Will TriMet’s Proposed Service Cuts Affect You?
February 24th, 2009
I don’t think I’ve ever ranted on this site, but there’s a first time for everything:
I’m concerned about TriMet’s proposed service cuts. According to the current plan, 12 bus lines will be discontinued, and schedules for a dozen others will be reduced. My neighborhood bus, 43, will no longer run on weekends.
Fortunately, I don’t depend on the weekend 43 or the other affected bus lines. I have the option to drive to a transit center or my destination. But I’m still concerned for two reasons. First, I wonder how many people have no other options. How will their lives be affected? Second, I don’t want to depend on my car. I was hoping that time would bring more TriMet access to my area, not less. I’m just disappointed.
Do you have something to say about the cuts? TriMet is accepting feedback prior to making its final decision. It will hold a series of open houses starting on February 25, as well as take feedback by phone, email or mail until 5:00 pm on March 31. If you have an opinion, personal story, or idea for how TriMet can avoid cutting services, I encourage you to speak up.
You can read more about the proposed cuts and opportunities to give feedback on TriMet’s website.
Photo by ahockley
Entry Filed under: Transportation
5 Comments Add your own
1. Rachel&hellip | February 24th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I think one of the most frustrating parts is the 10 Harold. I think I’ve seen it come on and off weekend service three or four times. Most people I know were totally unaware that it had Saturday service when I told them about the cuts, and many had that “If I only knew” look on their face. If there was some stability to some of these lines, I think the ridership would go up. Some of these lines are so unpredictable in the first place that I often opt for other lines that are further from my destination so that I can be sure that they will show up. I can’t count how many times I have opted to shoot for the 9 instead of the 10 because I wasn’t sure if it was running or not (around 7:30pm), or used the 56 instead of the 58 because if the 56 didn’t come I could at least grab the 54 and take an alternative route.
2. Diane&hellip | February 24th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I’m glad you posted this. None of my current riding habits would be affected by these changes, but since I’m looking for work, I don’t know where I’ll end up commuting to. I plan to attend at least one of the open houses this week. I’m also concerned about Fareless Square. Tri-Met has been very good to me for the past 13 or so years since I’ve lived in Portland, and I would hate to see it become just another bad urban transit system.
3. Sara&hellip | February 24th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Perhaps the most interesting thing to me is that on Feb. 12th I received an email from Trimet with the headline “News release: January Another Strong Ridership Month.” Ridership for January “continued to climb” to more than “8.2 million rides…up 2.4% over January 2008.”
The very next day, February 13th, I got another email from Trimet alerting me that these changes were coming and about the public comment period.
Bizarre that at the very same time that Trimet is bragging about the ever increasing ridership, they are proposing all these cuts.
4. Amy&hellip | February 24th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Rachel, I’m glad you brought up the vicious circle problem. I was thinking the same thing about the 43. On weekends, it runs once per hour from about 8 am to 6 pm. The limited schedule deters me from taking it. It also deters car-free friends and family from taking it to get to my house. Perhaps ridership is lower on those days because of schedule, not interest.
5. Sean Utt&hellip | February 28th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Tri-met’s funding is not based on ridership, it is based on payroll taxes. Like so many things we do as a society, it is a stupid way to do things.
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