TriMet Does Some Things Very Well


We spend a fair amount of time on this site being critical of TriMet. But fair is fair. They had a significant announcement last week that deserves some attention. The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail project has generated more than $100M ($110M in fact) in contracts to minority and women-owned subcontractors.

In fact, TriMet’s contracting efforts to so-called “Disadvantaged Business Enterprises” are a model that other major entities (like ODOT) are trying to emulate.

Well done.


29 responses to “TriMet Does Some Things Very Well”

  1. Right well done.

    Since they can’t seem to get transit right it’s good they can do this right.

    (as long as what they are telling us is truthful and without embellishment, something I seem to have particular problems with, maybe its just me)

    What surprised me in regards to this is the Trimet office of Equity and Diversity.

    I am so dumb that I actually thought that office was for minority riders to get some kind of equity in transit delivery.

    What I have since learned is that office is for the distribution of money to ‘disadvantaged businesses’.

    Learn something new every day around here.

  2. I’m curious: Which “minority- and woman-owned businesses” got work on PMLR, and what is the threshold of ownership for a business to qualify? I.e., if a consulting firm has one partner who is a woman (and the rest are all white guys), does that count as a “woman-owned business”?

  3. Have you jerks ever even ridden transit in another city similar in size to that of Portland? I’m sure you would have a much different tune to your gripes.

  4. “Have you jerks ever even ridden transit in another city similar in size to that of Portland?”

    >>>> Another ad hominem comment that should be deleted.

  5. Metro magazine just put up its annual report on rail transit projects where it summarizes ridership and size of operations. TriMet scores quite well for regions of our size. Anonymous is correct in my view, though we have relatively few jerks here.

  6. I remember when Interstate MAX was under construction. Bruce Watt put together TriMet’s program for women and minority businesses, and up and down the project you saw a whole rainbow of people building MAX. It was a beautiful sight.
    TriMet is clearly head and shoulders above most agencies in this regard.

  7. I knew a construction finish contractor who had that minority status—-because he put his wife “in charge” of the company. This stuff is just more unicorns and rainbows.

    I also worked on a WES station that was a minority contract—organized idiocy.

    @ Anderson”I remember when Interstate MAX was under construction. Bruce Watt put together TriMet’s program for women and minority businesses, and up and down the project you saw a whole rainbow of people building MAX. It was a beautiful sight.
    TriMet is clearly head and shoulders above most agencies in this regard.”

    Interstate MAX? Can you get a life? Everyone who invests in real estate in Portland knows that that is a poor area to buy in. Unless you want to live in an area of seedy motels. There are only half a dozen of them on Interstate! But then, I guess the peoples’ vote doesn’t count—-they just build it anyway. The smart-money will shun North Portland; maybe it’s not “fair,” but most yuppies wouldn’t plunk their money down to live there, it’s not NW or SW—but maybe you can find contractors who will put up cheapo housing in the area. Good luck.

    I was a union carpenter for thirty years. Never go to work on any of the MAX projects, but from reliable sources I heard there was a lot of tomfoolery—-which now is par for the course on government projects.

  8. Hey Ron, diss NoPo at your own risk. Not sure even a union guy could afford it any more.

  9. Not sure, but I think Anon is saying – less than diplomatically – that despite the constant drumbeat of ATU/Oregonian, TriMet does deliver pretty good service compared to its peers. True that, but still, ya gotta admit the transit bar is pretty low in the US.

    The numbers do bear it out. Perhaps a PT item on precisely how TriMet stacks up nationally and/or in the West in the various categories?

    Or possibly a field trip to the Overlook Neighborhood for some of your commentors. Super nice ten years ago, off the charts now.

  10. “Or possibly a field trip to the Overlook Neighborhood for some of your commentors. ”

    The University of Portland/Overlook area has always been quite a bit pricier than the North Portland area in general. I didn’t say that area could not be expensive. The issue was whether the Interstate Ave area would draw significant real estate investment—in dollar figures. So far it hasn’t, and what I said was that North Portland, in general, doesn’t, whereas, for decades it has been the chic’er areas that have, NW, SW and Lloyd district, which in recent deacdes have been high density. North Portland is simply still a riskier place to put your real estate nest egg, or for developers who want to sell $500 sq. ft. condos. Oh yeah, and there aren’t so many $50,000 imported cars there, either.

    “Not sure even a union guy could afford it any more.”
    Any “union guy” with a bit of brains would build their own home, and many of them have, including my father who built his, with family help, and helped keep us off the streets. Why buy a 600 sq. ft condo for 150,000 on Vancouver or Interstate, when for the same money you could have a 1500 sq. ft house on a lot, and pay it off quicker? In fact in the Carpenters union, just about every member is an owner-builder or remodeler, and some even have extensive real estate holdings.

    Maybe even including a cheapo motor hotel on Interstate Ave….

  11. Why buy a 600 sq. ft condo for 150,000 on Vancouver or Interstate, when for the same money you could have a 1500 sq. ft house on a lot, and pay it off quicker?

    Because for that money, you’d have to build it in Vancouver? :)

    Location, location, location.

    Maybe even including a cheapo motor hotel on Interstate Ave….

    Back when Interstate Avenue was US99W, and I-5 didn’t exist, a “motor hotel” there might make economic sense. Today, there’s probably better (i.e. more economically productive) things one could do with the real estate–though keeping an existing motor hotel (possibly repurposed to serve a different segment of the lodging market) might be a better investment than tearing it down and building something else.

    But North Portland has been gentrifying quite a bit. Possibly too much–many members of the long-standing African-American community in parts of NoPo are finding themselves no longer to afford living there, and community businesses likewise being displaced by bistros and other things that appeal to (mostly white) yuppies.

  12. “But North Portland has been gentrifying quite a bit.”

    >>>> BUT more so on Vancouver/Williams, located on a BUS line, than on Interstate Ave. Very telling; it just goes to show that you don’t have to spend $$$$ on light rail for development.

  13. you don’t have to spend $$$$ on light rail for development.

    Generally, the primary purpose of light rail isn’t development (Streetcar may be another matter); though better transit alternatives are certainly a valuable amenity.

  14. Having owned a house in North Portland since 1995, I have observed and marveled at the changes throughout the area. Gentrification on Williams and on Mississippi (and Alberta east of MLK) has been amazingly rapid but what correlation there might be to transit service is tenuous at best. The bus lines travel through the new commercial districts but don’t carry much of the traffic *to* the districts.

    The bus service in the area hasn’t changed much at all over the years and much of the area was terribly rundown for a long time.

  15. Jimbobpdx –

    I’ve been wondering the same thing about TriMet v. comps. The FTA’s Transit Profile has a bunch of stuff and APTA’s Fact Book – Appendix B does direct ranking. APTA also provides .xls files on things like farebox recovery and average vehicle age. The operators’ web sites show current fares.

    Anyway, the FTA profiles show service area populations as distinct from MSA’s making it a little easier to compare systems. The following data show the 12 service areas with populations closest to TriMet (1.49 million) and is from 2011 except base fares which are current.

    Abbreviations:
    Pop = Service area populations in thousands
    Veh = Buses/light rail vehicles operated in peak service
    PT = Passenger Trips i.e. boarding rides in thousands
    BF = Base Fare ($, Bus, adult, cash)
    FRR = Fare Recovery Ratio (%)(Ops(& System?) – no capital)

    City/Operator………………………………………..Pop…….Veh………….PT……….BF……..FRR
    Portland/TriMet……………………………………..1,490….520/103…..104,644…2.50…….25
    Garden City/MTA Long Island Bus(1)……………1,344….255/0……….30,660…2.25…….31
    Oakland/AC Transit(2)……………………………..1,415….493/0……….58,086…2.10…….17
    Pittsburgh/Port Authority of Allegheny County…1,415….607/48……..63,837…2.50(3)…25
    Hampton Roads/Hampton Roads Transit(4)……1,440…..221/0………16,543…1.50……..21
    San Bernardino/Omnitrans………………………..1,460…..139/0………15,040…1.50(5)…19
    Yaphank/Suffolk County Dept. of Public Works..1,493…..133(6)/0…….6,775…2.00…….13
    West Covina/Foothill Transit………………………1,516…..266(7)/0……13,938…1.25…….29
    St Louis/Metro……………………………………….1,540…..316/58……..42,971…2.00(8)…20
    San Antonio/VIA Metropolitan Transit……………1,556…..345/0………45,494…1.20(9)…15
    Atlanta/MARTA……………………………………….1,575…..490/0(10)..139,873…2.50…….22
    Phoenix/Valley Metro………………………………..1,665….427(11)/0….37,127…2.00……19
    Riverside/Riverside Transit Agency……………….1,700….132(12)/0…….8,092…1.50……21

    Notes:
    (1) buses now owned by county,separated from MTA, renamed NICE (Naussau Inter County Express), doesn’t include Long Island Railroad
    (2) separate from BART heavy rail, transfer fees
    (3) has free zone, transfer fee, light rail surcharge
    (4) now has LRT
    (5) full fare transfer
    (6) contracted service, doesn’t include Long Island Railroad, transfer fee
    (7) contracted service, transfer fee
    (8) light rail surcharge, transfer fee
    (9) transfer fee
    (10) 188 heavy rail vehicles, all passengers must have EFP card
    (11) contracted service, new LRT not on 2011 report, full fare/day pass transfer
    (12) 72 directly operated & 60 contracted buses

    This post is not meant to be an authoritative end-all; just a starting point on a few criteria. I probably missed a transfer policy somewhere.

    TriMet really does well in providing trips in proportion to population. MARTA does better, but that may be due to out of area riders using the heavy rail service.

    TriMet’s transfer policy is much more liberal than that of many operators. Some don’t even say what their policy is which gives the impression that they probably don’t offer them.

    Our fares are at the high end, but not exorbitantly so, especially when transfer policies are considered. One concern with TriMet fares is that the base fare is not only one of the highest in the nation, but it is also higher in real terms than it has ever been (partially due to the elimination of zones) and is also higher in proportion to the average fare than it has ever been. IOW, full fare riders are carrying an ever more disproportionate share of the load. TriMet is supposed to address this issue in July.

    The table doesn’t show fleet average age, and TriMet is tied with Michael Moore’s Flint for having the oldest buses at 12.9 years for all public operators with more than 30 buses. It’s kind of interesting that TriMet is installing paper transfer dispensers on buses while it’s still studying going to EFP. Meanwhile, Salem’s Cherriots are field testing EFP cards.

    All in all, TriMet may well be doing a better than average job in many respects, but that doesn’t excuse the district for not doing anything about WES, dereliction of bus service, subsidizing permanent fire sale streetcar fares while raising our fares and reducing our service, spending so much money on MLR, etc, etc.

  16. I’m not saying that the Interstate Ave area (where the MAX actually is) is not gentrifying. This is indeed happened to a degree when the MAX went in, and I expect my neighborhood in SE to also gentrify when the Milwaukie MAX is completed (although I think other areas of the line such as near the switching yards will not, and about 1 1/2 mile stretch near Westmoreland Park and the Eastmoreland golf course is already gentrified.)

    However, I have not seen any indications of new, mid level residences on Interstate Ave., although there are some lower end new condos. There are a lot of other areas in Portland—-such as in pricier neighborhoods or areas with views that probably offer better opportunity. But in some of these the zoning may not allow higher density, such as an R-7 zoning. That tend to reduce the number of people getting in on it, but not the appreciation.

    I would say that MLK Bv. has improved a lot in the last decade and probably has further to go. I also think the OMSI cluster and the Rose Garden/Lloyd cluster will be trendy, although other parts of the Central Eastside District will be a tougher sell.

    People are pretty choosy of where to buy their residences. And things like RR switching yards, interchanges, run down old commercial buildings or neighbors you don’t like have a big effect. So the other amenities that a neighborhood has to offer have to overcome those. The Pearl District can work with the old warehouses, because it is close to everything.
    Don’t take it personally…..

  17. The standards used are defined here: http://tinyurl.com/8fzekec

    So, what if a contractor is a ES(M/W/D)B? As in a Emerging Small Business that’s owned/controlled by a minority or woman?

    Also, I’m pretty sure Lenny was referring to the BUILDING of Interstate MAX, NOT the surrounding neighborhoods. (And while we’re on the subject of handing out government money, congrats Lenny on your JARC funding)

  18. TriMet’s job is not to create jobs.

    If TriMet truly wants to tout its “diversity”, TriMet knows that bus riders are far more “diverse” than rail riders. Start there.

    Start by providing statistics about how well TriMet is improving bus service to areas of “diversity” and the investment made in “diverse” neighborhoods with newer buses, bus stops, and so on.

    Then, prove that TriMet is increasing ridership across all groups – both “diverse” and “non-diverse”.

    And if TriMet really wants to…they can call out how many bus drivers and mechanics are “diverse”

    But TriMet doesn’t tout any of those numbers…

  19. I think this whole “equity” thing stinks. By that reasoning, why should I not be on an equal footing with some of the trust fund West Hills’ babies, instead of having to work for everything? Rich liberals just figure everyone else should fall in line with their upper class moral code.

  20. I think this whole “equity” thing stinks. By that reasoning, why should I not be on an equal footing with some of the trust fund West Hills’ babies, instead of having to work for everything? Rich liberals just figure everyone else should fall in line with their upper class moral code.

    (?_?)

  21. I think this whole “equity” thing stinks. By that reasoning, why should I not be on an equal footing with some of the trust fund West Hills’ babies, instead of having to work for everything?

    Because that’s not even remotely what equity is about.

  22. Douglas K.:
    I have no responsibility whatsoever for the decisions other people make, or the financial jams that they get themselves in to. Furthermore I am generally opposed to the creation of a new LBJ style Great Society, with imported clientele to make it work, because the Great Society Phase 1 didn’t work all that well either.

    Nobody from the West Hills has ever cut me in on their trust fund or hardly even given me work to do, even though what I do would be the one of the best investments they would ever make. I am sick of these bleeding heart, wealthy liberals around here who like kids discovering some new toy, think the rest of the world doesn’t already know and that somehow they are great geniuses and morally superior to others. That goes for the ego centric stuffed shirts in the City Club, the Multnomah Co. Commissioners, the Portland City Council and just about every other inflated ego “Progressive” fool-organization we have around here.
    I am not a political conservative either and get tired of numerous posters trying to fit me into a box.
    I hope I made that clear.

  23. giving people discounts based on past spending (assuming it can’t be easily manipulated) would help frequent riders enjoy the system at a lower cost. I think this is something that should be supported.

    Ron is advocating punishing people for poor decision-making, something that they are already punished for in other ways. I don’t see why we need to pile on if we can easily avoid it

  24. Ron,

    Many of us liberals (I sure ain’t wealthy and have no trust fund) are equally sick of rich right-wingers, who don’t give a flying **** about anybody but themselves. (I know I’m not talking about you!) But we’re all on this planet together, so I guess we need to put up with one another.

    That said–I might suggest to you that if you find your standard of living deteriorating, that blame likely doesn’t lie with the folks at the bottom of the economic spectrum (and the meager pittance in aid they get from the government); but with the folks at the top, who are structuring things so they get more and more and more and more and more of the pie? And most of these folks, particularly when you get into the billionaire’s club, aren’t liberals. For every Michael Bloomberg or George Soros, there are a dozen or more Charles Kochs or Richard Mellon Scaifes.

  25. I am a political independent, but at times I find the attitude of Portland liberals to be insufferable.

  26. “For every Michael Bloomberg or George Soros, there are a dozen or more Charles Kochs or Richard Mellon Scaifes.”

    Maybe in the billionaires, but corporate CEO’s are now about 50 pc. Republicans, and 50 pc. Democrats and independents. This is due to the burgeoning of new industries.

    I describe myself as a “conservative populist.” I was a registered Democrat but then went independent three decades ago. As far as “the poor” my own family has been able to accumulate virtually nothing until my generation, and our family had a disabled adult (my uncle) living with them, who got $35/mo on SSI. I’m not necessarily quibbling with Tri_Met helping out certain people. In fact another relative of mine has brought up transportation needs, since he is raising a disabled son, singlehanded.

    In trying to stop the CRC, we are now running up against well organized trade union support, so to me that just shows that government allocations have reached an excessive level where organizations I would have believed in are now begging for unneeded projects. It just seems that Portland politics have adopted a very narrow, single-minded underlying philosophy and I get tired of being misunderstood.

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