitting the Chase Building grounds and hitting the surfaces for grinds and such.  Overall, they where top notch skaters.  I was impressed.

Skater #1:  Wanna take some pictures?

Transit Sleuth:  Sure.  [I wasn’t sure I’d keep em’, but what the heck.  I dig skating big time, and if I caught some good images that would rock.  Usually though, this is Jo’s domain and I usually can’t get good action photos to save my life.]

Skater #2:  I’m going to grind left.  [pointing to his direction.]

Security Guard:  [Guard appears from inside the building.]  You kids can’t do that skating around here.  You’ll need to move on.

Skater #3:  God D@#$!@ uuugggghhh.  [Fussing loudly]

Skater #1:  Let’s go jump on the light rail.

Skater #2, #3 & #4.  Alright, [yeah, etc., etc…]

Transit Sleuth:  I’m gonna walk over with you guys.  Do you take the light rail much?

Skater #1: Yeah, all the time.  Usually a couple of times per day.  It is way easier to go hit spots [places to skate] taking light rail than trying to drive around and worrying about parking and shit.

Skater #2: Even though the skate parks are hard to get to.  But we don’t go to those too much cuz they’re way out.

Transit Sleuth:  So there aren’t any skate parks near the light rail?

Skater #2:  Naw, not really.  They’re all out where it is nearly impossible to get without a car.  It’s usually cooler to go hunt down good skate spots than driving all the way out to the parks though.

Skater #1:  Yeah.

Transit Sleuth:  So you guys don’t take the buses out there or anything?  Don’t they go out there?

Skater #1:  Yeah, they…

Skater #2:  No they don’t.

Skater #1:  Yeah they do, it just takes forever.

Skater #2:  Bullshit.

Skater #3:  Yeah they do, but they do take like a billion hours.  It’s way too much trouble to take the buses.

Skater #1:  The drivers usually look at you funny after you been skating hard too when you’re all sweaty.  Even if the bus is empty they didn’t let me on once.

Skater #2:  Yeah, the drivers are kind of weird.

Skater #3:  True.

Skater #1:  The trains are wicked though.  You can just camp out and people don’t freak on us, there is no driver staring at us, and we can just chill after we go riding.  [Yeah, he said riding, instead of skating – often means the same thing]

Transit Sleuth:  That’s cool.  At least you guys have this option now.

Skater #4:  Yeah, it’s sweet.

Skater #1, #2 & #3:  [Various sentiments thrown about in regards to the light rail being awesome]

Transit Sleuth:  Well, I’m going to head out, you guys keep shredding, and watch out for the troublemakers and cops.

Scenario #8:

I decided to take a trip to Mill Avenue.  The light rail bridge & is near the railroad bridge, and two nice road bridges that I wanted to photograph.  While en route to this I came upon another interesting chat about skateboarding.  It appears, that the light rail is a boon to kids heading out to go skate boarding or in general, to the parks and other features available in the city for recreation.  This group of people consisted of two guys and a gal, who I’ll call skater kid, the skater boyfriend and the skater girlfriend – being that the boyfriend and girlfriend were girl & boy-friend of each other.

Transit Sleuth:  Do ya’ll mind if I take a picture of your boards?

Skater Kid:  Yes [Meaning in reality, no, no problem at all.]

Skater Boyfriend:  Sure.

Skater Girlfriend:  Cool.  [With a smile]

Transit Sleuth:  Thanks [Click]  Where are ya’ll headed to skate.

Skater Boyfriend:  Not sure what the name is, but I know what the stop looks like.

Transit Sleuth:  That’s cool.  [A couple minutes go by without me talking with them, as we’re all just looking out the windows seeing where exactly where we’re traveling.]  So what do ya’ll think of the light rail?

Skater Boyfriend:  It’s really cool & easy to ride.

Skater Kid:  We can get to places that used to take hours to get to now, it’s really sweet.

Skater Boyfriend:  Yeah, we never got to go where we’re heading today unless we got someone with a car to drive us over here.

Skater Girlfriend:  I like it.  I like to be able to easily go places with other people when there are more than would fit in a car.  We go hang out after school which would usually take two or three people driving, but we usually couldn’t find that many drivers so we would end up stuck somewhere that was boring.

Transit Sleuth:  That’s interesting.  Good to know ya’ll like it.  I’m heading over to ASU to take pictures right now.

Skater Boyfriend:  Oh yeah, ASU has good games too, I went to one of those.

Skater Girlfriend:  That was fun.

Skater Kid:  Yeah, we didn’t get to go before, because we usually couldn’t get anyone together that could take us, but with the light rail its super easy.

For now, that’s it.  I might put together another entry with some more of the entries because this is truly just the tip of the iceberg.  I do want to make a point to get the suburban chats that I had because it really shows some of the contrasts.  Until then though, this is it for today.

Alright, it is time to get the interviews rolling again!  First in line is a tech community illuminati Tyler Stricka.  This guy does some great work for McAffee Software.  You can check out his portfolio and such.  Seriously, go check out his site it is an impressive array of graphics and design work!  Also Tyler is an avid Twitterer, so feel free to jump online for a tweet or two via @tylersticka.  Two of his pieces are shown to the right, click either of them to check out full size images on his site of the graphics.

Now, on to the interview.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I'm a designer, artist, speaker and educator, currently employed full-time at McAfee. I help create web experiences, iconography and identity work in digital and traditional media.

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

Part-time since 2002, full-time since 2007.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Hillsboro, Oregon.

Now for the commuting nitty gritty.

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

Car. I may relocate soon within walking distance, which would be a lot more fun.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?  If you don't commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Ten to fifteen minutes, depending on traffic.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

I listen to music, and the occasional podcast. I love reading, but I can't surrender my vision while commuting.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

Walking or train; either lets me be contemplative during my journey in ways driving can't match.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Less of it! And crazy stoplights on Cornell Road don't help much.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

Unfortunately, I'm just far enough away for biking to be inconvenient and strenuous, but just close enough that the impact on my gas bill wouldn't be incredibly severe. I wouldn't like it, but I'd probably maintain my current regiment.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst, Graphic Design, Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star, Multimedia Journalist, Photographer
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 2
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 2
  • Light Rail: 1  (Phoenix Valley Metro x1)
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x4, Vancouver (WA), Phoenix (AZ)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 3
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
  • E-mail, Txt, Twitter, Moblog: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  325 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  54 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 2
  • Nothing: 1
  • No cars: 1
  • Wifi on Light Rail: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  4
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
  • Would help decide about what to do with the car:  1  (by getting rid of it)
• Total Interviews Published: 7

I went to school for civil engineering and economics and now work for the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario in the planning and design department (aka Highway Engineering). My job is a mix of design, management, and public correspondence/communication.

One year. I was previously employed by a design-build foundation company.

I live in Toronto, Ontario - up here in the Great White North, Canada.

How I get to work varies every day and somewhat by season.

 

My spring, summer and fall commutes are mainly done by road bike. On the days it rains I will sometimes drive but I'm fortunate enough to be able to be dropped off at the subway by boyfriend. This commute entails a short subway ride followed by two buses.

 

In the winter I switch between driving and subway/bus. I know terrible that I drive but below will explain why.

If I drive to work it is usually because I have left early in the morning, between 6:45 and 7 and it takes me less than 15mins to get to work. If I drive during rush-hour this time is doubled and instead of taking the highway I take city streets.

 

If I bike it is about a 35minute commute - depending on how tired my legs are. The last stretch is a 2mile/3km uphill!

 

I've also run home from work before. I think it took me about an hour and 5 minutes to run home, and I also think I'll be doing that more this summer.

 

If I take transit, and only if my boyfriend drops me off does it take between 35 and 45 minutes. A 5 min subway ride followed by two buses. Jane Street is what depicts my commute times, sometimes its fast and free flowing and sometimes it's a parking lot. The second bus I take is the Wilson bus and sometimes you can wait 10minutes for it to arrive. It usually travels in packs of 2 or 3 buses instead of being spaced out.

If my boyfriend doesn't drop me off it adds an another 15 minutes to my trip.

When I take transit I almost always read. Sometimes I take a few minutes and catch up on email. I also usually have my ipod on.

my bike - every day all year!

I wish I worked in the downtown core and had the option to take the subway and street car to work more often.

In the winter it would affect the number of days that I drove and I would probably take transit more often. It is far to dangerous to bike in Toronto in the winter!

The next interviewee that I communicated with was Mark Coleman.  I'll jump right into the interview, but then will cover a few more bits of information about Mark & his work before jumping into the statistics.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I am an artist and professional photographer. My job entails photographing people (mostly), both in the studio and on location. I spend a lot of time manipulating images as well.

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

Professionally, since 1982. I'm self employed doing only art and photography.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Portland, OR.

…the nitty gritty commute.

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

I sold my car nine months ago and am a bike commuter. In situations where I must transport large equipment, I rent a Zip car.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take? 

Since I am a freelancer, it varies. It was generally about eight miles one way, until I moved closer to the city. Now it's about three to four miles, so it takes about twenty five minutes.

If you don't commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Not sure I understand this one. I walk upstairs and I'm at work. Takes maybe six seconds.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

I am guilty of listening to rather loud modern progressive rock (which I prefer to call Nuovo Metal) on my i-pod.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

If I could fly like a bird, that'd be ideal. If not, I absolutely love biking.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

There would be no cars.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

It wouldn't at all. I have no idea how much gas costs now, and that makes me happy.

Ok, now after the interview, let's jump into some of the awesomeness that is Mark Coleman.  First off, if you don't know or have not met Mark, ping him via Twitter @Kram, or just get out in the social realm that is geek Portland & you'll probably get a chance to meet him.

A little more web presence:  Check out Mark at the following places on the inter-tubewebs.  :)

Main Site:  http://markcolman.com

Check out the shot of his with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (image to the right) for a great taste of the work Mark puts together.

In addition, if you want to learn more about photography and other such things, check out his videos on via markcolman.tv.

Mark has the 2nd most preferred commute around so far, a bicycle ride.  Out of the hundreds of interview responses I’ve had the happiest two types of commuters are telecommuters and second is bicycle commuters.

While transit riders and auto drivers become lethargic, bicycle riders get out there and save money and above all are vastly more healthy than other commuters.  It would be nice to see more ground swell of support for this type of commuting.  In many parts of the country kids ride bikes, adults get fat and drive.  In Portland, everyone does everything, so there isn’t such a negative connotation to the concept of bike commuter.  This leaves me with a question, what else could we do to support bicycle commuters around the country?

Now for the maths & stats.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star, Multimedia Journalist, Photographer
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 2
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 1
  • Light Rail: 1  (Phoenix Valley Metro x1)
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x3, Vancouver (WA), Phoenix (AZ)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 2
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
  • E-mail, Txt, Twitter, Moblog: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  295 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  59 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 1
  • Nothing: 1
  • No cars: 1
  • Wifi on Light Rail: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  3
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
  • Would help decide about what to do with the car:  1  (by getting rid of it)
• Total Interviews Published: 5

Car free commuter, light rail riding, multi-media journalist extraordinaire Tony Arranaga is Friday’s commuting interview interviewee.  I met Tony via the ole’ Internet’s inter-tubes by reading his blog, Light Rail Blogger, and was glued.  I had covered a bit of the opening day ceremony of Phoenix's light rail opening, of course, I was here in the light rail running Portland.  After reading Tony’s blog though, I was reassured to know that at least somebody in Phoenix was going to help kick start that city’s life again.  Make sure to give a read to Tony’s blog to keep up with how the City of Phoenix is doing with its new Valley Metro Light Rail.  His latest entry covers his recent weekend using the light rail in his kickin’ media style.

Below is one of  Tony’s videos that is definitely a great production.  I dug it and I’m betting you might too, give it a watch, then read up on Tony’s Interview.

…and now for the interview goodness.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I'm a multi-media journalist, researching, reporting, and presenting breaking news stories for television and the web

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

Almost 15 years.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Phoenix, Arizona

…and now for Tony’s media rich commuting nitty gritty…

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

I use our new light rail system to commute to work.  I'm experimenting with car-free lifestyle, but sometimes I run late to work so unfortunately I fall under the category "car-lite".  Either way, my car spends most of the time sitting in the garage collecting dust.  I'm trying to decided whether to give up my vehicle altogether.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?  If you don't commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Depending on what time of day/day of week, my commute can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 50 minutes one way.  Same average for the return trip.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

This is where my ADD kicks in.  I'll multi task between email, text, and twitter.  Sometimes I'll moblog.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

Light rail.  I LOVE IT!!  I don't like driving now that I've experienced mass transit on a consistent basis.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Free Wi-Fi on the train!  And longer hours of operation.  (11pm = trains start heading back to the yard.)

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

The price probably wouldn't change my commute, but would help me decide what to do with my car.

So Tony, when you read this, I have a few follow up questions for ya.  Feel free to leave a comment, or just post the answers via a blog entry on your Light Rail Blogger Blog.

1. What exactly is “mobloging”?
2. Do you travel clean from one end to the other of the light rail system, it seems a long time 40-50 minutes each way?
3. On your blog, you’ve busted your bus commuting cherry, how does riding the bus compare to the light rail?  Ride quality, work usable, timeliness, schedule frequency, etc…?
4. So when I get down to Phoenix in October“ish” time frame where are we gonna eat?  Sound’s like Portland’s is a good place.  :)

Thanks again for answering all of my questions!  Keep up the blogging, I’m digging it.  Now for the regular interview stats.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star, Multimedia Journalist
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 1
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 1
  • Light Rail: 1  (Phoenix Valley Metro x1)
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x2, Vancouver (WA), Phoenix (AZ)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 2
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
  • E-mail, Txt, Twitter, Moblog: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  245 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  61.25 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 1
  • Nothing: 1
  • Wifi on Light Rail: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  2
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
  • Would help decide about what to do with the car:  1  (by getting rid of it)
• Total Interviews Published: 4

…and now for a commuting interview from a rock star!  Welcome Kiisu to the Transit Sleuth Blog.  Kiisu is the string slinging guitar player in The Oblik.  If you’re ever in the mood for a good show check them out.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

Daytime bill payer: QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife for financial software industry.  BugSmashing PrettyMaking Random Utility Person.
Nights/weekends etc: Rockstar

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

1 Year at the day job slaving for the man making someone else slightly more wealthy.  I've always been a rock star.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Portland, Or.

…and now for the rockers commute…

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

hobo urine ridden public transportation aka Trimet Bus.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?  If you don't commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Around an hour to/from.  No transfers.  I actually take the slightly longer commute to avoid transfers and to avoid some of the less than savory passengers. 

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

Listen to music, read, plot evil & stare blankly out the window.  I ignore people on the bus as I have little interest in socializing with fellow passengers.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

I'm impulsive so I have to provide multiple methods of transportation that I would prefer to bus.
In no particular order:

• 1974 Ferrari Dino All Black on a curvy road with no traffic. 
  Teleportation Device of some sort.
• Personal Helicopter with a copilot so I could parachute out and land on the roof of the building.  This would require that I someday learn how to parachute and that I could actually land on the roof of the building and survive.
• Some kind of fully armed military dune buggy or mad max style post-apocalyptic vehicle.
  These only apply if I don't have to try and find parking, trying to park a personal teleportation device is a real hassle these days.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Shorter commute, less hobo urine.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

My work would probably have to spend more money on my bus pass, more people would be riding the bus and it would be more crowded with more stench of hobo urine.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst/Graphic Design/Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 1
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 1
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x2, Vancouver (WA)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 2
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  135 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  45 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 1
  • Nothing: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  2
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
• Total Interviews Published: 3

Meet Bryan Stearns.  For more information on Bryan check out his blog Self-Amusement Park, see his LinkedIn, or twit him up at @bryanstearns.

First a few questions about what Bryan does, that creates the commute.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I'm a Software Architect for Paydici Corp., a Portland-based startup; I'm working on architecture and implementation of their primary web application.

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

Slightly more than a week; prior to this, I was an independent web application development consultant.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Portland, OR

Now for the commuting nitty gritty.

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

I'm fond of telecommuting, so not going to work (or having the option to work in a local coffee shop) is the best answer. However, as a new employee, I'm spending more time in the office in downtown Portland; we live in the Pearl so the trip to work involves various combinations of Streetcar, walking, and the #17 bus.

I biked to work one day last week - once the weather improves, biking will be my primary mode.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?

Roughly:
5 minute walk + 10-minute bus, or
10 minute streetcar + 10 minutes walking, or
10 minute bike ride.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

Listening to podcasts on my phone while on transit or walking. Pedaling while biking :-)

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

I'm quite happy with the options I've got, if I have to commute at all.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Nothing: Anything I'd change would improve my use of transit by reducing my walking, which is less healthy than what I've got now.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

Fewer cars on the road interfering with my walking & transit? (Hm, might increase calls to eliminate Fareless Square, though...)

As promised after the first interview, here's a tally of the statistics so far.  :)

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations:  Software Developer, Software Architect
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 1
  • Bus: 1
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 1
• Cities:  Portland (OR), Vancouver (WA)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts:  2
  • RSS Feeds:  1
  • Blackberry:  1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  Morning 75 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  Morning 37.5 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter:  1
  • Nothing:  1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  2

In my first interview questionnaire that I sent out it went to Portland’s one and only Aaron B. Hockley;  Photographer Extraordinaire, Software Engineer, WordCamp Organizer, WordPress User, Dogcaught Writer & Photographer, a writer on OurPDX, and just another blogger!  Aaron often writes on these several blogs and takes awesome photos, like the one to the right.  One of his recent entries is even a video blog entry about Twitter usage.

After that mighty introduction, here’s the info on Aaron’s daily commute.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I'm a software developer, working primarily with ASP.NET web applications and SQL Server.  I develop and support line of business applications for a local agency related to criminal justice.

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

I've been in the web/software industry for about 10 years, at my current employer for just over 2 years.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Live in Vancouver, WA and work in Portland, OR.

4. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?   Airship? 

I wish.  A "typical" day involves driving from my house to a transit center (about 10 miles), then light rail train, then a bus for the last couple of miles.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?  If you don't commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

In the morning it's about 45 minutes from door to door, in the evening it's about an hour.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

Generally the time is spent listening to podcasts, and when I'm on the bus or train I'll catch up on RSS feeds or Twitter on my Blackberry.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

Ideally I'd live close enough to work that I could walk.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Other than making it shorter, I'd appreciate freeways with adequate capacity.  North of the Columbia River (in Vancouver), roads have for the most part kept pace with growth.  In Portland, massive population growth has led to zero new road capacity.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

Honestly, I doubt it would very much.  When it was over $4, we consolidated optional trips but it didn't affect my commute.

So in the next interview I’ll provide a tally, so we know where we are with types of commutes and other ideas that the answers provide.

Over the next couple weeks (or maybe months even) I'll be posting interviews I'm lining up with commuters all around Portland and the world for that matter.  The interviews will follow a certain set of questions but also not be limited to those questions.  The general theme will be what someone uses for their mode, why they use that mode, and what they like or don't like about their commute.  Ending with what one would do to change their commute if they could.

If anyone out there in the blogosphere would like to be interviewed, or would like me to chase someone down specifically, let me know - leave a comment.

Some key people I'd like to interview in regards to this is Portland's Mayor Sam Adams & it would be real cool if I could land an interview with President Obama.  Maybe that is a bit high to aim, but hey, I don't like to put limits on myself.

Any other ideas for interviews or suggestions on topics related to commuting, transportation, or things of this nature pop a comment in.