Articulated trains...

The trains on the light rail here are "articulated." That is, each individual train-car is "really" two cars, with a flexible section between them that allows them to bend in the middle when making turns. It's a pretty simple-looking arrangement on the outside.

Inside, though, I'm not sure it's that simple. There's a big round section of floor that rotates around the pivot point, maybe 6-8 feet in diameter. There are no seats there, but there are handrails, and if the train is busy, it's not unusual for a few people to congregate there.

It's also interesting (and a little... strange, maybe) watching that section turn with respect to the rest of the car. Not quite a vertigo-inducing thing, at least not for me, but interesting still... It doesn't pivot much, but it's definitely very visible...

Considerate and observant bus-drivers: Thanks!

I was a regular rider on a morning bus during the last couple of months at my old job, and I'm becoming a regular on the same route at about the same time, but going the opposite direction now that I've changed jobs. My morning walk to the current stop takes me past the stop I used to wait at, at about the time that I'd have been waiting previously.

This morning, while walking to the new stop, the driver that I used to see most mornings honked and gestured to ask if I needed to get on his bus. I indicated that I didn't and he went on his way.

It was kind of gratifying that he both remembered me, and that he was paying enough attention to check.

Kudos, Mr. Bus-driver! And thanks!

What happens when you don't have light rail fare...

This morning during my commute to work, I was sitting in the seat opposite a guy who didn't have a pass, ticket or any other fare for the train. I'd never really asked about (or considered) what happens under those circumstances when it's found out by one of the transit cops, but could hear it in some detail, as close as I was.

So, in Denver's system (RTD), it's an $80-odd fine after the first offense, $100-odd outside the city and county of Denver. I find myself wondering how often it happens that the transit cops run across someone without a fare...

Interestingly, they don't boot the offender off the train.