Hampton's Strange Priorities

Above: Men's Bathroom stall with missing privacy door at Hampton Transit Center
Below: Hampton Cheesewagon, with a new paint job, being pressed into Route 110 service

I just got an email from Michael Townes, President & CEO of Hampton Roads Transit, replying to an email I sent about the oh-so-wonderful men's restroom at the Hampton Transit Center. City of Hampton, the ball is in your court. What are your transit funding priorities? My impression is that your funding priorities are Grey Area Cheesewagons.

This Gillig Phantom Cheesewagon is more important than a privacy door in the Men's room? As you can see, HRT is so willing to hang on to ancient museum artifacts that they can give them new paint jobs. Apparently, it's more important than a simple, cheap privacy door on a Men's Room stall.

HRT's Worst Embarrassment

These beauties are taken in the the men's bathroom at the Hampton Transit Center. Please, allow me to take you on a little tour. Like every blog entry, click on a picture for the larger version.

Note the missing partition between toilets

Handicap stall. Note missing privacy door

The other stall. Again, note missing privacy door.

Last, but not least, your hand washing station

HRT: Do SOMETHING. Even cheap basic stuff like privacy doors for the stalls. The sad truth is that the Newport News Transit Center is no better. They are both equally as bad.

Hampton and Newport News Transit Center Bathrooms

Ever had to, you know, go while at HTC or NNTC? Ever notice that they apparently haven't cleaned that bathrooms in years? I also wonder why some of the men's room stalls do not have privacy doors.

HRT: I know you're on a starvation diet, but c'mon. This is inexcusable. These bathrooms need something, and need something NOW!

Bus Pictures

I was at the HRT Board Meeting yesterday and took these pictures of buses (as always, click any picture for a larger version)

Our old rustbucket 900s, but why are they at HTC? Also, note the Flixible Metro in the back of the line. These are HRT Cheesewagons

HRT Cheesewagon BTW: this is one of our old ratty Orion V 900s from my side

A Flixible Metro: very, very old. Makes the Northside's 500 series Gillig Phantoms look brand new

a 500 series Gillig Phantom. An Antique, but brand new when compared to the Flixible Metro pictured above. These Phantoms make our 900 series Orion V's look brand new. BTW: this is one of the Grey Area (legally) HRT Cheesewagons pressed into regular passenger service

Note the duct tape over the ACS Navigator passenger display

Hard to believe: a 2000 series Gillig Lowfloor on Route 33

Overall, what a day. Got to see some ancient machines in action