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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (40595)	1/22/2010 4:14:31 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 71588

The Rail Scam If we are going to talk about the rail scam, then let's talk about the highway scam and the airline scam as well. Stossel is a Nazi. He doesn't do good journalism; he promotes his playbook and ideology. As for Portland......up until 2008, transit ridership was at the highest level in the city's history. If its down now, its because the recession hit Portland really hard: TriMet blames recession, gas prices for falling ridership By Dylan Rivera, The Oregonian August 10, 2009, 5:21PM Portland-area bus and MAX light rail ridership fell 8 percent in July, compared with a year ago, the TriMet transit agency said today. Mass transit ridership has fallen for several months, an unusual trend for an agency that enjoyed increased use for 20 consecutive years through 2008. TriMet officials blame the downward trend on two factors: the Portland-area's higher unemployment this year means people are commuting less and thus using mass transit less. In addition, 2008 was a banner year for mass transit agencies across the nation, as high gas prices prompted commuters to take mass transit instead of cars. Throughout July, the transit agency had 8.5 million trips, down 8 percent from a year ago. Ridership declined in all categories of mass transit and all days of the week, but dropped more acutely during weekdays. Ridership dropped 8.8 percent on average for all trips in July, but weekday trips were down 9.6 percent and rush-hour trips fell 14.3 percent. MAX light rail service appears to be retaining customers better than bus service. Light rail ridership fell 7 percent overall, and 11.5 percent during rush-hour. Bus ridership fell 10.3 percent overall, and 17.3 percent during rush-hour. The Westside Express Service, a weekday rush-hour only commuter rail line that started in February, had 1,130 rides a day in July. The agency had earlier predicted ridership of more than 2,400 a day by the end of the first year of service. oregonlive.com Here was the attitude prior to the recession: Portland/2006: "Choice" riders = 77% of MAX light rail ridership From Portland comes more evidence of the propensity of rail transit to attract "choice" riders (i.e., riders who have a motor vehicle available to use for their travel, or opt not to have one in order to rely on transit). According to a 2004 survey, over three-quarters – 77% – of riders on Portland's MAX light rail transit (LRT) system reported they either had a car available (67%) or chose not to have a car because they preferred to take the train (10%). In contrast, a significantly lower percentage of bus-only riders – 66% – fell in this same category (although this is still relatively high compared to many other transit systems). Of these, 59% reported they had a car available, and 7% didn't have a car because they preferred transit. These trends seemed to be corroborated by trip purpose. Some 69% of MAX LRT riders indicated their primary trip purpose was for recreation, shopping, or other personal business – purposes typically associated with discretionary travel. Only 22% indicated work trips. In contrast, 50% of bus-only riders reported "work" as their primary trip purpose. Only 25% indicated recreation, shopping, or other personal business. The preference for rail was further underscored in passengers' "Satisfaction with overall transit experience". Results were: · Bus only – 86% · Both bus and rail (including streetcar) – 93% · MAX (LRT) only – 98% One thing this survey seems to say for sure: Portland transit users like TriMet's public transit system. Perhaps not a bad model to strive to emulate? lightrailnow.org