Tag: route signage

Surprise! Fresno FAX bus routes changing Monday 2/19/2018

What’s the best time to let people know you’re making some major changes to bus routes? If you’re FAX, Fresno’s bus system, the answer appears to be “the day of.”

On Monday February 19, Q launches, which is Fresno’s new rapid bus service on Blackstone and Kings Canyon (recent construction photos here). The route was chosen because it covers two of the busiest transit corridors. Naturally, those corridors have existing bus services, which will change once the new system is introduced.

And yet, as of 2/15/2018, this is the only thing you can find online that lets you know routes are changing. Click to read more!

Cyclist captures hit-and-run on camera

A teenager with a camera mounted on his handlebar caught a truck driver slamming into him. The truck was accelerating – rather than slowing down – to make a right turn at the upcoming light.The truck driver then fled the scene. Will Fresno PD act?

A TV station has the story, and apparently because they have the exclusive on the video, they have the “exclusive” on the news – I didn’t see any reporting in the Bee. 

The TV station is calling it an “accident” and running with the “both sides are to blame” angle. Why are both sides to blame? Because the wife of the driver says so. Click to read more!

MBTA station interiors added to Google Maps

If you’ve ridden a subway in a new city, you’ve certainly found yourself exiting a train and not knowing which way to go. Many stations offer a multitude of exit options, but which one takes you closer to your destination? It can be a confusing experience, as there are no landmarks to guide you.

Apparently, the folks at Google know that feeling well, because they have teamed up with the MBTA to offer maps of the inside of stations on the Android version of Google Maps. Previously, all that the maps would offer was a single subway station logo, giving you a good idea of where the station was, but no details on the many exit options. Now, every hallway, stair, restroom and information booth has been mapped. Click to read more!

The new FAX bus signs

A few weeks ago I wrote about FAX taking out an ad in the Fresno Bee to promote new signs coming to bus stops. I thought it was absurd. The sign itself wasn’t very good, and the concept of a bus agency taking out an ad in the paper to tell people about a new sign was baffling.

There is some good news. Kiel Famellos-Schmidt of archop posted a picture of a new sign today and I was happy to see that large route numbers were included, even though the ads didn’t mention them.

Photobucket

Where do those routes go? What is the service frequency? What are the service hours? Who knows, but at least the sign does do the bare minimum and inform people of the routes that stop there. Click to read more!

FAX: Wasting money on ads about bad signs

Once again, a Fresno Area Express (FAX) ad in the Fresno Bee newspaper caught my eye. The ad was absurd, almost comical really. It was an ad about the transit agency putting up new signs at bus stops.

I found many things about the ad to be absurd. Simply the idea of spending money to tell Bee readers that bus stops will have new signs is odd. I’m all for giving the Bee advertising revenue, but this doesn’t exactly seem like a good use of transit money. Also, if you’re going to be spending money on something like this, I’d hope that the signs would be amazing. On the contrary, the new signs appear to be quite poor, and the three bullet points explaining the virtues of the new signs are pretty bad. Super bad. Finally, the last time FAX ran an ad in the Bee, it was for service changes that never happened. Click to read more!