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My Reactions to the TriMet GM Appointment
I’m getting quoted in snippets in the media, so I thought it would be useful to express my full thoughts on the appointment of Neil McFarlane as TriMet General Manager. First, my congratulations to Neil. I’ve had the chance to work with him on the board of Portland Streetcar, Inc. He is a talented administrator…
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Totally Opaque Selection Process Will Produce New TriMet GM Tomorrow
The grapevine suggests that Grace Crunican will be the new General Manager. Before her stint in Seattle, Grace was also ODOT Director here in Oregon.
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Hope for Transit Operations?
Congressional surface transportation chair Jim Oberstar is reported by Streetsblog to be in support of allowing Federal formula funds for transit to be used for operations, not just capital. Interestingly, APTA (the association of transit agencies) has historically been opposed to this. Now perhaps if Congress offered additional funds for operations…
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If I Were Asking the Questions
If I were on the interview committee for TriMet’s General Manager position, here’s what I’d be asking: How will you ensure that the agency has sufficient financial reserves to whether economic downturns without extensive service cuts? How would you develop a series of measures to determine if transit service is being provided equitably across geographic…
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Another Attempt at a TriMet Riders Union
Last year there was an effort to form a Transit Riders Union. I don’t know the official state of that effort (someone please comment and tell us) but I understand that effort has factionalized somewhat. Now OPAL (Organizing People – Activating Leaders), a local environmental justice organization, is working on organizing TriMet riders, using principles…