October 15, 2010

What if there was a TV show about transit?

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By  Claire Atkinson

• Jeff Brown[ October 15th, 2010 @ 10:27am ]

  If the Parking Authority can have a show, certainly a recognized transit system can have a show. There's action, crime, heart warming scenes, all the good stuff. One transit worker experiences a string of individual events and, by the end of the day, can be seen as a hero or can be ready to burst (or both). Crowds of people create excitement, and moving them becomes an exciting event. Certainly if we can the Parking authority write tickets, we can watch transit workers move the masses.

• Arnold Bloch[ October 15th, 2010 @ 10:32am ]

  Old time TV fans will remember that on The Honeymooners, Jackie Gleason's Ralph Cramden character was a bus driver with a private bus line in Manahttan, NYC (before it was absorbed into the State tranit agency, NYCTA). We often saw him at the garage and he was often trying to get in good with many of his bosses. One of my favorite skits is from an episdoe where Ralph is on a TV quiz show. When Ralph says what he does for a living, the host goes into a diatribe about being splashed that very morning by a bus that deliberately went into a big puddle at high spped and splashed everyone on the sidewalk. Ralph looks at the host and says "Was that you?" New York City has named a bus garage after Jackie Gleason to honor this brief but famous role from the 1950s.

• ken[ October 15th, 2010 @ 10:59am ]

  Hey here is a reality show for transit. University of Michigan Campus Bus System. See how one of America's largets Campus bus operation works day to day to provide more than 6 million rides per year. Our buses go where you would never think it possible to put a 40 foot coach, with rush hour that lasts all day!

• Ed[ October 15th, 2010 @ 11:00am ]

  I think it would be a great idea. It would give transit agencies a new revenue source, it would give, hopefully, positive exposure about a US City, and it might break down some of the walls put up between the transit unions and their management since it's tougher to ignore issues when they are played out in public theater. There would have to be some pretty tight and fair ground rules that can not possibly reduce safety but I think it would be good TV - if for no other reason than to expose a side of an urban environment we may not see. Maybe it would even make us more appreciative of the 'other' perspectives. What are your thoughts? 10 shows per city? A new city each season? The Honeymooners is still a funny show because the writing and actors were good. Reality TV may not have the staying power and therefore ideas like yours, that are new or derived from other ideas is what the industry needs.

• M[ October 15th, 2010 @ 11:02am ]

  Wow! What a great idea. Maybe the show could highlight how transit REALLY "works." The first episode could focus on how funds are gleaned from local, state and federal taxpayers (a laugh a minute!); how the fares collected hardly covers any of the actual costs and simply leads people to believe transit accomplishes some economy of scale (they will be rolling on their living room floors!). The second show could focus on the transit sneaking around and violating the Charter Service Rule (more laughs) under the guise that they are better than those private guys who just want to make a profit (a thousand laughs as the greedy get their due). The third episode could show negotiations with…never mind, the show has been cancelled. Turns out 98% of America prefers to commute in their private auto. So where is all the money...Congressional hearings ensue; turn to C-Span.

• Jim Moore[ October 15th, 2010 @ 3:46pm ]

  Or - the English version of the show, "On the Buses."

• Duane[ October 15th, 2010 @ 6:24pm ]

  Yes. NYCMTA! Or, like COPS, go to different cities.

• Bill Ward[ October 15th, 2010 @ 8:44pm ]

  Being a 31 year veteran of the maintenance side of transit; I would to point out that there are a lot of "Behind the scenes" support personnel that rarely get recognition for that bus being on the road. Everyone from the janitor to the GM contributes in some significant manner.

• Brandon Shaw[ October 18th, 2010 @ 6:44am ]

  This would actually be an interesting reality show to have. In fact, our local major transit agency, SEPTA, was featured in an episode of "World's Toughest Fixes". The episode highlighted the challenges SEPTA faces in maintaining each of its modes throughout its large system, and it was actually quite fascinating and entertaining!

• Theresa Henry[ October 22th, 2010 @ 8:49am ]

  I think the idea of doing a different transit systm each show is a better idea. Thats not to say with all the stuff that happens, doing one more than one wouldn't prove entertaing. From what dispatch goes through to some of the crazy things that can happen on a us, there is more than enough material.

• Joshua Goldman[ November 3rd, 2010 @ 11:49am ]

  I too think that we could use more public exposure as to the benefit of transit to our society. I've been thinking more of combining transit and green in looking at our Proterra Buses and the personal stories involved in development and deployment of this emerging sustainable technology. I've even made some friends at the Discovery Channel who may be interested..... -Joshua

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