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The Travelin’ Grampa Touring the U.S.A. without an automobile

Focus on safe, fast, convenient, comfortable, cheap travel, via public transit.

PART 3 OF 3-PART REPORT Vol. 10, No. 11, Nov. 2017

Photo credit: Lady Gaga @ Twitter.

Singer, songwriter and actress Lady Gaga poses behind five former U.S. presidents gathering together to raise funds to help victims of recent tropical storms. Left to Right: Carter, Obama, Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton.

Former presidents gather to raise funds to help hurricane victims

Five former U.S. presidents gathered for a Deep from the Heart: The One America Appeal concert

at Texas A&M University's Reed Arena in College Station, to raise money to help the victims of recent

hurricanes and tropical storms in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, etc.

President Trump was present in a taped video message. He also tweeted: “I’m proud to stand with

Presidents for One America Appeal.” See/hear the presidents at: https://youtu.be/WCKJPn1UcXc

Public transit unsung heroes of current hurricane season This issue of The Travelin’ Grampa contains the final part of a 3-part special report about how

wonderfully 50 of our nation’s public transit systems handled recent major emergencies, including

hurricanes, wildfires, unusual heat waves, and other major emergencies. In general, they:

► Kept riders well informed before, during and after emergencies hit.

► Evacuated tens of thousands of non-driving residents and visitors to safety.

► During storms and wildfires, parked their vehicle fleets safely beyond harm’s reach,

► Returned evacuees to their homes, after emergencies past.

► Soon as safe and practical, promptly bounced back to near-normal service.

In general, the public transit systems performed magnificently, as items published in our two

preceding issues and on the following pages testify. Tropical storms covered in this three-issue report: Cindy, Emily, Harvey, Irma, Maria, Nate, and Philippe. In

addition, it cites transit’s role with regard to California wildfires and other recent big emergencies

.

2

. HURRICANE NATE .

Photo credits: RecMod.com, Hurricane Katrina Timeline of Events; Coast Transit Authority on Facebook.

Left: Sept. 3, 2005, huge crowds, many who were trapped in New Orleans nearly a week, mob evacuation buses as military helicopters fly injured and seriously ill to hospitals, six days after Katrina’s Aug. 29 landfall 70 miles away. Right: Oct. 8, 2017, Peaceful picture accompanying Biloxi-based Coast Transit Authority Facebook announcement that CTA would resume regular service the following day. Hurricane Nate hit Biloxi only 14 hours earlier.

Nate and Katrina: two very different Biloxi experiences Nate was the first hurricane to clobber Mississippi since the 2005 Katrina nightmare. It struck the

southeast Louisiana coast Saturday night Oct. 7 as a nearly Category 2 storm

Nate landed again early Sun. Oct. 8 with 90-mph winds near Biloxi, Miss., soon weakening into a

tropical storm with top speeds to 45-mph and plenty of rainfall.

Unlike Katrina, it missed New Orleans, slapping Mississippi and Alabama coasts instead.

Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for six southern Mississippi counties Friday afternoon.

The state opened 11 shelters for evacuees, with free transport to/from them via transit, charter and school

buses. For example, more than a dozen Coast Transit Authority (CTA) and school buses carried

evacuees to five Harrison County shelters – and, when safe, back home again.

CTA is a non-profit organization serving three coastal counties of Mississippi. These include the

communities of Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, St. Martin, and D’Iberville.

Biloxi was under a curfew from 7 pm Saturday until 9 am Sunday.

CTA suspended bus service 2:30 pm Saturday, ran no buses Sunday, resuming all services Monday.

Among exceptions: three of five beach bus stations damaged by storm surge waves, sand and debris.

Nate skips New Orleans, drowns Mobile, Pensacola After New Orleans Regional Transit Authority suspended bus, streetcar and ferry services Saturday

night Oct. 7 in fear that Nate might imitate Katrina’s 2005 visit, RTA resumed normal bus and streetcar

service Sunday morning. By noontime, even ferry boats were back to normal service.

Nate soaked Atlanta, with little impact on Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail and

bus operations. It flooded Mobile briefly and drowned Pensacola. See page 4.

Nate departed Alabama as a tropical depression, with 12-mph winds, gusts to 20-30 mph.

In advance of Nate, transit systems in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi anticipated the

worst. Grand Isle, La., declared a voluntary evacuation. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu* met with

other officials to discuss what to do about the city’s terrible drainage system. Florida Governor Rick Scott

declared a state of emergency for 29 counties.

Then, Nate roared across all those places faster than any previous big storm – and fizzled out.

* City council member LaToya Cantrell on Nov. 18 was elected first woman mayor of New Orleans, to succeed

fellow Democrat Landrieu next year, the city’s 300th anniversary year.

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HURRICANE NATE .

New Orleans feared Nate might be another Katrina As noted on page 2, Nate skipped the New Orleans RTA service area. But not until it began

implementing a comprehensive post-Katrina hurricane preparedness plan. “If sustained winds exceed 35

mph, or other conditions cause the roads to become impassable, RTA transit services will be discontinued

to protect the safety of our riding community,” it warned riders on Fri. Oct. 6.

Meanwhile, all fixed-route buses kept to their usual schedules, with paratransit continuing regular

pickups through 8 pm on Saturday evening.

“Beginning at 5:15 am tomorrow,” RTA announced, “all streetcars will be replaced with buses.”

Streetcars went to a new Willow Street “car barn” safe from wind and flood damage.

“Ferry services,” RTA said, “will be impacted by the U.S. Coast Guard’s decisions under threat levels

and wind conditions. We expect services to be discontinued sometime on Saturday.”

When it became apparent Nate had bypassed New Orleans, RTA promptly restored all service Sun.

Oct. 8, including paratransit, streetcars, and ferries.

Nate was the 15th big storm to form in the Atlantic this hurricane season.

New RTA transit center project secured against storm As Nate neared landfall, RTA secured equipment and construction material at its new Cemeteries

Transit Center being built on Canal Blvd. It gets it name from Greenwood, Cyprus Grove, St. Patrick, and

Judah cemeteries being nearby, as is the Hurricane Katrina Memorial. This new transit center is

expected to make transfer safer and easier between streetcars and Jefferson Transit JeT buses to/from

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and other Jefferson Parish (i.e., county) locations.

Photo credit: Ralph Simcox, FEMA photographer, photo dated Oct 2, 2005.

In October 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooding wrecked 201 large transit buses and 32 smaller paratransit buses kept within the RTA's so-called “secure Canal and East New Orleans maintenance garages.” Both were under five feet of floodwater. To replace them, the Federal Emergency Management Administration gave RTA more than $44.1-million.

Public Transit carries folks to shelters & back home when safe Many news media stories mention public transit taking evacuees to public shelters – but rarely

mention they also, when safe, return them home afterward, even when if many miles away. For example,

after tropical storm Nate had passed, because its drivers were on standby to help storm evacuees return

home from the shelters Escambia County Community Transit, aka ECAT, didn’t provide regular transit

service on Sun. Oct. 8, Instead, ECAT resumed its bus service, including the 59X, Pensacola Beach

Jumper “trolley,” and paratransit service on Mon. Oct. 9. Next day, it resumed University of Western

Florida on-campus “trolley” bus service. In Escambia County, fire crews responded to 13 storm-related

calls overnight, mostly down or sparking power lines, alarm systems, and one downed tree.

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HURRICANE NATE . Photo credit: Shayne Parden, WKRG; KXAN video.

Mobile during Hurricane Katrina Aug. 2005. Nate hits Interstate Hwy I-10 outside Mobile in Oct. 2017.

Mobile, Ala., holds the nebulous title Hurricane City Birmingham is known as the Magic City; Mobile, the Hurricane City. Both were hit hard by Harvey

and Nathan, although Mobile managed to dodge Maria and benefitted from Florida’s Irma evacuees.

Needless to say, The Wave, Mobile’s bus system, was quite ready when Nate hit Sun. Oct. 8. After

suspending fixed route bus and paratransit service at 3 pm Friday, The Wave promptly resumed them

Monday, with a few minor exceptions.

As the storm neared, The Wave web site tenderly advised: “We ask our riders to please be smart and

safe during this time” and added: “Reach out to those who may need help. Check on loved ones.”

“Our thoughts go out to all of Mobile during this time,” it said. “Please be safe.”

Back in August, despite Harvey’s high winds and heavy rain, its buses kept running. “You may see

delays because of heavy rain or flooded roads,” The Wave warned riders. “Any disruption in service will

be broadcast on local News and Radio and also on Facebook and The Wave Transit website.”

Nate was brutal, bringing gusts to 65-mph and 6-inches rainfall Sun. Oct. 8. National Weather Service

in Mobile reported storm surges of 5½ to 6 feet above normal tide along coastal areas.

Water Street in downtown Mobile and the Spanish Fort Causeway both were flooded. Nate came and

went quickly. It was perhaps the fastest-moving storm ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nate briefly shut down Escambia County Area Transit

University of West Florida suspended UWF “trolley” bus service “due to potential weather

conditions from Hurricane Nate.” Pensacola-based Escambia County Area Transit likewise suspended

ECAT routes #59X express. #64 Beach Jumper bus service, and Route #61 to/from Pensacola Beach. All

other buses ran on a Saturday schedule. Nate moved thru Pensacola quickly, doing little damage.

Miami-Dade’s safety tips regarding hurricanes Miami-Dade’s transportation department offers these tips to Metrorail/Metromover riders:

► While waiting for a train, avoid standing at the edge of the platform.

► Wait on the lower level of a station when wind gusts are too strong.

► Be aware Miami-Dade Transit begins to cease operations three hours before expected sustained

tropical storm force winds of 39-mph or more.

► Register to get Rider Alerts on Facebook, Twitter or the department’s website and app.

► Special Transportation Service (STS) transports ADA certified riders to safe shelters. If you need

assistance due to a medical condition or disability, register to be taken to a special needs shelter.

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. VIRGIN ISLANDS . Photo credits: Donald J. Trump, Twitter; Eldorado National Div., Allied Specialty Vehicles Inc.

Left: President trump meets with Gov. Mapp and other VI officials. Right: Low-floor VITRAN bus, made by Eldorado National, Riverside, Calif., one of 10 on St. Thomas and St. Croix, with right-hand drive and entrances on the left.

President Trump says he spoke with ‘President of the Virgin Islands’ “I will tell you I left Texas and I left Florida and I left Louisiana and I went to Puerto Rico and I met

with the President of the Virgin Islands,” President Donald Trump told a Values Voter gathering in

Washington, DC. “We are one nation and we all hurt together; we hope together, and we heal together,”

he said, later adding, “The Virgin Islands and the President of the Virgin Islands, these are people that are

incredible people. They suffered gravely. And we're there. We're going to be there. We have, really! It is

not even a question of a choice.”

Double whammy cripples Virgin Islands transit for a month VITRAN, the Virgin Islands public transit system, provides bus service on St. Croix, St. John, and St.

Thomas islands. After 16 days out-of-action due to Hurricane Maria, following 15 days mostly out-of-

action due to Hurricane Irma, its governor, Kenneth E. Mapp announced on Thurs. Oct. 5 VITRAN was

resuming St. Thomas bus service and would soon resume on St. Croix and St. John.

Two category 5 hurricanes back-to-back in just 12 days is enough to throw any transit system

for a tizzy. That’s what they did to Virgin Islands’ public transit. Maria made landfall at St. Croix Tues. Sept. 19 at 11:44 pm as a Category 5 storm, with violent winds

of up to 150 mph. Even so, St. Croix survived better than the other islands. It has about 50,000 permanent

residents. Most of St. John’s 4,500 residents fled to St. Croix, many then to the USA mainland.

St. John is the smallest and most remote of the territory’s three Islands.

VITRAN vehicle losses: seven buses each on St. Thomas; two on St. John. The territory’s Public

Works Department’s top VITRAN official, Stephen Monsanto, indicated 16 buses remained running

throughout the territory, and that St. Thomas needed four immediate replacements.

For more: www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g147404-s303/St-Thomas:Caribbean:Public.Transportation.html

Sun. Sept. 10 Bus evacuations video: www.facebook.com/viconsortium/videos/1401125483335019/

At a press conference Tues. Sept. 5, V.I. emergency management official Mona Barnes advised

seniors and those with disabilities who lacked private transport to call VITRAN for a ride to a shelter. She

also advised them to call early.

VITRAN normally runs modern air-conditioned buses Mon.-Sat. 5:30 am to 9 pm, stopping at all main

shopping centers and most popular tourist spots. None Sunday. Adult fare $1. Senior 55¢.

Its buses connect with Ferry boats sailing between St. Thomas and St. Johns.

Before this year’s hurricane season, taxis normally were abundant, reliable and readily available at

airports, cruise ship docks, large resorts and popular attractions and beaches. They charged per person and

by destination. No meters. Taxi rates are set by a government agency.

6

. CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES .

Photo credit: Golden Gate Transit, Facebook; Will Tran, KRON News, San Francisco.

Left: Golden Gate Transit 101 bus between San Francisco and Northern Bay communities temporally halted service, as wildfires hit Napa and Santa Rosa areas. Right: Santa Rosa CityBus helped evacuate patients from area hospitals.

Golden Gate Transit cancels Santa Rosa bus service To avoid fire threat, Golden Gate Transit canceled Mon. Oct. 9 bus service in the Santa Rosa area,

including routes 72X, 74, 76, 101X and 101 southbound. Its buses went only to/from Santa Rosa Transit

Mall, to avoid fire dangers in Santa Rosa. During his frequent West Coast travels, Grampa has enjoyed

riding the 72X from Van Ness & Broadway – and the 101 from 7th & Market – in San Francisco, over the

Golden Gate Bridge, to Sausalito, San Rafael, Petaluma and Santa Rosa.

Fires disrupt new Sonoma-Marin rail service

Wind-driven fires in Sonoma County north of San Francisco Bay that began Sun. Oct. 8 disrupted

Monday morning Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit commuter service. SMART ran limited 2-car trips between downtowns of Santa Rosa and San Rafael, charging no fares that afternoon and the rest of the

week. Two of its northern Santa Rosa stations were closed due to power outages affecting the area’s

railroad crossings. SMART was able to reopen those two stations the following week on October16, and

resumed full service, continuing free fares through October 20 to assist those in need of transportation.

“Safety is our top priority and we closely monitored conditions, and were able to resume service as

safety allowed,” said SMART spokesperson Jeanne Mariani-Belding.

Wooden power poles with lines crossing SMART tracks caught fire. Heavy smoke and falling ash

hampered visibility at railroad crossings. So, trains sounded their safety horn at all crossings.

SMART Rail Operation Center in the northern Santa Rosa area operated on generator power due to

extensive power outages in the area.

Opened in August, SMART has 10 stations, linking Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa and

downtown San Rafael. The new railway follows a 43-mile Northwestern Pacific Railroad 1903-1941

interurban route. Additional stations are slated for Petaluma and downtown Novato. Construction is now

underway for an extension to the Larkspur ferry to/from San Francisco. SMART is also in the process of

funding northern extensions to Windsor, Healdsburg and Cloverdale, to complete its 70-mile system.

Photo credits: Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit; Mendocino Transit Authority Facebook page.

Sonoma-Marin’s new transit railway. Mendocino Transit Authority buses have 12 fixed routes, 1 flex route.

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. CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES .

Sonoma County Transit kept riders up to date during fires After suspending service Oct. 8, Sonoma County Transit resumed limited service Oct. 13 and normal

service Oct. 17. During the fires, it posted on Facebook an up to date interactive map on street and road

closures. Oct. 20, it advised: “Crews are working around the clock to re-open roads … Please be patient

as they work as fast as they can.” Fires destroyed homes of one of its directors and two of its staff.

VINE evacuates fire victims, offers free rides for 3 weeks About 2 am on Mon. Oct. 9, VINE Transit sent two buses to the Silverado Country Club to aid

evacuations. They were diverted to Queen of the Valley Hospital and put on stand-by there. As more than

a dozen fires raged in Napa and Sonoma counties. VINE halted service in Napa, Yountville, St. Helena

and Calistoga. While the fires were still burning, on Sat. Oct 14, VINE offered free bus and shuttle rides

“for everyone to everywhere we go for the next 3 weeks,” including buses to the Vallejo Ferry Terminal

and Amtrak and BART rail stations. Transdev Inc. operates VINE Transit under a management

agreement with Napa Valley Transportation Authority.

Mendocino Transit Authority issues fire warning “Fires may affect bus service,” warned a Rider Alert from Mendocino Transit Authority. “Due to the

Redwood Valley and Santa Rosa fires, MTA bus schedules are subject to change at any time,” it advised

riders. MTA’s 2,800-square mile service area covers: Fort Bragg U.S. Army base, Mendocino County,

Redwood Valley, Santa Rosa, and coastal towns north of San Francisco. MTA’s fleet includes commuter

and local fixed route buses, and dial-for-a-ride vehicles. Photo credits: Jason Cochran, Twitter; Tia Carrere, Twitter.

Sun at Disneyland was just a faint red dot in a spooky orange sky, because of Anaheim canyon fires.

Wildfire smoke turns Disneyland sky an eerie orange Just in time for Halloween and pumpkin season, several Disneyland goers posted photos on social

media of a spooky orange sky hanging overhead. It was from clouds of thick black smoke billowing from

canyon wildfires in the Anaheim Hills just miles away. Some reported ash falling nearby.

More than 5,000 homes were evacuated in Orange County Mon. Oct. 9, as fire scorched 7,500 acres

nearby. Buses of Orange County Transportation Authority and Anaheim Resort Transportation

were unaffected. An earlier brush fire in Riverside, 40 miles away, briefly halted Metrolink trains.

Petaluma Transit shuttles evacuees from neighboring towns Petaluma, a Sonoma County town unaffected by the fires, opened several shelters that attracted 1,275

evacuees fleeing fires in neighboring communities. To accommodate them, Petaluma Transit provided

free rides Oct. 9-15, provided free transit passes for all evacuees through the end of October, and ran a

shuttle service for evacuees to facilities with showers.

8

. SANTA ROSA WILDFIRE .

Photo credits: Anthony Nachor transit blogger website; City of Santa Rosa CityBus system.

Left: Compressed natural gas fueled route 30 Sonoma County Transit bus. Right: Route 3 Santa Rosa CityBus.

Santa Rosa buses back, except thru heart of fire devastated area A month after a wildfire consumed 5% of the homes in Sana Rosa, its CityBus system is back to full

service, except for a Route 19 bus detour, bypassing a fire-damaged area of Parker Hill Road and

Stagecoach Road. During the initial period of the fires, CityBus drivers evacuated to safety 373 people in

the first 12 hours of emergency operations, including patients from assisted living facilities and hospitals.

Two of the regions’ hospitals were evacuated due to the fast-moving fires. During the emergency’s

ensuing days, CityBus transported 750 passengers including evacuees, National Guard personnel, and

Salvation Army volunteers. Santa Rosa CityBus has 14 fixed local bus routes, most to/from its downtown

transit mall. About 35,000 people were displaced by the wildfires in Santa Rosa and the surrounding

Sonoma County area. For more: www.srcity.org/CityBus

Why they call Wine Country wildfire The Tubbs Fire A wildfire that burned parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties in northern California during

October is known as The Tubbs Fire because it started near Tubbs Lane in Woodleaf, near Calistoga, in

Napa County. Later, it spread into Sonoma County and the city of Santa Rosa.

The lane gets its name from Alfred Tubbs, 1880s-era owner of a winery there. Ironically, a 1964

wildfire destroyed Tubbs Mansion, his home. October’s fire killed at least 22 people and destroyed more

than 5,300 structures in the three counties.

“Cleaning the debris alone could last into early 2018,” says the Los Angeles Times.

Photo credits: KPIX San Francisco on YouTube; A Fire Story by cartoonist Brian Fies.

Left: Scene from Don Ford of KPIX Channel 5 CBS in San Francisco as he reports from the destroyed Signorello Estate winery in Napa on Oct. 10. See it at https://youtu.be/vcoBvNCVXqE Right: Brian Fies, professional cartoonist whose home in Santa Rosa County was destroyed by a recent wildfire, drew his very sad story and posted it on Facebook: https://brianfies.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-fire-story-complete.html

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. CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES .

Photo credit: Hilton Hotels; Lorna Olson, Human Resources Director, Hilton Sonoma Wine Country, Facebook.

Hilton Sonoma Wine Country afire, just off Fountain Grove Parkway in Santa Rosa. Also destroyed was its neighbor, the Fountain Grove Inn. The fire shut down the Best Western Plus Wine Country Inn & Suites, less than a mile away on Hwy 101. Power failures and evacuation orders closed other Wine Country lodging places. An ironic Associated Press picture by AP photographer Jeff Chiu shows Rudy Habibe, from hurricane devastated Puerto Rico, watching the burning Hilton Sonoma Wine Country hotel, where he had been staying until told to evacuate.

Bus driver and his dog at shelter lost almost everything in fire At a Red Cross shelter for pet owners, Forrest Smith, a 53-year-old Santa Rosa paratransit bus driver,

and his small black-and-white dog, Jazz, said he was living in a hotel, looking for a new place to live,

when the October wildfire swept through a storage unit where he kept all his belongings. “Everything he

has left is in his truck,” he told Los Angeles Times reporter Ruben Vives. “On the day of the fire,” Smith

said, he and other bus drivers “helped evacuate people from retirement homes.” Since then, he hasn’t

done much bas driving, he said. At the shelter, he’s one of the volunteers who help keep the place clean

and tolerable, while wondering. “How am I going to find a place for me and my dog?”

Photo credits: KTVY Fox Channel 2 San Francisco; Twitter, Wayne Freedman, ABC Channel 7 San Francisco; .

Left: KYVU Fox Channel 2 reporter among news media on nearly empty Wine Train that Grampa keeps saying he’s going to ride soon. Right: Wayne Freedman. KGO-TV San Francisco reporter tweeted Oct 26: “Kind of empty inside the Napa Wine Train. This should be peak season. They're down 75% from a typical October.”

Napa and Sonoma want tourists back by train, bus or whatever

Of some 500 wineries in Napa/Sonoma Wine Country, only seven suffered severe loss. So, it’s still a

great place to visit, ride the Wine Train, tour the wineries and vineyards, and sample the hospitality,

vittles and vin. For more: http://www.ktvu.com/news/wine-country-needs-tourists-napa-valley-wine-train-open

10

. PUERTO RICO .

Photo credits: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Satellite images show Puerto Rico before and after Hurricanes Harvey. Irma and Maria knocked out 87% of the island’s electric power. (NOAA). One was taken on July 24. The other on Monday. September 24.

San Juan bus system slowly returns to service Thurs. Sept. 28, more than a week after Maria hit Puerto Rico, no public transit was operating on the

island, according to the Federal Transit Administration. At least, no federally funded bus or transit service

was operating, in essence ditto. Not until Mon. Oct. 2, a dozen days after Maria’s sweep of the island, was

Metropolitan Bus Authority (AMA) able to resume some bus operations. Its fleet, terminals and HQ all

has sustained storm damage. By Fri. Oct. 6, AMA restored 75% of its services; by Mon. Oct. 23, 100%.

On Oct. 6, there were 6.067 evacuees remaining in 112 shelters, many brought there by AMA buses.

By Mon. Oct. 23, only 3,966 were still in shelters.

Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority (AMA) provides local and express bus service to residents

and visitors of the San Juan metropolitan area, which includes San Juan, Guaynabo, Bayamón, Trujillo

Alto, Cataño, Toa Baja, and Carolina. Prior to this year’s hurricane season, most of its 150 buses on 30

fixed routes normally ran Mon.-Fri. 5: am - 9 pm, Sat. & holidays 6 am – 8 pm. (Only two running

Sundays are T3 and E40 expresses.) All bus stops are marked with a green sign containing the Spanish

word “parada.” Fare, exact change or prepaid fare card: adult: 75¢, senior 60¢.

Overseeing all Puerto Rico mass transit is Autocidal de Transporte Integrado de Puerto Rico (ATI).

For more: https://ati.pr/en/

A current status report is available at: http://status.pr/?lng=en

Photo credit: Tito Caraballo, Flickr, Wikimedia; YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7uf5AXBS_E

Left: Transit bus of SITRAS (Sistema Integrado de Transportación del Sur, or Southern Integrated Transit) is the bus system in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Right: Metropolitan Bus Authority rapid transit buses in San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico. Overseeing all the island’s mass transit is Puerto Rico Integrated Transit Authority (ATI).

11

. PUERTO RICO . Photo credits: Alternate Concepts Inc.; Wikimedia, Puerto Rico Integrated Transit Authority.

Puerto Rico's transit system includes Tren Urbano, a 10.7-mile 16-stations railway line serving San Juan, Guaynabo and Bayamon. Alternate Concepts, Inc., Boston, Mass., manages Tren Urbano operations.

Irma sideswiped island; Maria whipped across every square inch Maria made landfall on the east coast near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, around 6:15 am Wed. Sept. 20 as a

Category 4 storm with winds to 155-mph. It slowly whipped across the entire island knocking down street

signs and communication towers, ripping off roofs, snapping trees, and flooding numerous streets and

roads. About 30 hours later, Maria left about noon as a Category 2 storm. “This is a humanitarian disaster involving 3.4-million US citizens,” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo

Rosselló exclaimed.

Puerto Rico has more U.S. citizens than Wyoming, Vermont and Alaska combined. If half were to

move to the mainland, they could swing congressional and presidential elections.

No storm of such fury hat hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years. Last time was 1928.

It already was suffering from being slapped earlier by Hurricane Irma, which cut-off electric power for

many Puerto Rico residents and businesses.

As of Oct. 18, barely 10 percent of customers in Puerto Rico, 16 percent in St. Thomas and 1.6 percent

in St. Croix had electricity restored, according to reports from FEMA and the Puerto Rican government.

More than half of all cell towers in Puerto Rico were still down, and about 1 million residents don't have

drinking water. Nearly 100 shelters were still open on the island, housing some 4,300 evacuees.

Bankrupt public transit hampers island’s recovery “Though food insecurity, poor health care, and resource-starved public transit all predate the

hurricane, the result of both damaging U.S. policy and deepening financial crisis, these three problems

will dramatically complicate Puerto Rico’s recovery,” reported Lauren Lluveras in Salon web magazine.

“Many Puerto Ricans will not be able to reach help,” she writes. “Upwards of 45% of the population

lives in poverty. An estimated 35,000 riders depend daily on public transit to get around.”

“With a limited budget, an aging infrastructure and too few vehicles to support the island's population,

however, the transit authority has been struggling to meet needs.” She says. “The agency underwent

austerity-related budget cuts in 2015, operating at a deficit until, finally, in May 2017, it filed for

bankruptcy.”

UC Berkeley researchers studying emergency evacuation University of California - Berkeley Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering researchers are

conducting a study of persons exposed to major disaster threats, in an effort to determine, among other

findings, why some evacuate and why some don’t. The research team includes professors Susan Shaheen

and Joan Walker and doctoral student Stephen Wong.

12

. PUERTO RICO .

Irma & Maria crippled already-weak Puerto Rico public transit Puerto Rico public transit “is slowly coming back, amid continued shortages of food, water and fuel,”

reports the American Public Transportation Association.

Multi-storms damage to its electrical power system brought the island’s transit operations “to a

standstill,” says Ryan Gray at School Transportation News.

“The Federal Transit Administration said there was no federally funded bus or transit service, bus or

rail, in operation on Puerto Rico as of last week,” Gray wrote on Thurs. Oct. 5.

“Eight rail stations are now ready for service, with another eight still needing another week for

cleanup,” APTA told Ryan, after the Washington DC-based association finally made contact with two

agencies that operate the San Juan area’s Tren Urbano rail system and Urbana bus system.

Maria damaged so much of the island's communications capability, little information was forthcoming,

observed APTA Acting President and CEO Richard White, while noting the situation was “slowly

improving.” Mon. Oct. 2, 88.3% of cellphones were kaput, the Federal Communications Commission

said. White foresees Puerto Rico having a “long road to recovery” ahead.

Mucho fed $$$ coming; GOP needs Puerto Ricans to stay put

About $8.4-million in Federal Transit Administration critical grant funding aims to help Puerto

Rico’s public transit systems recover from Hurricane Maria damage. Another $40-million is coming from

the Federal Highway Administration to repair roads and bridges. FEMA also has sent $2.5-million to fix

hurricane Irma damage. “It is critical to get the island's infrastructure in working condition as soon as

possible so relief supplies and other assistance can be delivered to the people of Puerto Rico,” declared

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release.

Plenty more federal funds are likely. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. President Trump and GOP

leaders suddenly realize that if 1.5-million Puerto Ricans move to the mainland to stay with relatives

already there, Florida and Texas likely would elect Democrats to Congress and flip their state legislatures

to Democratic in 2018, in advance of 2020 U.S. Census redistricting. That exodus might already have

begun. “More than 100,000 evacuees have fled to Florida,” CBS News reported on Nov. 8.

Photos credit: Heather B, Yelp; Puerto Rico Convention Center.

Left: Sign at San Juan bus stop. Right: Puerto Rico airport shuttle van. For more: http://www.puertoricoshuttle.com/

Puerto Rico reliance on cars harms its recovery

“This is very much an auto and highway-dependent island,” Hani Mahmassani, director, Northwestern

University Transportation Center told Bloomberg News. “Lacking widespread public transportation,

Puerto Ricans have traditionally turned to their own vehicles. There’s just no alternative really available.”

Of its 3.4-million residents, about 931,000 drive or carpool to work, the U.S. Census indicates.

13

. TROPICAL STORM PHILIPPE .

Philippe and powerful northeast coastal storm team up Tropical Storm Philippe formed about 5 pm Sat. Oct. 29. After soaking the Florida Keys with heavy

rains, Philippe then made landfall at 45-mph about 9 am on the southwest Everglades. After crossing

south Florida, Philippe grew in intensity over the open Atlantic Ocean, with winds up to 60-mph.

However, by 9 pm, the storm dissipated, as it met a powerful circular cold front. This brought heavy

rains, winds to 57-mph, gusts to 130-mph, and more than 1,728,000 power failures along northeastern

USA and eastern Canadian seaboards. Coastal storm damage was reported Monday across the Carolinas,

far west as West Virginia, and north into Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and New England,

including New Hampshire and Maine. More than 6-in. rain soaked Branford, Conn. More than 6-in. rain

soaked Branford, Conn. A weird snowstorm blanketed Garret County, Md., that evening.

For more, see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFLZxd7RyA0

Coastal storm messes up New York & Connecticut commutes

Long Island Rail Road trains were stalled Oct. 30 by debris on tracks, including loose live power

lines. In Connecticut, a mudslide knocked out signal power, halting Metro-North Railroad Danbury

Branch trains. Unhappy commuters packed stations. Flooding submerged cars in four feet of water and

detoured WRTA buses in Worcester, Mass. In Philadelphia, flooding caused lane closures and SEPTA

bus detours near Philadelphia International Airport.

Photo credits: Northeast Weather Wx, Oct. 29, 2017; Southern California Regional Rail Authority, aka Metrolink.

Left: Combo tropical storm Philippe and weird circular coastal storm brought a snowstorm to Garrett County Md., on Sun. Oct. 29. See photo above. Garrett Transit Service provides call-for-service rides for residents and visitors on a space-available basis. Right: Metrolink contractor worker uses a special thermometer to check temperature of tracks. If surrounding air is 110°F or more, or rails 140°F or more, steel rails can distort, causing train derailment.

Record high heat slows transit in LA, Portland & San Francisco Record high West Coast temperatures of 100°F or more in late October were sufficient to interfere

with normal public transit service. San Luis Obispo and San Diego each hit 108°F and downtown Los

Angeles 104°F. During September, record heat also hit the San Francisco Bay area, slowing BART and

Muni trains and Muni electric trolley buses. “Some of our older electric vehicles are overheating where

the trolley bus connects to the overhead wires,” said Muni spokesman Paul Rose. “What we're doing is

stopping those vehicles, letting them rest for a little bit and then carrying on with service.”

In August, high heat brought computer woes, slowing and even stopping TriMet MAX trains in

Portland, Oregon., prompting it to make all rides free for the day.

During July, “extreme heat” forced Los Angeles based Metrolink to slow down San Bernardino Line

and Ventura County trains, adding 30 minutes to each trip.

14

POST- HARVEY EVENTS . Photos credit: Houston Astros Twitter tweets.

Astros’ star Craig Biggio. Moment of silence for Hurricane Harvey victims. New logo on uniform’s sleeve.

New Astros logo reflects Houston’s post-Harvey recovery attitude Only days after Harvey’s disastrous flooding, Houston Astros baseball team players’ uniforms and

caps displayed a patch promoting the theme “Houston Strong,” reflecting the generally positive attitude of

the Houston metropolitan area’s populace regarding storm recovery efforts.

Aug. 29, four days after Harvey’s landfall, major league baseball’s 2017 World Series opened at

Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, where Houston Astros and Texas Rangers players stood for

a Moment of Silence for Hurricane Harvey victims. *

Of the flooding, Astros star player Craig Biggio recalled: “It was horrific. It was terrible.”

“You know, it didn’t start here; then when it got here it didn’t leave here,” Biggio told Sports

Illustrated magazine. “Harvey didn’t really care what your area code was, where you live. If it was going

to get you, it got you.”

* Ironically, Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida Sept. 10 not far from St. Petersburg.

* This was the fourth time a World Series played outside a home territory due to horrible weather. Hurricane Ike

in 2008 required the Astros and Chicago Cubs play two games in Milwaukee. In 2007, a Cleveland snowstorm

forced its Indians and Los Angeles Angels to play three games in Milwaukee. In 2004, to avoid Hurricane Ivan, two

Montreal Expos vs. Florida Marlins games were played in Chicago, instead of Miami.

Non-profit distributes 957,000+ pair of undies to disaster victims Undies for Everyone, a non-profit organization that provides needy school students with new

underwear, recently broadened its mission to include folks affected by current natural disasters, including

tropical storms Harvey, Irma and Maria and California wildfires.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, UFE shifted its focus to giving displaced children and adults new

underwear, a basic necessity seldom donated and often overlooked. UFE’s many volunteers and donors

include: Fruit of the Loom, Under Armor, and Victoria’s Secret.

“We are gratified that people are recognizing the importance of providing new underwear to those in

need,” said Rabbi Amy Weiss, founder and executive director of Undies for Everyone.

Founded in 2012, UFE has distributed more than 500,000 pair of underwear to Houston-area and

Dallas-area students and school nurses.

Its most recent underwear distributions were to victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ © 2017, all rights reserved. The Travelin’ Grampa is published monthly by John A. Moore Sr., freelance journalist, P. O Box 636, Clifton Heights PA 19018-0636. Price for one-year (12 issues) subscription by email: $75. Special 66½ discount to U. S. residents ages 62 and above.