Got a question about the operation of Sacramento's bus and light rail system? You can take your question right to the top Friday and ask Sacramento Regional Transit General Manager Mike Wiley directly.

Wiley will be answering questions in a live online web chat between noon and 1 p.m. at iportal.sacrt.com/WebApps/Onlinechat/

What was the thinking behind raising the monthly pass from $85 to $100? How is it determined where and when security personnel are assigned to the light rail? Can you make the 80 and the 84 every 30mins? Why doesn't RT offer free rides on Spare the Air days? Do you ride transit to work?

Questioners are anonymous. There's no registration requirements. To participate, you fill out a form that includes your hometown and the question. The web chat site opens for question submissions two hours before Wiley is scheduled to start answering at noon. You don't have to stick around to see the answer. Each session is archived on the site.

But this is not strictly a chat. There's no back and forth and no guarantee you'll get the answer you're looking for, as this exchange from last month illustrates:

Sacramento, CA: Why did you call this Chat? It is not chat! And you haven't answered my question. I understand if you are swamped. A chat room would be better as riders could share knowledge.

Reply: We created a tool similar to what Washington DC's Transit system uses that allow the community to ask their GM questions. The goal of this tool is to allow me to respond to questions from the public in an easy forum that is informative. In a traditional blog or chat the dialog is between the people logged in. So in keeping with our goal, please let me know if you have any questions about RT.

The chat sessions began last year in October and generally occur on the first Friday of the month. With the exception of a session back in November that focused on the district's Transit Master Plan, the chat sessions are open to any question about the operation of the district.