John A. Charles Jr. says the TriMet Board should shut down plans for new service and prepare for the retrenchment that the market is demanding
John A. Charles Jr.
Cascade Policy Institute
Recently The Oregonian published a feature about TriMet’s ongoing death spiral.
Since 2015, the agency’s annual revenue from passenger fares has dropped from $117 million to $59 million, while operating expenses have grown. As a result, TriMet’s operating loss last year was $850 million.
TriMet is begging state legislators for a bailout, but we’ve already tried that. The legislature approved payroll tax rate increases in both 2003 and 2009. As a result, TriMet is now almost entirely funded by taxpayers.
TriMet anticipates that it will have to eliminate up to 51 of its bus lines by 2031 if it cannot improve its financial condition. We should probably let that happen. Transit is important only if people choose to use it. Most people in the metro region are making other choices.
Unfortunately, TriMet is in denial about these trends. The agency is planning to expand light rail service to Vancouver and tear up 82nd Avenue to accommodate bus rapid transit.
The TriMet Board is holding a strategic planning retreat this week. The Board should shut down plans for new service and prepare for the retrenchment that the market is demanding.
John A. Charles, Jr. is president and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization.
Also read:
- TriMet seeks $190M-$290M for Interstate Bridge light rail vehicles; charging taxpayers up to $15M per vehicle — triple the $4.5M cost
Rep. John Ley is raising concerns over TriMet’s escalating light rail vehicle costs for the IBR project, calling for fiscal transparency and alternatives. - POLL: Should the I-5 Bridge project be paused over cost and bidding concerns?Clark County Today’s weekly poll asks whether the I-5 Bridge replacement should be paused as questions grow around rising costs and a lack of competitive bids.
- Opinion: TriMet contract: MAX vehicles cost $4.5 millionRep. John Ley examines TriMet’s MAX vehicle purchases, arguing most were replacements and not connected to the bridge project.
- Expect delays on I-5 near Woodland for bridge inspection, May 18WSDOT will close a lane of southbound I-5 near Woodland on May 18 for a safety inspection.
- Opinion: ‘I’m more than just a little skeptical that IBR officials are doing everything they can to limit the cost of this project’
Ken Vance shares his concerns over rising costs and limited contractor interest in the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program.
Completely closing down Tri-met would be a WIN-WIN-WIN –
* save money AND
* reclaim road space that PBOT just gave to buses and toy trains AND
* reduce CO2 (if you fell for Al Gore’s climate scam!).
TriMet’s plan to extend their uber expensive light rail Yellow Line from OR to WA over I-5 bridge, against the votes of Clark County residents, should be rejected. The 2022 cost estimate for TRIMET light rail over I-5 Bridge of $2 BILLION should be updated.
See this article about a light rail extension in Seattle, starting cost: $2.3 BILLION, now up to $7.1 BILLION. There is already existing Bus Service, it is an unnecessary extension, just like the proposed TRIMET light rail extension over I-5 Bridge. CTRAN Buses and vans transport people across I-5 Bridge today, and can do so in the future for FAR LESS $$$, and there are Express Buses that are faster than light rail because they don’t make as many stops.
https://www.postalley.org/2024/10/11/west-seattle-light-rail-an-expensive-folly/
The opportunity , connectivity , and service TriMet provides is the reason I moved out here. I’m from a large city in the Deep South and the lack of public transit has stunted the city socially , economically , civically , and in many other ways affecting opportunity. We need to either find a way to rework TriMet for the new reality or find a way to subsidize it better. The effects of losing TriMet would be catastrophic for the character of this city and it would be a great shame to lose something I consider the circulatory and nervous system of this city. Public transit is supposed to support and provide for the common people and TriMet does that in SPADES. We cannot abandon it or the people who rely on it to have a good quality of life. I couldn’t dream of doing the things I’m able to do in Portland in my old city , because there was no way to get anywhere or experience anything. Portland is the largest metropolitan area in the state and provides around 50% of this states income. We need public transit. We just need to figure out how to make it work. I come from an area that has NO money to spare and that’s why we’re poor. There’s money here but it is NOT used correctly or responsibly and that needs to be addressed.