[PRCo] Re: From This Mornings Pgh Post Gazette

[John Swindler]

  I was being sarcastic.  Of course PAT has an extra board at each operating division.  But this happened on a weekend.  Who was minding the store???   Suspect most of the folks on this list know about "extra boards".  Suspect that knowledge does not extend to most politicians nor reporters. As for Fitzgerald, would just about 'bet the farm' that they are not related.  It's a common name. CheersJohn 
 > Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 10:16:31 -0700
> From: pcc_sr at yahoo.com
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: From This Mornings Pgh Post Gazette
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> 
> Mr.Swindler,
> 
> Do you know if Mr.Fitzgerald mentioned in this article is related
> to the man who saw Prc thru its 1940s bankruptcy?  The former
> and his trustees seemed to take the job quite seriously and did
> very well by Prc from what I have read.
> 
> Pat does not have an extra board?  Did I miss this in the article?
> The comment about pulling an operating empty bus seems to
> be very seat-of-the-pants doesn't it.  He may be a desk-jockey
> otherwise unfamiliar with day to day operations.
> 
> 
>  
> Phil
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
>  From: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org 
> Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 10:41 AM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: From This Mornings Pgh Post Gazette
>  
> 
>   I've never heard of a transit system that did not maintain "extra" boards to cover for sick days, missed runs and vacations.  Others can draw the two possible conclusions.   > From: hrbran at cavtel.net
> > Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 10:22:55 -0400
> > Subject: [PRCo] From This Mornings Pgh Post Gazette
> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> > 
> > The ire of the Allegheny County Government has now been raised. I'm not so
> > sure, however, that Mr. Fitzgerald really knows how public transport works.
> > He has the idea of "finding" an empty bus running around somewhere in the
> > county and sending it off-route to handle a crowd somewhere else in the
> > county. Easier said than done. As usual he failed to mention "dedicated
> > funding" as a cure for the problem.
> > TodaysPPG Article:::::
> > 
> > Fitzgerald vows to fix weekend T problems
> > May 10, 2012 9:49 am
> >     By Jon Schmitz / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
> > 
> > Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald vowed today that transit
> > problems that caused major delays for riders over the weekend will be fixed.
> > 
> > "This problem is going to get solved. If it can't get solved by the people
> > who are here, we'll find people who can solve it," Mr. Fitzgerald said in a
> > phone interview.
> > 
> > He clearly was irate about reports that large numbers of riders waited 45
> > minutes or longer on crowded station platforms after the Pirates game on
> > Saturday night, when Light Rail Transit service was plagued by a shortage
> > of operators and trips were missed.
> > 
> > He also said the authority needs to redeploy service to better accommodate
> > large crowds after events. Jim Ritchie, authority spokesman, said this week
> > that the agency cannot afford to add service after major events as it has
> > in the past.
> > 
> > "I'm certain there were empty buses running somewhere in the county on
> > Saturday. They have to redeploy," Mr. Fitzgerald said. "We need to adjust
> > to the marketplace. They certainly get paid enough to know when the crowds
> > are going to require this service."
> > 
> > Pirates games on Saturday typically draw crowds of 30,000 or more, and
> > having inadequate service at the ballpark after more than $500 million was
> > invested extending the T there is "unacceptable," he said. "It's one of the
> > reasons we sold this to the public years and years ago."
> > 
> > Mr. Fitzgerald also was unhappy that no announcements or messages about
> > next-train arrivals were provided. That has been an ongoing problem during
> > breakdowns and other service interruptions on the T.
> > 
> > In addition to the Pirates game Saturday, there was a Marilyn Manson
> > concert at Stage AE and pre-Pittsburgh Marathon festivities.
> > 
> > Mr. Ritchie said a shortage of operators caused by various leaves and
> > illness kept 10 trains from their scheduled operations, including five
> > after 4 p.m. He said there was "no excuse" for the situation and that the
> > authority was working to correct it.
> > 
> > Today, Mr. Ritchie said "we're confident riders aren't going to experience
> > a repeat of last Friday and Saturday ... riders will see more service in
> > the system this coming weekend."
> > 
> > Mr. Fitzgerald also wants improvements to signage at the new stations. He
> > said people are having trouble finding them.
> > 
> >  Jon Schmitz: jschmitz at post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.
> > First Published May 10, 2012 9:23 am
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Herb Brannon
> > In Cuyahoga Valley National Park
> 
>