“Through the program, Oregon’s Johnson Controls Inc. (Entek) in Lebanon will get $299.2 million to produce nickel-cobalt-metal battery cells and packs, as well as production of battery separators (by partner Entek) for hybrid and electric vehicles. EnerG2 Inc. in Albany will get $21 million to produce high energy density nano-carbon for ultracapacitors.
Cascade Sierra Solutions of Coburg will get $22.2 million to help develop electrical charging stations at 50 truck stops across the nation so big rigs don’t have to idle their engines during layovers.”
It looks like there is a lot of money coming into Oregon companies which will support jobs in our local economy.
Electric cars are not part of the road to American energy independence as some people that want to commandeer and spin the media might want people to believe. The expensive batteries in them used to store the power require that other fossil substance called lithium and also present a disposal problem when worn out. If electric vehicles do take hold and the public buys the concept, instead of America being reliant on liquid gold from Saudi Arabia, electric cars will obligate America to be dependent on lithium from Bolivia where the largest deposits known to exist lie under the salt beds. And oh yes, there is probably some detrimental environmental effects to extracting it too, but the social engineering czars and the eco control zealots don’t want everybody to know all that just yet. Additionally, who knows what corruption or government takeover might occur in Bolivia; or if the fat cats in the futures market will treat lithium as they did oil thereby excessively increasing the price to consumers that could lead into yet another recession or down turn in the economy.
Meanwhile, there is all that taxpayer funded subsidy money just blowing in the wind to construct all those charging stations needed to supply the juice to those batteries in the yet to be fleet of foreign branded little electric cars. Some of those charging stations are popping up curbside in downtown Portland; taking away parking places, and require lengthy plug times for a recharge with no road tax applied. How backwards this is! Gas pumps in times past were also located on the sidewalks in downtown Portland. Not only will there be more freeloaders in addition to bicyclists on the roads, but refueling curbside on the streets, especially from central city sidewalks, became outdated and obsolete about the time of World War II when American soldiers were engaged in many a battle, fought and died to protect the freedoms this country was founded upon. With all this socialist thinking and back room deal making going on, is it that today those freedoms are becoming outdated and obsolete – including our freedom of individual mobility choice while not totally subsidizing somebody else’s mobility choice.
If only somebody could design a car that would go 500 miles on hot air and a load of human excrement. There is plenty of that of that to go around, especially in the spectrum of the political world!
Most Lithium-based battery chemistries that I’m familiar with are highly recyclable.
Electric cars can and have been made with NiMH chemistries as well, although patent and licensing entanglements (to put it politely) have prevented this from becoming widespread practice.
This is probably the wrong thread for this (and I will probably hear that this is the wrong site for this), but did anyone else see the new 400-series MAX trains (which fall in the electric vehicle category) operate on their first day of revenue service?
I did… personally witnessed same train break down twice! (Once in downtown near Galleria, then later in the afternoon at Rose Quarter.)
Even I’m beginning to sing the “Light Rail Boondoggle Song!” Although I hope not, we might be 0-for-2 in new rail lines/vehicles this year. :(
This is probably the wrong thread for this (and I will probably hear that this is the wrong site for this), but did anyone else see the new 400-series MAX trains (which fall in the electric vehicle category) operate on their first day of revenue service?
One of the local news programs did a special on it, with Fred Hansen making a comment about how 12 extra people might not sound like much, but it’s an improvement at peak times. They said the first was on the Blue Line, but are they serving the others with them also?
I’m told that they’ll be serving all of the lines eventually. (But then again, I was told we’d be seeing these in service back in the spring.)
I had a chance to ride on a Green Line preview, and I think regular riders are going to like a couple of things in particular: There is more legroom between most of the rows of seats. There are fewer stairs in the end sections of the cars. (If I recall correctly, there’s just one step up and the rest is sort of a gradual ramp.)
Another nice feature is the view between the two cars at the center of the train. It creates quite a sense of openness, not only to not have a solid cab wall and door there, but to be able to see what is going on (to an extent) in the next car.
Hey Jason, is there an actual song called the light rail boondoggle or did u just make that up?
If there isn’t one then I think one should be commissioned!
Yea the rail cars are nice and blah blah blah, wonderful, STOP THE SERVICE CUTS CANCEL THE GREEN LINE AND SEND EM BACK!
Terry you crack me up!
VINNY- I know lots and lots of people who aint got no job right now and not one of them is finding work.
None of this stimulus stuff is helping anybody I know. Does anybody in here know even one person who was unemployed and who has found work as a result of any of the so called “stimulus”?
This just sent to me by text message from another operator:
“rode a new train today! ya nice but think how many new buses we could have had”
And that’s the story of TRIMET today.
Fred’s contract is up, he has made himself somewhere around $2,500,000 iN his ten years here ruining our transit system and putting in services for the wealthy.
There is no “Light Rail Boondoggle Song”, that I’m aware of. But a certain infamous Kingston Trio tune can be transplanted to Portland, like thus….
Let me tell you the story of a man named Charlie
On those sad and fateful tracks
He put a dollar in his pocket, kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the Tri-Met MAX
Charlie handed in his greenback at the Gateway Transit Center
And he changed at Pioneer Square
When he got there the inspector told him “two more quarters”
Charlie could not pay that fare!
And did he ever return, no he never returned
And his fate is still unlearned
He’s doomed to ride forever on the rails of Portland
He’s the man who never returned
Now all night long Charlie rides through the station
Thinking “What will become of me?”
“How can I afford to see my sister in Gresham?
Or my cousin in Milwaukie?”
Charlie’s wife goes down to the Rose Quarter station
Every day at quarter past two
And through the open window, she hands him a latte
As the train comes a-crawlin’ through
Now motorists of Portland, isn’t a scandal,
That the people have to pay the tax?
Fight the fare increase, vote for Jack Bogdanski
Help get Charlie off the Tri-Met MAX!
Or else he’ll never return, no he’ll never return
And his fate will be unlearned
He’s doomed to ride forever on the rails of Portland
He’s the man who never returned!
Obviously, a few bits of artistic license were taken in penning the above… for one thing, ol’ bojack ain’t running for office. But still…
You probably could have had several new busses for the price of one LRT vehicle; but in terms of how long they last and how many people they carry, the purchase price is pretty much a wash.
The Green Line, incidentally, connects Clackamas Town Center with Mall 205 and the mall and medical offices surrounding Gateway Fred Meyer (does that mall have a name?). For those who are transit-dependent, or prefer to ride transit, this will make shopping trips involving multiple destinations at these important destinations easier.
The song is a satire of the song “M.T.A.”, (Massachusetts Transit Authority) which was apparently a campaign song by a leftist Boston politician who was running for office, partly on a platform of opposition to a fare increase implemented by the agency. To save money, the fare increase was implemented as an exit fare on top of the old entry fare (you paid the old fare when you got on; you paid the additional fare whe you got off), which begs the question “what happens if you try to get off the train and don’t have enough money?”
The song was later made famous by the folk band The Kingston Trio, who modified the lyrics somewhat. (One of the modifications was to change the name of the politician mentioned in the song, so as not to be identified with a person then regarded as a commie rabble-rouser; an issue of concern in the red-wary 1950s).
Wikipedia has an article on the song, including links (apparently) to a recording.
I rode on the 400 car this morning. I’ve been seeing them undergoing testing for months, so it surprised the hell out of me when it actually stopped and was filled with riders. Anyway, I rode it, spent some time looking at the interior layout, and finally settled down at the back of the car, where I could look out the huge window and into the other car.
Bob’s right — only one step up to the aisle at the end of the cars, but then you need to take a second step up to get into an actual seat. So it’s two steps up instead of three.
the mall and medical offices surrounding Gateway Fred Meyer (does that mall have a name?)
I kinda see the Green Line route as temporary (although long-term temporary).
If they ever build the Powell Line, or the talked about Milwaukie/Clackamas Line; I suspect either of these would divert much green line traffic. After all, if you live in Happy Valley and are driving to the CTC park-and-ride; Gateway and NE Portland is a bit out of your way. As Al notes, the present density along the I-205 stretch isn’t very high; so I suspect most riders of the Green will be transferring from busses, or parking and riding.
Eventually, I think we’ll see a continuous line along I-205, from the airport (or even points in the Couv) down to Oregon City, or even then looping west to Tualatin; a line which intersects several inbound routes (the current I-84 corridor, Powell, and whatever Milwaukie extensions get built).
None of this stimulus stuff is helping anybody I know. Does anybody in here know even one person who was unemployed and who has found work as a result of any of the so called “stimulus”?
Don’t know a single person.
I however know at minimum, 29 people that now earn above average incomes in the Portland area because there is a significant demand for skilled software developers still. I’ve also seen people being hired by market demand jobs at fair rate of speed. The only problem is most of the unemployed have no tangible skills for the markets that are hiring. Without retraining there is nothing for them to do.
Unskilled an “lightly” skilled workers are going to have to get used to being even lower in the economic barrel than anytime in the last 100 years of US history… the demand for labor & unskilled labor is probably at the lowest it has ever been in the US. With training, skills, or some type of education Americans basically have no chance to maintain the standard of living we’ve come to think we’re owed in this country.
…but anyway.
The answer to the quesiton is no. I have not seen a single person hired because of stimulous funds. I have seen some temporary work being done, but I don’t know anyone working those jobs, just see them.
20 responses to “It’s Raining Electric Vehicles in Portland”
This is very nice but you know how many people I run into that are out of work with no prospect of getting work?
None of this stuff is helping the average joe who can’t get a job.
Al, did you even read the article?
“Through the program, Oregon’s Johnson Controls Inc. (Entek) in Lebanon will get $299.2 million to produce nickel-cobalt-metal battery cells and packs, as well as production of battery separators (by partner Entek) for hybrid and electric vehicles. EnerG2 Inc. in Albany will get $21 million to produce high energy density nano-carbon for ultracapacitors.
Cascade Sierra Solutions of Coburg will get $22.2 million to help develop electrical charging stations at 50 truck stops across the nation so big rigs don’t have to idle their engines during layovers.”
It looks like there is a lot of money coming into Oregon companies which will support jobs in our local economy.
Electric cars are not part of the road to American energy independence as some people that want to commandeer and spin the media might want people to believe. The expensive batteries in them used to store the power require that other fossil substance called lithium and also present a disposal problem when worn out. If electric vehicles do take hold and the public buys the concept, instead of America being reliant on liquid gold from Saudi Arabia, electric cars will obligate America to be dependent on lithium from Bolivia where the largest deposits known to exist lie under the salt beds. And oh yes, there is probably some detrimental environmental effects to extracting it too, but the social engineering czars and the eco control zealots don’t want everybody to know all that just yet. Additionally, who knows what corruption or government takeover might occur in Bolivia; or if the fat cats in the futures market will treat lithium as they did oil thereby excessively increasing the price to consumers that could lead into yet another recession or down turn in the economy.
Meanwhile, there is all that taxpayer funded subsidy money just blowing in the wind to construct all those charging stations needed to supply the juice to those batteries in the yet to be fleet of foreign branded little electric cars. Some of those charging stations are popping up curbside in downtown Portland; taking away parking places, and require lengthy plug times for a recharge with no road tax applied. How backwards this is! Gas pumps in times past were also located on the sidewalks in downtown Portland. Not only will there be more freeloaders in addition to bicyclists on the roads, but refueling curbside on the streets, especially from central city sidewalks, became outdated and obsolete about the time of World War II when American soldiers were engaged in many a battle, fought and died to protect the freedoms this country was founded upon. With all this socialist thinking and back room deal making going on, is it that today those freedoms are becoming outdated and obsolete – including our freedom of individual mobility choice while not totally subsidizing somebody else’s mobility choice.
If only somebody could design a car that would go 500 miles on hot air and a load of human excrement. There is plenty of that of that to go around, especially in the spectrum of the political world!
Most Lithium-based battery chemistries that I’m familiar with are highly recyclable.
Electric cars can and have been made with NiMH chemistries as well, although patent and licensing entanglements (to put it politely) have prevented this from becoming widespread practice.
This is probably the wrong thread for this (and I will probably hear that this is the wrong site for this), but did anyone else see the new 400-series MAX trains (which fall in the electric vehicle category) operate on their first day of revenue service?
I did… personally witnessed same train break down twice! (Once in downtown near Galleria, then later in the afternoon at Rose Quarter.)
Even I’m beginning to sing the “Light Rail Boondoggle Song!” Although I hope not, we might be 0-for-2 in new rail lines/vehicles this year. :(
This is probably the wrong thread for this (and I will probably hear that this is the wrong site for this), but did anyone else see the new 400-series MAX trains (which fall in the electric vehicle category) operate on their first day of revenue service?
One of the local news programs did a special on it, with Fred Hansen making a comment about how 12 extra people might not sound like much, but it’s an improvement at peak times. They said the first was on the Blue Line, but are they serving the others with them also?
I’m told that they’ll be serving all of the lines eventually. (But then again, I was told we’d be seeing these in service back in the spring.)
I had a chance to ride on a Green Line preview, and I think regular riders are going to like a couple of things in particular: There is more legroom between most of the rows of seats. There are fewer stairs in the end sections of the cars. (If I recall correctly, there’s just one step up and the rest is sort of a gradual ramp.)
Another nice feature is the view between the two cars at the center of the train. It creates quite a sense of openness, not only to not have a solid cab wall and door there, but to be able to see what is going on (to an extent) in the next car.
Hey Jason, is there an actual song called the light rail boondoggle or did u just make that up?
If there isn’t one then I think one should be commissioned!
Yea the rail cars are nice and blah blah blah, wonderful, STOP THE SERVICE CUTS CANCEL THE GREEN LINE AND SEND EM BACK!
Terry you crack me up!
VINNY- I know lots and lots of people who aint got no job right now and not one of them is finding work.
None of this stimulus stuff is helping anybody I know. Does anybody in here know even one person who was unemployed and who has found work as a result of any of the so called “stimulus”?
This just sent to me by text message from another operator:
“rode a new train today! ya nice but think how many new buses we could have had”
And that’s the story of TRIMET today.
Fred’s contract is up, he has made himself somewhere around $2,500,000 iN his ten years here ruining our transit system and putting in services for the wealthy.
TAKE YOUR MILLIONS FRED AND GO AWAY NOW!
There is no “Light Rail Boondoggle Song”, that I’m aware of. But a certain infamous Kingston Trio tune can be transplanted to Portland, like thus….
Let me tell you the story of a man named Charlie
On those sad and fateful tracks
He put a dollar in his pocket, kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the Tri-Met MAX
Charlie handed in his greenback at the Gateway Transit Center
And he changed at Pioneer Square
When he got there the inspector told him “two more quarters”
Charlie could not pay that fare!
And did he ever return, no he never returned
And his fate is still unlearned
He’s doomed to ride forever on the rails of Portland
He’s the man who never returned
Now all night long Charlie rides through the station
Thinking “What will become of me?”
“How can I afford to see my sister in Gresham?
Or my cousin in Milwaukie?”
Charlie’s wife goes down to the Rose Quarter station
Every day at quarter past two
And through the open window, she hands him a latte
As the train comes a-crawlin’ through
Now motorists of Portland, isn’t a scandal,
That the people have to pay the tax?
Fight the fare increase, vote for Jack Bogdanski
Help get Charlie off the Tri-Met MAX!
Or else he’ll never return, no he’ll never return
And his fate will be unlearned
He’s doomed to ride forever on the rails of Portland
He’s the man who never returned!
Obviously, a few bits of artistic license were taken in penning the above… for one thing, ol’ bojack ain’t running for office. But still…
You probably could have had several new busses for the price of one LRT vehicle; but in terms of how long they last and how many people they carry, the purchase price is pretty much a wash.
Hey scotty!
You got the music to go along with the lyrics?
Who exactly is gonna use that green line?
A direct connection of PSU to Clackamas town center?
Do PSU students love that shopping mall that much?
A direct connection of PSU to Clackamas town center? Do PSU students love that shopping mall that much?
Come on, Al, you know better than that! :-) Do people ride your bus route only between the two end-stops?
There are many stops along the Green Line. I doubt that very many people will be riding end-to-end. That’s not the point.
There’s plenty who would travel between Gateway and Clackamas, and plenty who would travel from neighborhoods between Gateway and downtown to PSU.
And then there’s the Yellow Line, which switches to the mall alignment at the end of this month.
I ride the Blue Line at least weekly, and yet I only make it out to the endpoints maybe a couple of times a year.
The Green Line, incidentally, connects Clackamas Town Center with Mall 205 and the mall and medical offices surrounding Gateway Fred Meyer (does that mall have a name?). For those who are transit-dependent, or prefer to ride transit, this will make shopping trips involving multiple destinations at these important destinations easier.
haha…
Bob, I was being facetious!
That line is much like the WES, it’s made for people to drive their cars too and then ride into downtown.
Hey scotty, that trimet song was so good I put it up on my own blog!
Al,
The song is a satire of the song “M.T.A.”, (Massachusetts Transit Authority) which was apparently a campaign song by a leftist Boston politician who was running for office, partly on a platform of opposition to a fare increase implemented by the agency. To save money, the fare increase was implemented as an exit fare on top of the old entry fare (you paid the old fare when you got on; you paid the additional fare whe you got off), which begs the question “what happens if you try to get off the train and don’t have enough money?”
The song was later made famous by the folk band The Kingston Trio, who modified the lyrics somewhat. (One of the modifications was to change the name of the politician mentioned in the song, so as not to be identified with a person then regarded as a commie rabble-rouser; an issue of concern in the red-wary 1950s).
Wikipedia has an article on the song, including links (apparently) to a recording.
I rode on the 400 car this morning. I’ve been seeing them undergoing testing for months, so it surprised the hell out of me when it actually stopped and was filled with riders. Anyway, I rode it, spent some time looking at the interior layout, and finally settled down at the back of the car, where I could look out the huge window and into the other car.
Bob’s right — only one step up to the aisle at the end of the cars, but then you need to take a second step up to get into an actual seat. So it’s two steps up instead of three.
the mall and medical offices surrounding Gateway Fred Meyer (does that mall have a name?)
Gateway.
I kinda see the Green Line route as temporary (although long-term temporary).
If they ever build the Powell Line, or the talked about Milwaukie/Clackamas Line; I suspect either of these would divert much green line traffic. After all, if you live in Happy Valley and are driving to the CTC park-and-ride; Gateway and NE Portland is a bit out of your way. As Al notes, the present density along the I-205 stretch isn’t very high; so I suspect most riders of the Green will be transferring from busses, or parking and riding.
Eventually, I think we’ll see a continuous line along I-205, from the airport (or even points in the Couv) down to Oregon City, or even then looping west to Tualatin; a line which intersects several inbound routes (the current I-84 corridor, Powell, and whatever Milwaukie extensions get built).
But that’s probably a decade or two off.
Thanks Scotty!
None of this stimulus stuff is helping anybody I know. Does anybody in here know even one person who was unemployed and who has found work as a result of any of the so called “stimulus”?
Don’t know a single person.
I however know at minimum, 29 people that now earn above average incomes in the Portland area because there is a significant demand for skilled software developers still. I’ve also seen people being hired by market demand jobs at fair rate of speed. The only problem is most of the unemployed have no tangible skills for the markets that are hiring. Without retraining there is nothing for them to do.
Unskilled an “lightly” skilled workers are going to have to get used to being even lower in the economic barrel than anytime in the last 100 years of US history… the demand for labor & unskilled labor is probably at the lowest it has ever been in the US. With training, skills, or some type of education Americans basically have no chance to maintain the standard of living we’ve come to think we’re owed in this country.
…but anyway.
The answer to the quesiton is no. I have not seen a single person hired because of stimulous funds. I have seen some temporary work being done, but I don’t know anyone working those jobs, just see them.