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I haven't heard anything from Trimet about cutting bus service by 60% over the next 10 years, do you have any links or information about that? That seems like some very steep cuts to make for a system that is really good as it is.
They raised the payroll tax by 14% phased in over the next ten years then so crisis averted at least until the next rail expansion which has to be funded by cutting bus funding and the next if you don't give us more money we'll cut service scare.
They raised the payroll tax by 14% phased in over the next ten years then so crisis averted at least until the next rail expansion which has to be funded by cutting bus funding and the next if you don't give us more money we'll cut service scare.
The link doesn't say they will cut transit by 70% in the next ten years, it is just saying that funding will be an issue in coming years and reforms and price increases are going to have to happen, which is to be expected. I expect to see the cost of a ticket go up to $3 in the near future, but I don't buy it that service is going to be cut by 70% in 10 years.
Transit systems are not free to run, they do cost money, just like the roads we drive on. And with that, there is always going to be a need for funding for these systems in the future. I have found the Orange line to be a benefit to my life and happy to have it in Milwaukie. Before I was never sure what time I would get to work or home because I didn't know if the bus would get stuck in traffic or not, now I don't have that concern because the light rail tends to stay on time and doesn't deal with traffic like the bus had to deal with. The only thing I miss is most of the bus drivers....except for that one driver who wouldn't open the door even though it wouldn't have slowed them down one bit.
Actually that's pretty much literally what it says:
"2025 (FY)
• Cut 70%* (compared to today)"
* of bus service or equivalent.
It's not saying it wants to cut 70% of bus service or plans on cutting 70% of bus service, but it is projecting having money to pay for 30% of bus service so it will have to unless they can scare up some money. Anyway, they'd scared up the money (higher payroll taxes) that will pay for most of it. Nobody really thought they'd cut bus service 70% over ten years. It's just a matter of finding the money to avoid that from happening.
Isn't it going to be Denver to Westminster? People who live in Westy and work in Denver, I guess will be the users.
If I'm not mistaken though, the Westminster terminal is in a pretty no-man's-land-y part of Westminster. Now it might be a different story if it were at Sheridan and 36 or something.
Actually that's pretty much literally what it says:
"2025 (FY)
• Cut 70%* (compared to today)"
* of bus service or equivalent.
It's not saying it wants to cut 70% of bus service or plans on cutting 70% of bus service, but it is projecting having money to pay for 30% of bus service so it will have to unless they can scare up some money. Anyway, they'd scared up the money (higher payroll taxes) that will pay for most of it. Nobody really thought they'd cut bus service 70% over ten years. It's just a matter of finding the money to avoid that from happening.
Oh, well that is different from what I read in your previous post then, I thought you had said they would be cutting bus service by 70%, it is good to see that won't actually be happening, but I am sure we will see some changes happen by 2025 in the way of new taxes or fare increases, transit does cost money to run after all.
What is the general frequency of trains in Portland? Here in Denver, it's usually every 15 minutes at best and every half hour at worst, and some of our newer lines are limited to 15 minutes by design because there are sections where there's only one track. This was definitely a disappointment for me after having lived in Chicago.
I was never a big light rail user and when I did use it, it was usually either the red or blue lines, which run along the same route for a good part and was all I needed. I believe it was every 10-15 minutes. Sometimes longer than estimated especially during rush hour because there often is some sort of SNAFU that delays the trains.
In the limited amount of times I used these trains, there were more delays than the many years I took Chicago subways and ELs. This is another reason why I am would tell the OP Tri-Met is nowhere in league with the CTA.
I would like to add that when I moved to Portland in the late 70's, buses were a lot more plentiful and ran every seven minutes during rush hour and every ten on off hours on major routes. I actually have an old '70's bus schedule with all bus routes to prove it.
As more and more light rail lines were added, more bus routes were cut even if they were nowhere near to the light rail line that replaced them. I don't know Tri-Met's thinking on this but that's what happened. It continues to this day. The most common lament from veteran bus riders I used to hear when I lived in Portland was "you can't get there from here" (any longer).
If I'm not mistaken though, the Westminster terminal is in a pretty no-man's-land-y part of Westminster. Now it might be a different story if it were at Sheridan and 36 or something.
I don't know it's exact location. Hopefully, it will have a park and ride lot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minervah
I was never a big light rail user and when I did use it, it was usually either the red or blue lines, which run along the same route for a good part and was all I needed. I believe it was every 10-15 minutes. Sometimes longer than estimated especially during rush hour because there often is some sort of SNAFU that delays the trains.
In the limited amount of times I used these trains, there were more delays than the many years I took Chicago subways and ELs. This is another reason why I am would tell the OP Tri-Met is nowhere in league with the CTA.
I would like to add that when I moved to Portland in the late 70's, buses were a lot more plentiful and ran every seven minutes during rush hour and every ten on off hours on major routes. I actually have an old '70's bus schedule with all bus routes to prove it.
As more and more light rail lines were added, more bus routes were cut even if they were nowhere near to the light rail line that replaced them. I don't know Tri-Met's thinking on this but that's what happened. It continues to this day. The most common lament from veteran bus riders I used to hear when I lived in Portland was "you can't get there from here" (any longer).
That's what they've done in the Denver area as well. They even cut some routes in Boulder when they initiated the BRT to Denver.
I don't know it's exact location. Hopefully, it will have a park and ride lot.
That's what they've done in the Denver area as well. They even cut some routes in Boulder when they initiated the BRT to Denver.
My only guess is that the powers that be are only thinking only of commuters who may either drive to the light rail stations and park their cars or who will use the buses only to get to the light rail stations or directly downtown to work. What is cut out are the routes or lines that go to other areas or neighborhoods crosstown or make stops along the way to downtown. Those are the means people formerly used to get to places other than work or jobs that are not downtown that are disappearing.
The mindset seems to be to cater to people who use public transportation to go to and from work downtown during rush hour only with no thought to people who might need public transportation in lieu of owning cars to get them where they need to go. This seems to be the new shortsighted type of urban planning that can be seen in cities like Portland.
So while the buses and light rail do run all day, they do not serve those people who need them to get around from place to place as they once did. Meantime, automobile traffic is increasing in record numbers.
In a city like Chicago. One can still travel just about anywhere at anytime using public transportation. It may be the old school way of thinking but it enables for more of the population to get around without the use of cars.
Portland is actually in the planning stage for a new line in the southwest corridor, granted it will be years before construction ever begins, but it is in the works. Also right now Trimet is now updating it's current system to help with on time numbers and reduce issues they have been having recently.
I haven't heard anything from Trimet about cutting bus service by 60% over the next 10 years, do you have any links or information about that? That seems like some very steep cuts to make for a system that is really good as it is.
Portland runs at every 15 minutes with two car trains. Seattle does a more rapid system that varies depending on time of day with the busiest time being under 7 minutes a train and running 3 car trains. The Seattle system runs more like a modern day rapid transit line.
I have heard that Portland has cut back on a lot of bus service. At least there have been a lot of complaints online. Portland's downtown streetcar system seems pretty popular. The light rail runs fine, and I really like any city that runs light rail to its airport. Atlanta's MARTA is great, walk out of the terminal, across the street, get on MARTA and zoop, you are downtown right in front of the Mariott. I understand Dallas is in the middle of a big light rail expansion, but I haven't been there in a while.
Each light rail stop needs to be a bus hub. The bus meets the train, discharges passengers to the train and picks up train passengers for their local destination. It's how mass transit works. The problem is areas not served by light rail. Once you put busses on freeways, timetables go out the window because of traffic jams, accidents and such.
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