Why does everyone always say Portland has such great transit?

[sorupaa]

Its nice except go from one side of the metro to the other side. Do that in the bay area or Seattle or Vancouver, we have the slowest and some people think its still the best.

[Nell Plotts]

Originally Posted by Winnyard Bletch

Portland has a decent system. Not sure why everyone is mentioning the old street car system like it has any bearing on the subject. Virtually every western city has abandoned street car tracks beneath the roads. Even (gasp) Phoenix! Maybe I missed something.

There are two modern street car lines.

[Bluesmama]

Originally Posted by spicymeatball

I find the wait times for buses are often excruciating (as much as half an hour or even an hour on weekends), service is pretty much zero after 12-1AM or so, the MAX is next to useless unless you live within a few blocks of it and not to mention fares are incredibly expensive. It shouldn't cost five dollars just to run a quick errand or commute, that's a half hour of work pay for many people.

Do you think when people talk about Trimet being enviable they are thinking of the Trimet of the 1990s or perhaps they are comparing it to cities in Texas, Ohio etc where the transit is practically non-existent? Because I really just don't get it. Portland's transit is OKAY I'll give it that, it serves me fine enough for my commuting purposes, and I quite enjoy walking long distances of 1-2 miles anyway, which is often just as fast as waiting around for the next bus. For a city with over two million people I find Trimet almost pathetic, especially compared to say Vancouver BC or just about any city of the same size in Europe.

I'm not that impressed with MAX, either, for several reasons.

The bus that goes by my own place would serve me better than Max if it ran a lot more often. But it's schedule has been cut back so much that it isn't even usable anymore, and this has happened to many other bus lines. Tri-Met has been trying to sneak in less and less use of busses. I do NOT enjoy walking 1 to 2 miles if I'm not up to it, and MAX is getting worse and worse about having "problems" - almost on a daily basis - and over-crowding, which I know Tri-Met WANTS, but I and others after work often have to wait for the next train.

Seeing the magnitude of building in Hillsboro (likely with Intel's expansion in mind) will certainly require more trains.

[Nell Plotts]

Actually Tri-Met has been restoring service.

Tri-Met is funded by employer tax and fare box revenue. The cut back reflected decreased revenue. There is no magic money machine.

[Bluesmama]

Well, they need to restore some more. It's a two-edged sword. Riders will not bother with a bus that runs once an hour or less, and even 30 minutes for some can be a problem for those who rely on MAX for the connection. One of my co-workers missed her bus many times because of MAX's tardiness, so she's gone back to taking her car. I doubt she's alone.

[redguard57]

For an American city of Portland's size, its transit system is phenomenal. Compare it to the transit system in similarly-sized Austin, TX for example, which has essentially nothing.

By European or Japanese standards, it's not so good.

[sorupaa]

Portland needs good transit. Most poor cities need it and Portland is closer to poor then rich. Austin is closer to rich.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by redguard57

For an American city of Portland's size, its transit system is phenomenal. Compare it to the transit system in similarly-sized Austin, TX for example, which has essentially nothing.

By European or Japanese standards, it's not so good.

I agree even though service isn't as good as it once was. For an American city, Portland surpasses many US cities on the subject of transit. At least those of similar size, and in many cases cities/metro's much larger. Let's face it much of the USA makes no effort at all concerning transit. It's a disgrace in my book how lacking this country is on the subject. So even with the problems Portland has. I give the city a lot of credit for accomplishing, what it has with its transit thru the years.