TRIMET CLAIMS its budget, newly revised as of last Wednesday, April 11, is pretty much a done deal. Say hello to drastic bus-service cuts, and goodbye both to the “free rail zone” downtown and the agency’s popular free passes for high school students.
But Portland City Hall, quietly, is trying to nudge TriMet into changing its mind. Mayor Sam Adams revealed last week that his office and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) have been in preliminary talks with the agency, gently pressing it to restore, at least in part, both programs.
Adams mentioned the negotiations during PBOT’s budget workshop with the Portland City Council, also on April 11. TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch confirmed the talks to the Mercury, and Adams’ office says discussions on those items—seen as a top economic priority for the mayor—have been held since at least last fall. But with the city and TriMet both facing multimillion-dollar budget deficits, it’s unclear who would pay to restore the programs—or how. Adams, when asked by the Mercury, didn’t have a clear answer.
“It’s extremely important that these programs continue,” says Catherine Ciarlo, Adams’ top transportation policy adviser. “They both have deep roots in the city’s unique transportation program.”
TriMet, facing a $12 million deficit, turned to a mix of service cuts and new revenues to fill the gap. Eliminating free MAX rides downtown and out to Lloyd Center—the free rail zone—amounts to $2.7 million in additional cash. But Adams tells the Mercury he thinks it will hurt downtown’s economy and make it harder for people who live and work downtown to “get around with ease.”
The agency would also do away with free passes for Portland Public Schools high school students, a program started in 2009. While the student passes haven’t been officially slashed, Fetsch says funds have “not yet been identified” for the upcoming year. For Adams, that’s an even bigger concern.
“All of these cuts are painful,” says Adams. “But this is more than transportation. It’s wrapped up in our high school graduation rate. This pass allows students to have more and better access to after-school jobs, programs, and community college classes that they couldn’t get to otherwise.”
Fetsch says the student pass program currently has a $2 million gap, leaving Adams’ desire to continue the program a budgetary stretch.
“Obviously we don’t have the funds for it,” Fetsch says, “but we are continuing to talk with partners involved.”
Adams says he’s looking into getting other school districts—there are five in Portland city limits—involved in the program to bring in funding. “The fact of the matter is that based on the numbers from TriMet, the youth pass program hasn’t had to increase services or purchase additional equipment since its start,” says Adams. “It’s had a little impact.”
Ciarlo says PBOT remains in talks with TriMet, in hopes of finding a way to keep the two programs afloat. But, she says, it will take some time to negotiate, maybe even after TriMet’s 2012-2013 budget takes effect in September.
“It’s not going to be figured out today, not next week,” Ciarlo says. “But it is our priority to work something out.”
Why exactly does Sam Adams want to restore the youth passes and free rail zone? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh…… fuckin’ creep.
Why is it essential that downtown Portland residents need a free ride, but residents in EVERY OTHER SINGLE NEIGHBORHOOD in the TriMet area – whether inside or out of Portland city limits – have to pay?
Why is it essential that Portland high school students get a free ride, but students of EVERY OTHER SINGLE DISTRICT have to pay?
If Sam wants to have his cake and eat it too, he ought to just form a City of Portland Transit District and separate it out from TriMet so that TriMet only serves the suburbs (much how Chicago is set up – CTA for the city, PACE for the ‘burbs; or San Diego with MTS for the city and NCTD for the ‘burbs). Then he can figure out how to pay for his pet projects without forcing the 2/3rds of the TriMet population outside of Portland to pay for his toys. There are poor folk outside of downtown that need a ride to the grocery store and they have to pay up. There are poor students in Cornelius and Oregon City and Gresham and Tigard and they have to pay to ride.
Shut up dummies. Your crappy neighborhoods at the edge of the city don’t generate commercial activity, that’s why your crappy neighborhoods don’t get free rail. Downtown has the highest rates of traffic congestion anywhere in the city. Less than half of high school students can afford to drive — giving them a way to move around allows them to stay out of trouble/stay socially engage. If you’re asking WHY any free rail program should be restored, you don’t deserve to comment on this article, because you clearly don’t understand basic infrastructure/transportation problems.
Poor people in Tigard? Is that a joke? If someone makes the choice to live in Tigard (it IS a choice, no one is forcing you) then they can’t expect the tax payer to build a permanent steel highway to his front porch. See, people who live in Gresham, Tigard and Oregon Shitty don’t pay the same taxes as people who live Downtown. They also pay less for utilities, rent, groceries, etc. and if they still need a free ride to McDonald’s then I guess they’ll have to make do. Until the “poverty stricken” suburbanites start contributing to the local economy (and the taxes that fund rail) at the same economic level as Downtown Portland, they’ll just have to keep driving their trucks.
Wow, the ignorant really show their true colors when their posts lack substance and instead can only insult, swear, bully and rely on hyperbole. BTW, My neighborhood is rather nice, our taxes are very high, we don’t drive a truck (ahem, we use public transit because we believe in it and want to support it, and can’t afford to drive) and we don’t go to McDonalds, we are vegetarian. We, like everyone else in those “crappy” neighborhoods bring our shopping dollars and support the downtown businesses and educate ourselves at PSU. Giving the young students and people struggling to make ends meet, a little help to graduate, go to college, work, and better themselves helps our society and economy and is always a good thing. Next you’ll propose building a fence to keep us all out.
You can’t afford things, struggling, because your pussy vegetarian lifestyle won’t equip you properly for the real world. Here’s some free advice. First, eat a fucking burger from Carl’s Jr. Second, leave pussy ass close-in SE and last, stop your fucking “poor me” whining. Nothing worse than a man who whines.
I think I must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up at oregonlive.com.
Um, no one needs a ride from one end of downtown to the other, let alone a free one. Get off your fat asses and walk. And don’t give free passes to any high school students. I hate riding public transportation with their obnoxious, rude asses.
Man, if they only had that $57 mil from the aerial tram now.
oh yeeee )
The free rail zone is where the hotels are, which is where the tourists and business travelers are. It’s an economic development tool.
I’ve been living in Portland for 15 years and somehow I always manage to pick a neighborhood one stop past the free rail zone. FML