Rod Diridon, a member of the CSHRA board has called on the boards new $9 million PR agency to stop misinformation spread by a “few rotten apples.”
At a recent board meeting, Mr. Diridon said the following, verbatim:
"Second is, and I'll use as an example again one area, but I have an idea that its occurring in other areas too, misinformation is causing serious media relations problems in the mid-Peninsula Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto area especially. That misinformation coming sometimes from in-advertently our own staff, but then again it's being presented by opponents, blatantly providing false information to the media and then having no correction. No information being provided that would counter that misinformation and I think you related to that earlier.
So would you relate to those two examples, not those two specific cases but those examples as kind of in the weeds detail, that you really need to be on immediately, so that it doesn't, the kind of thing are like a sore that festers, or the rotten apple in the barrel, if you would like to use another example. And you got to get that apple out of the barrel immediately and please figure out a way and let us know at some time in the future and call us individually or give us a report on how you would be creating kind of flying squads of emergency response to nip those problems in the bud. You want to avoid them if you can but if you can't avoid them you need to have a way of countering them immediately so that, misinformation isn't allow to float around, its corrected. So please consider that as early tasks."
Cutting through the grammatical confusion, here is what he is saying:
1. He is accusing people in Atherton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto of generating misinformation that is causing serious media problems.
2. Although this misinformation comes from some of the media inadvertently, it is not being corrected and therefore becomes an immediate task for the new public relations company, Ogilvy.
3. This misinformation is coming from opponents who blatantly provide false information to the media.
4.The false information is not being countered by CHSRA information, which, presumably, is not false. This correction must become Ogilvy's first assignment.
5. Although this process is at an "in the weeds" level of detail, it needs to be addressed immediately, because it becomes like a sore that festers.
6. Switching metaphors, Mr. Diridon refers to people who raise issues about high speed rail as the rotten apple in the barrel. He says that Ogilvy has to get that rotten apple out of the barrel immediately.
7. Having given this assignment to Ogilvy, he calls for them to figure out how to do this - get the rotten apple out of the barrel -- and report to him (and others) individually, presumably not during a public board meeting.
8. Mr. Diridon calls for Ogilvy to create flying squads with emergency response capability to nip those problems in the bud.
9. He points out that misinformation must not be allowed to float around without being corrected.
10. He considers this one of the first tasks for this $9 million contracted PR firm.
We agree. Misinformation needs to be corrected!
Perhaps a fitting place to start is by fact checking statements by the CSHRA and members of the CHSRA board. In innumerable speeches, press releases and even in the most recent business plan, (Page 67) the CHRSA compares the price of a $105 HSR ticket to driving by using $118 as the cost to drive between Northern and Southern California. Yet the CHRSA’s own research found that the average number of occupants per car traveling between North and South was 2.6 people. So the actual, factual, not misrepresented comparison is $276 for HSR rail tickets (2.6 people X $105) compared to $118 for the car. And that does not take into account that a large majority of people traveling from North to South via HSR would need to rent a car once they arrive at their destination. Here are the facts from the CHSRA’s own research.
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/images/chsr/20080130155550_app_2f.pdf Page 2-f-1
“The No Project Alternative (see Chapter 2) defines an intercity highway system represented by the interstate and state highway facilities in the geographic area serving the same intercity travel markets as the proposed high-speed train system. These highways are illustrated in Appendix 2-A of the Program EIR/EIS. In order to assess the magnitude of the demand to be served by this intercity highway system, the total intercity demand is first converted to total vehicle trips. This is accomplished by dividing the total annual intercity demand between major city pairs throughout the study area by an average auto occupancy factor (number of people per auto) to generate annual vehicle trips.
An average vehicle occupancy rate of 2.40 passengers per vehicle was assumed which is based on the independent ridership and revenue forecasts prepared for the California High Speed Rail Authority.1 This estimate assumes a weighted average of work and non-work trip average vehicle occupancy rates of 1.9 and 2.6, respectively.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The California High Speed Rail Authority is basing their financial plan on attracting 41,000,000 passengers per year according to the Dec. 2009 update to the plan.
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/images/chsr/20091214132101_CHSRARPT1209weblinks.pdf#page=121
Here is a reality check on their projections.
The Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington DC has nearly twice the population of the San Francisco to San Diego Corridor. The Northeast attracts 20% more tourists. And in stark contrast to most California cities, the Northeast Corridor also has cities with actual city centers meaning that when you arrive at the train station you are close to hotels, offices and other places people want to visit.
Yet the entire Northeast Corridor with 2,600 trains operating daily generated a total of 9,946,027 passengers in FY 2009. In other words, the California High Speed Rail Authority expects to transport 4-times as many passengers as the 2,600 trains in the densely packed Northeast Corridor.
You can download the press release from Amtrak at this link: Amtrak Posts Second-Best Ridership in History
Some more interesting facts in the Amtrak press release:
“As the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator, Amtrak connects America in safer, greener and healthier ways. Last fiscal year (FY 2009), the railroad carried 27.2 million passengers, making it the second-best year in the company’s history. With 21,000 route miles in 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces, Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day—at speeds up to 150 mph—to more than 500 destinations. “ The 27.2 million number includes Amtrak’s operation of state-supported corridor services in 15 states and for four commuter rail agencies.
To summarize, the California High Speed Rail Authority expects their service between Northern and Southern California to transport nearly twice as many people as traveled on the entire Amtrak national system in FY 2009.
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/images/chsr/20091214132101_CHSRARPT1209weblinks.pdf#page=121
Here is a reality check on their projections.
The Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington DC has nearly twice the population of the San Francisco to San Diego Corridor. The Northeast attracts 20% more tourists. And in stark contrast to most California cities, the Northeast Corridor also has cities with actual city centers meaning that when you arrive at the train station you are close to hotels, offices and other places people want to visit.
Yet the entire Northeast Corridor with 2,600 trains operating daily generated a total of 9,946,027 passengers in FY 2009. In other words, the California High Speed Rail Authority expects to transport 4-times as many passengers as the 2,600 trains in the densely packed Northeast Corridor.
You can download the press release from Amtrak at this link: Amtrak Posts Second-Best Ridership in History
Some more interesting facts in the Amtrak press release:
“As the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator, Amtrak connects America in safer, greener and healthier ways. Last fiscal year (FY 2009), the railroad carried 27.2 million passengers, making it the second-best year in the company’s history. With 21,000 route miles in 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces, Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day—at speeds up to 150 mph—to more than 500 destinations. “ The 27.2 million number includes Amtrak’s operation of state-supported corridor services in 15 states and for four commuter rail agencies.
To summarize, the California High Speed Rail Authority expects their service between Northern and Southern California to transport nearly twice as many people as traveled on the entire Amtrak national system in FY 2009.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
They Want Help?
The High Speed Rail "outreach" team wants citizens to offer positive suggestions and to help the Rail Authority. I'm not sure why they think anyone who actually understands the destructive goal of High Speed Rail will help. But in the spirit of cooperation, I've volunteered to save the Authority thousands of dollars by doing some PR writing. They have a huge $9 million PR budget so this little ditty would have cost them at least $250K.
On Board Announcement #1
Attention Passengers. Our next stop is Redwood City Station. This train is traveling at 110 MPH so please remain seated until the train comes to a complete stop at Redwood City Station. Once the train stops immediately grab your suitcase, kids, lunch and backpack and rush for the doors because this train only stops for 90 seconds. Yes, 90 seconds, so get ready to move and I mean MOVE. You are authorized to use whatever means are needed to squeeze past embarking passengers. Please note that High Speed Rail personnel will collect any belongings left behind and store them in the lost and found at the next station. We hope you don’t have anything fragile in your lost items because we have to throw them out the window for collection by station staff since we only have 90 seconds in the station.
Why you may ask do we only stop for 90 seconds? Well the ballot proposition that authorized high speed rail in California requires that we travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles in no more than 2:40. If we’re lucky there will be no delays and we will be exactly on time giving you a full 90 seconds to gather your belongings and depart the train. On the other hand, if we are delayed we may have to reduce the time spent in stations. In that event we have signed a contract with the "Survivor" edition of America’s Funniest Home Videos to cover what we called “expedited disembarkation's.” Cameras will tape your departure and we expect that the revenue from these video rights and re-runs will cover most incremental costs including but not limited to non-reimbursed medical expenses, loss of wages, loss of belongings, etc. We do hope you purchased the optional High Speed Rail Passenger Insurance policy which reimburses you for all losses connected with expedited disembarkation's.
Have a great day and thanks for riding with California High Speed Rail.
On Board Announcement #1
Attention Passengers. Our next stop is Redwood City Station. This train is traveling at 110 MPH so please remain seated until the train comes to a complete stop at Redwood City Station. Once the train stops immediately grab your suitcase, kids, lunch and backpack and rush for the doors because this train only stops for 90 seconds. Yes, 90 seconds, so get ready to move and I mean MOVE. You are authorized to use whatever means are needed to squeeze past embarking passengers. Please note that High Speed Rail personnel will collect any belongings left behind and store them in the lost and found at the next station. We hope you don’t have anything fragile in your lost items because we have to throw them out the window for collection by station staff since we only have 90 seconds in the station.
Why you may ask do we only stop for 90 seconds? Well the ballot proposition that authorized high speed rail in California requires that we travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles in no more than 2:40. If we’re lucky there will be no delays and we will be exactly on time giving you a full 90 seconds to gather your belongings and depart the train. On the other hand, if we are delayed we may have to reduce the time spent in stations. In that event we have signed a contract with the "Survivor" edition of America’s Funniest Home Videos to cover what we called “expedited disembarkation's.” Cameras will tape your departure and we expect that the revenue from these video rights and re-runs will cover most incremental costs including but not limited to non-reimbursed medical expenses, loss of wages, loss of belongings, etc. We do hope you purchased the optional High Speed Rail Passenger Insurance policy which reimburses you for all losses connected with expedited disembarkation's.
Have a great day and thanks for riding with California High Speed Rail.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Contempt of Congress
Public trust in Congress has reached a new low dropping below 50% for the first time since Gallup started polling on this question in 1972. http://www.gallup.com/poll/110458/Trust-Government-Remains-Low.aspx To better understand this disturbing fact, one simply has to look in our backyard. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s crude manipulation of her “Town Hall” meeting on High Speed Rail may explain why the majority of Americans distrust Congress. Billed as an informational meeting, Eshoo’s Town Hall more resembled a time-share sales session where gullible potential buyers get the hard sell. Eshoo ensured that facts would remain obscured by not allowing citizens to interact with her panel. Citizens had to submit questions in writing and could not follow-up when panelists responded with evasion, half-truths and outright misrepresentations. Her staff selected the questions to be asked and many never were asked. One question asked how the State of California would be able to pay for the $45 billion rail system. Eshoo asked Executive Director of the High Speed Rail Authority Mehdi Morshed to respond. His answer was clear, unequivocal and just plain wrong. He stated the approved bond issue would provide $9 billion while the Federal government would provide $8 billion with private investors providing the balance. The $8 billion number for federal money is a blatant misrepresentation. The Federal Government has allocated $8 billion over five years for high-speed rail projects for the ENTIRE country. The ability to ask follow up questions would have illuminated this mistake or perhaps led to the clarification that California was awarded the entire national budget. Another critical question was how many homes on the Peninsula would be taken and demolished via eminent domain. Again, Executive Director Morshed responded that he was unaware any homes or property were needed to increase the size of the right way. A follow-up question might have asked if it was possible to build a grade separated, four-track system within the existing right of way while continuing to operate both Cal Train and Union Pacific freight service? Given that the existing right of way is barely wide enough for the four tracks, some experts have said it would be impossible to build the grade separation in phases within the right-of-way while the current train services continued. Most likely, a shoofly or detour track would have to be built on land acquired via eminent domain. A shoofly track, if required, would widen the right of way by 50-60 feet and require the destruction of hundreds of homes. Morshed is an engineer by training and should have been able to address this vital question in greater detail.
Equally disturbing was Eshoo’s attempt to stifle public participation by holding the meeting in an inappropriately small venue. Hundreds of people were forced to sit outside the meeting room and could barely hear the proceedings. Others simply left when it was apparent that there was no room to sit and no ability to see the material presented. Eshoo’s explanation that it would have cost $10,000 to rent the Fox Theatre was disingenuous at best. There are numerous public auditoriums in local schools that would have been honored to host the Town Hall. Indeed, Stanford alone has 10 auditoriums that could comfortably accommodate 500 people and, given Eshoo’s great success in delivering large amounts of Federal research money to Stanford, would probably have been happy to help out.
I am not sure what disturbs me the most. The hard-sell, hardball tactics of the High Speed Rail Authority or the contempt for the most basic principles of democracy by our elected leaders.
Equally disturbing was Eshoo’s attempt to stifle public participation by holding the meeting in an inappropriately small venue. Hundreds of people were forced to sit outside the meeting room and could barely hear the proceedings. Others simply left when it was apparent that there was no room to sit and no ability to see the material presented. Eshoo’s explanation that it would have cost $10,000 to rent the Fox Theatre was disingenuous at best. There are numerous public auditoriums in local schools that would have been honored to host the Town Hall. Indeed, Stanford alone has 10 auditoriums that could comfortably accommodate 500 people and, given Eshoo’s great success in delivering large amounts of Federal research money to Stanford, would probably have been happy to help out.
I am not sure what disturbs me the most. The hard-sell, hardball tactics of the High Speed Rail Authority or the contempt for the most basic principles of democracy by our elected leaders.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Once Upon A Time in California
Once upon a time there were four men who built a railroad.
They were tough men who let nothing get in their way. They lied, threatened and intimidated to get their way. They were called the "Big 4." Their friends called them the Robber Barons. Who was it that said history repeats itself once every century?
They were tough men who let nothing get in their way. They lied, threatened and intimidated to get their way. They were called the "Big 4." Their friends called them the Robber Barons. Who was it that said history repeats itself once every century?
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