The long-awaited budget cuts for TriMet’s 2013 budget are finally set in stone. After six months of bouncing around debatable ideas, the board released its final product today. The changes will go into effect September 1, so take advantage of what you’ll miss while you can. Here’s the dish:
Fare Zones: Eliminated
There will now be a flat fare rate for riders in all zones. Meaning the cost of riding from Beaverton to downtown will be the same as a short inner-city trip.
Flat Fare Increase
Yup, you saw it coming. The adult flat fare rate is up to $2.50.
Free Rail Zone: Eliminated
You can no longer catch the MAX downtown or by the Lloyd Center for free. Womp womp.
Ad Revenue Boost
TriMet’s helpful website will host a plethora of more ads to distract you from getting anywhere.
Non-Union Job Cuts
They call this “internal efficiencies.” TriMet staff face even more cutbacks in their pay, benefits and jobs themselves.
Service Cuts
A total of 15 different bus routes that currently overlap each other will be fiddled with to boost efficiency and 9 routes face major trip cutbacks during low-commute hours.
LIFT Cuts
TriMet’s LIFT door-to-door service for disabled riders will be cut back based on commuting times as well.
Reduced Streetcar Contribution
Instead of a hefty $400,000 in funds going towards the streetcar project, TriMet will only dole out $300,000.
There you have it. TriMet General Manager (who Occupy TriMet protesters fought to fire last week), Neil McFarlane’s final words on the plan: “With nearly 16,000 comments received from the community, it truly helped shape our proposal and focus on our shared priority that preserving service was the top priority.”
How did the 16,000 comments from the community help anything? This is almost exactly what they initially proposed. Idiots.
I think they’re saying that to help their PR.
Reading this post, I thought at first that maybe they’d been able to avoid hiking the adult fare up to $2.50, but no, it’s indeed going up to $2.50.
Bah! I completely skipped that crucial part, thanks for the reminder, geyser. It’s now up there.
Eliminate WES and TM’s budget woes magically disappear. A very nice $140 million mistake, that costs $11 million+ a year to operate, to shuttle about ~1300 passengers a day. 1300 passengers. They expected over 2400 by this time.
Eliminate the WES. Problem solved.
Or maybe sell advertising inside the buses and trains to make more income.
How about we just replace TriMet with a less self-centered, more competent transit authority without the over-paid execs, hmm?
Breaking news: Alex Z. misses “crucial part” of a story in her reporting. Jesus. Maybe it’s time to make that move to HR or financial planning or whatever.
Sarcasm? Please let me know which stories o’ mine you feel are missing a key element, it’s important—I don’t aim to skimp.
I can handle $2.50, but I feel bad for people making minimum wage or who are unemployed who depend on the bus to get around.
Ideally, the city/Metro should subsidize TriMet enough to make fares $1.
Azure: The “City/Metro” (i.e. your taxes) already provides Tri-met revenue in the form of payroll taxes.
57% of Tri-met’s revenue is from this source. Only 24% is from passenger revenue. The rest are state/fed/grants and other sources(I presume fines and advertising)
I usually get a day ticket for 5$, so it won’t effect me that much, but still. I am not doing fantastic in terms of finance, but I know there are those who are worse off, so I agree with azure, it sucks
welp, needed to get back on my bike anyway