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Portland is a PR machine for light rail & streetcar

Here are Some Facts About Portland Oregon          

“It must always be remembered how cost-effectiveness works in the public sector: the cost IS the benefit.” - author unknown




Transit

Light Rail - Costs Too Much

East MAX: Not On schedule and Over Budget

West MAX: Not On schedule and Over Budget

I205 MAX: Not on budget, ridership low

Wilsonville Commuter rail

Milwaukie MAX

I205 MAX: PR example

Pickrell Report -Analysis of Rail Cost Over-runs

Delusion and Deception in Large Projects  (local)

Five things about cost overrun   (local)

Tri-Met’s Tangeled Web (a 1988 look at problems)

TriMet’s 2008 payroll shows $100k drivers

TtiMet’s Death Spiral

Portland light rail's mixed track record



Light Rail - Does too Little

Costs Too Much, Does Too Little

Rail carries too few people to relieve congestion

Light Rail Fails to Relieve Congestion

Transit DOES NOT reduce congestion

Transit cannot get people to most jobs

Light Rail does’t cause development-Subsidies Do

Auditor: Portland Streetcar Lies

(Portland Gives Millions in Development Subsidies)

List of Developer Subsidies

Rail won’t save energy or reduce greenhouse gas

MAX system time chart (24 min to Gateway)

Bus is faster than MAX! (a lot faster!)

Light Rail & 12 lane freeway - reality


Portland’s Tram

 Not on Schedule and Not On Budget

Oregonian Tram Archive

Oregonian: Tram

Transit


Transit costs when you show ALL COSTS

High Speed Rail

FTA Annual Report on New Starts

Few low income people need transit

Transit costs more than driving cars.

Portland light rail costs including local matching dollars

Transit uses more energy than cars.     Printable

Even big city transit DOES NOT save energy

Transit commutes take much longer than driving

Transit DOES NOT reduce congestion

Overview & History of  Urban Transit  (pdf)

Cars Improve Our Standard of Living

Transit and Pollution   (Local)

Bus Pollution-Union of Concerned Scientists (Lcl)

Coal Power Spew s Radiation, Mercury (Local)

Car Energy compared to Transit

Transit Costs 3X More than Driving  Printable

THE PUBLIC COST OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES. (Lcl)

Transit Facts & More

GM didn't destroy streetcars  

GM and the Red Cars  (Local Copy)

TriMet Service cut, ridership down  (Local)

Europeans are Abandoning Transit Too   Printable

Wendell Cox: Mass transit does not reduce congestion

Columbian: Light rail-big cost, little benefit  (Wayback)

Analysis of Light Rail in Six Cities  (Local Copy)

Density Doesn’t Help Transit

Effects Of Fare Changes On Bus Ridership

Transit Ridership Down Again

Personal Rapid Transit

Tri-met's Tangled Web

The Transit-Industrial Complex

Don't believe us about light rail?   Would you believe the Orange County Grand Jury?

Light Rail - Harms

Light Rail KILLS people at 250% the rate of Cars

MAX Rail Causes Crime

How Light Rail Destroys Neighborhoods

MAX causes crime (More via Ortem.org)

How to ride MAX without being mugged

MAX runs red light, hits fire truck

TriMet can’t increase bus service because of  rail

How Trimet Hides Rail costs

No new buses for 6 years to get rail money

Cars Improve Our Standard of Living


Who Needs It?

Who Really Wants Light Rail - Portland 1998?

Who Really Wants Light Rail - Vancouver 1994?

Who Really Wants Light Rail - Vancouver 2013

Who Really Wants Light Rail - Tigard 2014

Rail Tranist, a Land Developer Scheme?  (Local )

is little more than a subsidy for developers.

public transport will not regain market share

Electrical Power Generation Stats

Portlanders: Congestion relief higher than education

Corruption  to promote transit

Do TODS need transit?  (local)

Corrupt(?) Land Deal in Australia by Former TriMet boss  more  more  local  local  local

   

The Streetcar is about density NOT transit

Development Oriented Transit  (Local Copy)

Portland's Streetcar Plan

Most streetcar projects in the U.S. provide slow, unreliable service that does not serve many people” David Bragdon, (Former  Metro Council President) brooklynpaper.com more local local



High Speed Rail

Shanghai High-Speed  on a Fast Track to Nowhere

California Auditor’s Report    (full PDF)  Local

state’s ridership forecasts “are not reliable.”  pdf

Taiwan High Speed Rail fails

The Trouble with High-Speed Rail








Updated September 5, 2024

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