Earlier in August, Adron Hall posed a question on his blog, Transit Sleuth, where he’s been writing about transit issues for the past two years: “So I live on SE 21st and Powell now. I’m loving the area and the options that are available to me to get downtown,” Hall wrote. “The one thing I find absolutely stupid is that there is no 21st Avenue bus service…. What is wrong with this picture?”
It’s a picture that’s about to get fuzzier. On September 1, bus riders will have to fork over another quarter, as the standard fare increases to two bucks.
But at a time when transit ridership is up by about 13 percent from last year—which means plenty of busses are standing room only, especially during rush hour—that fare increase won’t go toward beefing up the bus system, despite the gaping holes in service and obvious opportunities for improvement.
Instead, most of the fare increase will help TriMet pay its gas bill (five cents of it is for general inflation, an increase TriMet tacks on every year). Thanks to rising fuel costs, TriMet went $4.1 million over budget on fuel last year. For the next fiscal year, the agency has budgeted almost twice as much money as last year for fuel: $28.5 million vs. $15.6 million.
At the same time fuel prices have skyrocketed, more people have been taking transit (presumably to leave the expensive-to-fill car at home).
TriMet’s been boasting record ridership every month since April. In July—the latest month that stats are available—TriMet logged 9.2 million rides on the bus and MAX, the first time the agency has broken the nine million mark.
The bus just edges out MAX on ridership: In July, there were over 5.7 million bus trips, and 3.4 million MAX trips. Monthly bus ridership is up 13.3 percent over July 2007 (and up 13.2 percent on MAX). During the rush-hour commute, bus ridership is up 16.5 percent over July 2007 and MAX is up 13.8 percent.
But that doesn’t mean TriMet is filling the coffers with new fare revenue. Fares only plug about 20 percent of TriMet’s budget, with the bulk of revenues coming from an employer payroll tax.
“The challenge is that being based on the payroll tax, [TriMet’s] revenue expands as [area] employment expands,” not as ridership grows, explains transit advocate Chris Smith. TriMet doesn’t get much cash from new riders. “From a big policy point of view, it’s kind of broken. We’re encouraging this change in travel behavior, but the revenue doesn’t support the change.”
And what money TriMet does have tends to go toward projects like building more high-capacity transit. (Or, as Smith explains, “It’s somewhat easier for TriMet to find capital dollars than to find operating dollars.”)
This year, resources are flowing toward the Westside Express Service commuter rail between Wilsonville and Beaverton. “Next year, it’s the [MAX] Green Line opening,” says Mary Fetsch, TriMet spokesperson. “And then after that we’ll look at bus expansion. Things are kind of spoken for.”
TriMet follows a five-year “Transit Investment Plan” (TIP) to spend its limited resources—”and given the softening of the economy, [the payroll tax] isn’t growing as much as we’d like it to,” Fetsch explains. TriMet’s other revenue options are limited to things like the federal government’s generosity.
Expanding “frequent service”—lines where busses are supposed to run every 15 minutes or better, and some run as often as every three to five minutes during peak hours—is one goal of the TIP. And that’s a great goal: Frequent service is the best way to attract new riders to transit. If potential bus riders don’t have to worry about looking up schedules, but simply know they can walk to the stop and a bus will be by shortly, they’re more likely to take the leap.
Or, as TriMet’s TIP says more dryly: “Adding frequency and amenities to existing routes is more effective in attracting riders than offering new, infrequent routes.” By the numbers, only 16 of TriMet’s 92 lines have frequent service, but they’re used by 65 percent of riders.
While it’s obvious what TriMet’s doing towards the goal of “expanding high-capacity transit”—witness the construction downtown, on the Steel Bridge, and near I-205 for light rail improvements—the frequent-service bus improvements are less glamorous. In the next three years, TriMet plans to add frequent service on the #31 and #76 routes (and that’s “to complement commuter rail, MAX Green Line investments”), and extend the frequent-service hours on four existing lines. While the lines aren’t specified, routes such as the #4 on Division, the #15 on Belmont, and two suburban routes—one from Beaverton to Tualatin, and another from Milwaukee to Clackamas—are discussed in the TIP.
“I’m certainly in support of light rail, I’m glad they’re doing it,” adds Smith. “But I wonder if we aren’t shortchanging more frequent services and replacement busses.”
However, what’s not on the TriMet agenda is adding routes in spots like 21st Avenue on the eastside of Portland, or a route on a street between 50th and 82nd, another north-south dead zone on the TriMet map—routes that could help even more people jump on the bus each day.
As Hall wrote on his blog, “There are tons of people driving, biking, and walking north and south on 21st. It is an ideal inner city north-south avenue and there is no service at all.”
A transit-observing hobbyist, he sees lots of other areas ripe for better service: “The #20 [along Burnside] is packed during rush hour, and it’s not even a frequent [service] bus. It baffles me as to why it’s not. I’ve sat on Burnside watching the #20 go by every 18 or 20 minutes, completely packed, and they go by the stop,” because the bus is too full to pick up more passengers. Hall personally rides the #35 to Lake Oswego for part of his commute.
“Almost the entire day, there are only one or two busses that won’t have every seat filled. Most of the time every seat is filled and they’ll have one or two people standing up. Right now that bus runs every 30 minutes, and it’s a real pain if you’re trying to do stuff.”
While we’re at it: Why do we have to wait for light rail over a new I-5 bridge to have a seamless connection with Vancouver? Couldn’t TriMet partner with C-TRAN to knit the two cities together? And would someone explain to me why transit cuts out altogether at 1:30 am, just shy of bar closing time?
By Hall’s calculations for 21st, with all of the current pedestrians and cyclists—not to mention people taking the bus downtown so they can loop back to their final destination—”at least two percent of those people would be able to fill up a bus every 30 minutes,” he says. “I would love to know what I would have to do to give TriMet a little kick in the butt to put a bus on there.”
To that end, there’s a fledgling transit riders’ union planning its first meeting for early September. The nascent union’s first agenda item, however, is going after a fareless system; if they’re interested in boosting service (which you could make the case is better for riders in the long run) they haven’t been speaking up about it.
In the interim, Fetsch points out that TriMet is doing things “to make the rider experience better,” like working out a better system for assigning bike lockers, automatic stop announcements, and better automated maps. “For now, we’re doing little things around the edges.”
WOW!
That’s the best piece of transit reporting I have ever seen from you MS Ruiz!
I knew you had it in you!
And quoting Adron Hall to boot!
I can’t even believe my eyes!
I wrote TriMet on how they should switch to alternative fuels like DART in Dallas did years ago. Their switch to natural gas has saved their funds and they aren’t having to support the middle east.
TriMet never wrote me back on this topic.
I’m still trying to figure out why TriMet is raising fares. We’ve been told that fares account for less than 20% of TriMet’s income per year. Ridership is up across the entire TriMet service area already increasing revenue. Our traditional honor system regarding TriMet ridership has reduced the expense of paying $30K per year per fare checker to see if someone has paid to ride or not. Hiring extra fare checkers requires approximately 20,000 extra riders per year to pay the salary of one added fare enforcer. It does not add up economically. This seems to be more about individuals within TriMet that have personal power/control issues than about economics.
“This seems to be more about individuals within TriMet that have personal power/control issues than about economics.”
You mean empire building?
“FOR NOW WE’RE DOING LITTLE THINGS AROUND THE EDGES”?? LIKE EASIER TO READ AND UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THIS SYSTEM, INCLUDING BROKEN (MOST OF THE TIME) TICKET MACHINES FOR STARTERS!!!
Huh? Bus service on 21st as a top priority? What’s wrong with walking down to 12th and getting the frequent service there? Oh right, it’s because that guy lives on 21st…
Trimet have to prioritize spending. Top of the list should be fixing the MAX fare machines, and improving late night service to cut down on drunk driving. Why exactly doesn’t the MAX run all night on weekends???
The plural of bus is “buses” NOT “busses.”
The plural of bus is “buses” – not “busses.”
You can report me to the Department of Redudancy Department.
Just to say, being gone for a year and coming back to Portland, I’ve actually been impressed by the improvements in the frequent service lines, and the greater usability of the automated schedule and route planner tools online. I also noticed larger numbers of bike hangers on the MAX, and an automated anouncement system on MAX stops (though I notice that if the MAX is off schedule it counts down to and then calls out a non-existent stop) as for fare increases: it’s tough to pay, but I agree with the spirit of this article that almost all transit users are willing to pay the money necessary to get service that covers the city.
One more issue: while the bus is great for getting to work or the local disco, almost no big-box or large hardware stores are served by bus lines. If I want to buy a new table lamp I’m often SOL left shopping at the Fred Meyer
Nice article Amy. Even though fares only make up about 20% of revenue, that 20% is vital. The “transit for free union” kind of scares me. If they get political pull we’ll have a bankrupt transit system faster than Bush had us in Iraq.
…needless to say, when we want expanded service, the last thing we need is someone pushing for fare free hand outs.
btw Stu “Trimet have to prioritize spending. Top of the list should be fixing the MAX fare machines, and improving late night service to cut down on drunk driving. Why exactly doesn’t the MAX run all night on weekends???”
The reason is because when they ran later, in the past, they could barely recoupe any cost, and almost zero drinkers actually rode. Keeping the whole transit system running an hour longer would add a vast amount of $$ need for the system. I however, would think that it would be a priority. At least downtown were people would take the buses and maybe even the MAX or streetcar back home after being out drinking. However in the burbs people are going to drive home after drinking anyway. It doesn’t matter what we do, the land development makes it a necessity almost.
As for the 21st route, the reason I believe north south buses would be a good idea isn’t because “I live on 21st” but because there is a demand that could be met. Far more people would ride a bus on 21st or 26th, or out between 39th and 82nd in a north south direction than would probably ride after 1:30am.
Also when TriMet is short on revenue, as evidenced by the supposed need to raise fares, a bus line that actually has good ridership is much less of a burden than running routes that have almost no ridership – so yes, it should be a priority.
…but I digress. The facts are there, they just have to be pushed by the agency and the politicians. Maybe we could get them kick started by a little citizen effort too.
It could be possible.
They say they have to increase the fares to accomodate the price of gas, yet they are adding more busses to the mix which uses even more gas. More busses running, more gas used, higher costs. So how about keeping the number of busses running at a lower number (like now) and keeping the fare the same.
They say they have to increase the fares to accomodate the price of gas, yet they are adding more busses to the mix which uses even more gas. More busses running, more gas used, higher costs. So how about keeping the number of busses running at a lower number (like now) and keeping the fare the same.
Ms. Ruiz:
A reasonable essay on the TriMet price increase, not particularly in depth or insightful, but a start.
It would be of interest to see a break out of TriMet’s budget. For instance, how much money is allocated to running buses and trains and how much allocated to management staff? How much money is allocated to provide cars for top management? What type of expense accounts are included? It is common to see supervisors lounging around various transit centers all during the day. How much does this cost us?
In other words, we are expected to pay this fare increase without any explanation of what they are doing with the money they already have. How do we know whether or not Mr. Fred Hansen, the general manager of TriMet, is doing a competent job managing resources? We have no way of knowing. If Mr. Hansen is as uncaring about budgeting and spending as he is shown to be on issues of customer service and safety then the budget must be a wonderland of waste.
I suspect that a thorough examination of TriMet’s fiscal practices are in order, a job best performed by the press. Sorry, I forgot. This is the Mercury. My apologies for pointing out your shortcomings.
I remain,
Jacomus
TriMet is my principal form of transportation. By and large it works, but the fare increase seems a little thoughtless. Since change is not offered, by setting the fares for Adult All Zone to $2.30, Honored Citizen $.95, Lift $1.80, they are effectively setting a certain percentage of the fares to $2.50, $1.00 and $2.00. Unless you have exact change, tickets or a pass the fares have been higher for a long time. I wonder how that revenue is factored into the equation. With the number of fare machines that are regularly broken it seems odd that they do not have some kind of machine [ala Street car] on the Max itself. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to risk riding fareless or miss the last bus. In town it’s usually not such a big deal but out here, if you miss the 88, you can wait an hour at the Beaverton Transit Center for the next… and finally, completely separate and apart from fares, why the heck aren’t there any restrooms at the majority of the Max Station. As a model for public transit I can’t understand why none of the stops, except maybe Pioneer Square, have facilities.
I live up in Toronto and our system is definitely not as efficient as Portland’s. And on top of it, unless you buy your tokens while at a subway station (not always a convenient thing to do) the price is $2.75 per trip (it is $2.25 if you buy tokens in advance). To further add insult to our expensive system, only directly on the subway line and protected streetcar lines is it an efficient system.
I would also like to see a route on 21st as I do my grocery shopping up at Trader Joe’s and the only bus that takes me in the direction of my apartment in SW is the 17 which runs pretty infrequently. Then I have to transfer from that bus to another one that takes me up on Brodway, which is just a hassle.