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ChineseDaily Transit Links Roundup
Contributed by Fred Camino on March 24th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Image courtesy of comicpie.
- “I’m just stoked”… College students take advantage of the Sprinter.
- Metro makes history with an “unprecedented move”: Pam O’Connor to answer questions live on public access television.
- Vote for high speed rail in November or face 3,000 more miles of highway?
- Answering questions about Metro fantasy maps.
Discussion
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Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
Hopefully, that public access chat will be a better use of everyone’s time than the mta website live chats have been.
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I don’t agree with all of John von Kerczek’s conclusions, but they are certainly well articulated and should be considered.
Fred, I am not so sure that this is “unprecedented.”
Granted, it is Metro putting forth this bit of suspicious eagerness, but I wish to call attention to the fact that Pam O’ Connor’s PR guy, Marc Littman, has attempted to pull this stunt previously—in 2002. The only difference is that it was a taped show.
The big mistake will certainly be Pam from Santa Monica’s inability to answer on the fly. Her few attempts to do so via the lousy live chats were embarrassing. (And as a former touring writer whose schtick was to prompt folk to toss any topic, that I could immediately discuss it with wit, I can divine when folk are foundering on stage.)
But back to Mr. Littman’s putting lipstick on the figurative pig. Dig:
http://www.metro.net/news_info/archives/2002/07_July/mta_064.htm
Cable TV Show ‘Metro Motion’ to Provide
30-Minute Snapshot of MTA, Encourage
Viewers to Explore Travel Options
*
First Show in Series Focuses on Countywide Transportation, Westside/South Bay Projects
(Los Angeles) – Ask people what MTA is and what it does and some will say, “MTA? It’s the bus company.” Others might add that MTA operates “a train or two.” MTA hopes “Metro Motion”, a series of 30-minute television shows that debuts July 16 on CityTV in Santa Monica and on Channel 36 in Los Angeles, will fill in the information gaps, encourage viewers to become more involved in the future of transportation in Los Angeles County and to try public transit.
The first show in the series will cover general countywide transportation topics and focus on specific issues and projects in the South Bay and Westside.
“Metro Motion” is a joint production of MTA and CityTV which is owned and operated by the City of Santa Monica. Marc Littman, MTA’s deputy executive officer for public relations, believes television will prove to be an excellent way to reach large numbers of people.
“Concern about traffic is the one issue that the nearly 10 million residents of Los Angeles County agree on,” said Littman. “Given that common interest, MTA is using cable television as a vehicle for allowing viewers to explore the array of mobility options MTA is funding in various parts of the county. The hope is that commuters and others will give public transit or other ride-sharing options a try after learning they have choices besides driving solo.”
Patterned after CityTV’s ‘Santa Monica Update,’ “Metro Motion” employs a news program format with two anchors, field reporters and an interview segment.
Story topics will be far reaching including the growing network of carpool lanes MTA has funded throughout Los Angeles County, the video security system on board Metro buses, the Metro Rapid Bus Program, the EZpass regional transit pass which will debut later this year, MTA’s new Wayfinding Kit for Metro Rail passengers with impaired vision, the Second Train Coming warning sign in operation at the Metro Blue Line Vernon Avenue crossing, MTA’s adopted FY 2003 budget, Exposition Light Rail Project, community based transit and the development of service sectors, and more.
Three public service announcements will feature information about free services provided by MTA including the Metro Freeway Service Patrol, the 1-800-COMMUTE customer relations line for information about MTA and other bus/rail service and schedules in Los Angeles County, and the Metro Trip Planner on MTA’s web site at http://www.mta.net.
The first “Metro Motion” show also will feature an interview with MTA Board member and Santa Monica City Councilwoman Pam O’Connor. Appointed to the Board by the League of Cities, O’Connor represents the Westside and the South Bay on the MTA Board. In addition to addressing issues specific to those two areas, O’Connor will provide perspective on regional issues, as well.
“Metro Motion” will air on CityTV and Channel 36 in Los Angeles on the following dates: July 16, 2002, at 8:30 p.m., July 20, 2002, at 6:30 p.m., July 25, 2002, at 9:30 p.m., and July 28, 2002, at 8:30 a.m.
Thanks BusTard… my headline was actually meant to be sarcastic, “unprecedented” is pulled directly from the press release that the headline links to. If it’s not obvious, I think the whole thing is laughable. Whether it’s happened before or not, the hyperbolic use of “unprecedented” is hilarious, because, well, it’s public access television in 2008. Are you kidding me? It’s like saying “in an unprecedented move, Metro is having a chat via telegraph tomorrow”. Maybe I’m just out of it, but isn’t public access TV the butt of jokes and fodder for SNL sketch writers when they are out of current events material? Public access may have been a good idea in the 80′s, but we’ve had this sort of new thing for over a decade now that pretty much does what public access television was supposed to do but it does it a lot better… it’s called the internet. We are on it right now. Metro, yr retarded.
[tongue firmly in cheeck for the less cynical]
Fred, shouldn’t any daily roundup that includes the LAMTA be correctly called the “Daily Transportation Links Roundup?”
haha. . . Metro chat via telegraph would be commensurate with the arcane fashion by which metro “moves.”
[...] encouraged to ask O’Connor about any of these issues and share their opinions. —> http://metroriderla.com/2008/03/24/daily-transit-links-roundup-33/ [...]