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ast 2 wks, poss bc of new school yr n August ’10, METRO served 150K, 16% MORE than August ’09. Reached 40,000+ daily totals last 2 wks, poss bc of new school yr

March had 1,161,733 boardings and surprisingly the first week of March had more than 40,000 boardings each day. The many special events along the line along with our great regular riders gave us a boost.

-METRO light rail on Facebook

Want to see what all the excitement is about? Click here to learn how to use the METRO light rail as part of your daily commute.

There was a small army of bikes on the streets of downtown Phoenix on Friday night for a bike crawl organized by my friend Cassie.  Her sister Jaimee was in town tearin’ it up before her deployment to Iraq this week.  We had so much fun!  Cassie kept the bike crawl locations in the Roosevelt district of downtown Phoenix: Roosevelt  Tavern (3rd and Roosevelt), then to Lost Leaf (5th Street and Roosevelt), Carly’s Bistro (1st and Roosevelt), and finally Seamus McCaffrey’s (Central and Monroe).

Need suggestions on how to organize your own pub crawl?  First, pick a section of town with some bars that are relatively close in proximity to each other. You may even want to base your choices on which bars are having specials on the night of your crawl, or which ones are easiest to get to on foot or bike. Keep in mind you’ll need all the proper lights on your journey if you chose to ride a bike!  Next, send out an email to your friends, or if you’re looking to get a larger crowd going, try using a Facebook evite to spread the word. That should do it! If a pub crawl isn’t for you, try exploring your core by organizing a restaurant crawl, a boutique crawl, or even a coffee bar crawl. Have fun!

]]> http://lightrailblogger.com/2010/03/21/a-downtown-bike-crawl/feed/ 0 http://lightrailblogger.com/2010/01/23/alternative-transportation-growing-pains/ http://lightrailblogger.com/2010/01/23/alternative-transportation-growing-pains/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:22:10 +0000 Tony Arranaga http://lightrailblogger.com/?p=1482 Let’s face it – Downtown Phoenix is not New York.  Phoenix is not Los Angeles.  Phoenix is not Portland.  Phoenix has alot of growing to do when it comes incorporating alternative transportation into everyday life.  Major cities like San Francisco and Chicago built hubs around neighborhoods, which makes socializing much easier.  This is not the case in Phoenix – but thanks to the light rail we’re on our way!  Much of my daily commute involves multiple forms of alternative transportation:  the light rail and my bike are just two examples.  Usually I combine those two in particular in one trip since places of interest are so spread apart in the heart of downtown.

I’m heading to CenPho Camp today to take part in a panel discussion with Nick Bastian and David Bickford (RailLife and PHXRailFood).  I’m hoping all of us in attendance can exchange ideas with small business owners on how to maximize the foot traffic from light rail passengers.  One suggestion I have – install a bike rack.  This will show you not only encourage a greener way of life in Phoenix but will also encourage people to leave their cars at home.

I’m going to start a list of businesses along the light rail that have bike racks.  Hopefully, in the days and weeks ahead, I can add to this roll call of restaurants which support alternative transportation in Downtown Phoenix.

• America’s Taco Shop (McDowell station)
• Conspire Coffee (Roosevelt station)
• Fair Trade Cafe (Roosevelt and Central station)
• Gallo Blanco (Indian School station)
• Hula’s Modern Tiki (Camelback station)
• Lux Coffeebar (Campbell station)
• Maize’s (Camelback station)
• Phoenix Public Market (Central station)
• Postino Wine Cafe (Camelback station)
• Royal at the Market (Central station)
• Switch (Encanto station)
• Ticoz (Camelback station)
• Urban Bean (Osborn station)
• The Wild Thaiger (Encanto station)

Apparently there was an internet-borne improv prank involving light passengers without pants today on the new mass transit system in Phoenix and around the world. I didn't go and get pictures, but you can read about it below.  I have bigger things to worry about.  My assymullet.  (pronounced a-sim-mullet)
So, I've been procrastinating getting a haircut because my stylist is on the north side of town, no where near the light rail, and I've been too lazy (and busy) to hop on a Valley Metro bus.
I found a stylist the other night and went there this morning on my break.  I'm in no financial shape to get my ass sued like the person on Yelp, so I'm going to leave names and locations out.  Besides, it's not fair to judge the guy based on one cut.  For conversations sake, we'll call him Blaine. 
I sat down in the chair of unnamed, swanky salon somewhere in Phoenix and told Blaine exactly what I wanted.  Take the bulk off the sides and clip the ends.
There are a dozen styles Blaine could've done on my do.  He could've given me the Justin (Timberlake), the Hugh (Jackman), the Tom (Cruise), and I would've even considered the Rachel (Green – from friends). 

Find out what Blaine gave the light rail blogger after the jump

Blaine gave me the assymullet.  Just like it sounds, an assymetrical/mullet combo.  Think Billy Ray Cyrus (pre-Miley Cyrus fame) and Rosie O'Donnell circa 2002.  Hmm, I wonder what they would look like if they mated?

Anyway, one of my twitter pals @ToniaMBartz suggested I say something.  I don't know, it's hair, it will grow.  I have hats.  And product.  The bigger problem:  How do I tell my old stylist I went somewhere else?

Did you…
see the no pants prank here in Phoenix?
hear how an unsuspecting blogger/passenger reacted seeing light rail passengers in various stages of undress?
see how the no pants prank played out in other parts of the world?
hear about Columbus, OH possibly being the next city with light rail?
hear what happened in the Tempe light rail crash?