Will APTA Rail Conference Spur Good Behavior?
We’re waiting, Muni. And we’re watching.
And what the hell is an APTA Rail Rodeo? Well, funny you should ask:
Saturday, May 31 marks the 16th year for the International Rail Rodeo Competition, which highlights the best rail operators and maintenance teams from across North America. Competitors, selected from local and state competitions, will compete to be crowned champion.
Doesn’t it seem like a good idea to have APTA people ride Muni in its natural state? Its natural, tardy state?
Of course … when pigs fly! What we need is a permanent presence of rail conferences to keep the agency on its toes.
And what I wonder is, working off the premise that the drivers and their union are oh-so powerful, how exactly do they maintain order and at least the appearance of efficiency when these things roll into town?
My main gripe about the APTA thing was that various buses had their normal front-end signs changed to alternate displaying the route number with two screens of “Welcome to APTA 2008 conference members” or words to that general effect. It’s hard enough picking out route numbers down a crowded street without them only being displayed a third of the time.
Not that I missed a bus because of it, or anything. Curse you, annoyingly-infrequent-but-not-unreliable-enough-to-make-for-good-jokes 12 Folsom.