TriMet’s Existential Crisis
By John A. Charles, Jr. For those of us who came of age…
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Metro Gives Up on Reducing Traffic Congestion
By John A. Charles, Jr. For the past 30 years, opinion polls have…
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It’s Time to Bring Transit into the Twenty-First Century
By Mia Tiwana Portland’s TriMet transit agency and the Metro regional government have…
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Press Release: Cascade Policy Institute Report Recommends Ways TriMet Can Modernize Transit Service for the 21st Century
September 14, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
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TriMet in the Twenty-First Century
By Randal O’Toole Executive Summary The pandemic has made it painfully clear that…
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Westside MAX, Still a Dream at 25
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet’s Blue rail line to Hillsboro opened on…
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Making Driving More Expensive Won’t Fix Oregon’s Congested Roads
By Micah DeSilva Metro is the regional government of the greater Portland region….
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The Ghost Train
By Sam Herrin Metro’s 2023 Regional Transportation Plan calls for expanding many different…
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Comments on Urban Mobility Strategy Finance Plan
John A. Charles, Jr.Cascade Policy Institute Submitted to theOregon Transportation CommissionJune 27, 2023…
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A Nightmare Waiting to Happen: Parking at 3000 SE Powell
By Ethan Rohrbach “3000 SE Powell Boulevard” is the name of Home Forward’s…
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Replacing the I-5 Interstate Bridge Is Not a Solution for Anything
By John A. Charles, Jr. Over the next four weeks, the Oregon legislature…
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Money for Nothing
By John A. Charles, Jr. Over the next five weeks, the Oregon legislature…
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Time to Sound-Off on ODOT’s Tolling Proposal
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. In about 18 months, Portland-area drivers will be paying…
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Comments on I-205 Toll Project Environmental Assessment
Eric Fruits, Ph.D.Cascade Policy Institute Submitted to theOregon Department of TransportationApril 6, 2023…
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ODOT Admits Its Tolls Will Make Oregonians Worse Off
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. In about 18 months, Portland-area drivers will be paying…
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Rose Quarter Highway Project Should Focus on Congestion and Traffic Safety. Period.
By John A. Charles, Jr. In 2017, when the Oregon Legislature authorized a…
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Snowstorm Shows Taxpayers the City of Portland’s Dystopian Side
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week’s snowstorm was more than a snow-pocalypse, it…
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ODOT Says Households Will Pay $575 a Year in Its First Round of Tolls
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This next week is going to be a big…
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When the State Stays Silent, It’s Easy to Assume the Worst
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. What do spy balloons, a state liquor scandal, and…
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Oregon Must Stop Outsourcing Policymaking to California’s Unelected Bureaucrats
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. At the end of last year, the Oregon Environmental…
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ODOT Is Gassed Up and Ready to Go on Tolling: But They Don’t Know Where They’re Going
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. “We got a full tank of gas, half a…
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A Holiday Wishlist for Oregon
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. ‘Tis the season for holiday wishes. And, toward that…
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Tolling’s Political Pile-Up
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. If the Oregon Department of Transportation has its way,…
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For Oregon’s New Governor, Great Power Comes with Great Responsibility
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. It’s the day after Election Day and the votes…
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Oregon Needs a Free-Market Makeover
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D “What’s the one thing you’d do to fix Oregon?”…
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Portland’s “EV Ready Code” Isn’t That Electric
By Mia Tiwana Portland City Council is trying its best to bring electric…
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Plans Are in Place to Force Oregonians to Pay for the Privilege of Waiting in Traffic
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Are you ready to pay a toll to cross…
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The MAX Yellow Line Doesn’t Deserve a Green Light
By Taylor Marks Over-promised and under-delivered. Throughout its 18-year life, TriMet’s Yellow Line…
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Press Release: The I-5 Bridge Replacement Project’s Administrators Are Misleading State Legislators About Light Rail
May 19, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts:Micah PerryOffice: (503) 242-0900Mobile: (303) [email protected]…
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Better Late Than Never at the Expo Center
By Micah Perry For years, Portland residents have dealt with homeless individuals parking…
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Roads Are Infrastructure Worthy of Investment
By Micah Perry The Oregon Transportation Commission recently decided how to allocate $412…
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A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Shake Up Metro
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. With the retirement of Bob Stacey earlier this month,…
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Metro’s Draft TSMO (Transportation System Management and Operations) Plan
By John A . Charles, Jr.TO: Metro Transportation Planning DepartmentFM: John A. Charles,…
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ODOT’s use of inaccurate data will yield incorrect results
By Rachel Dawson Oregon elected officials and appointed staff love to claim they…
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A Pile-Up in the Rose Quarter
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Apparently, “COVID time” is a real thing. A week…
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Roads, Not Light Rail, Get Us Through Extreme Weather
Light rail has problems with reliability despite massive government funding. By Stew Robertson…
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Anti-Freeway Group Clogs the Courts to Keep Congestion
The “No More Freeways” mantra is extending Portland’s worst bottleneck By Vlad Yurlov…
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Oregon Transportation Policy Needs to Learn from Its Mistakes
The Portland metro region tried everything to reduce automobile reliance. It’s time to…
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TriMet’s Zombie Light Rail Project
By John A. Charles, Jr. President Trump is not the only one refusing…
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Dude, where’s my car? New Oregon data shows where electric vehicles are located and where they continue to remain a rarity
By Rachel Dawson Where are all the electric cars in Oregon? If you…
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Low-Income Oregonians Need Wheels, Not Another Light Rail Line
By Rachel Dawson Want to help a low-income individual prosper economically? Give them…
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Metro’s Mission Creep
By Vlad Yurlov Metro is expected to spend over $1.4 billion this fiscal…
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Metro Pushes Transportation Bond While Acknowledging Serious Problems
Oregon’s Business Community Is Challenging the $7.8 Billion Measure By Vlad Yurlov After…
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Metro’s Untimely, Nonsensical Light-Rail Project
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last month, the Metro Council voted to send…
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Portland Politicians Suffer From the Edifice Complex
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. On July 24th, the New York Times ran a…
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TriMet’s decreasing ridership makes the SW Corridor project obsolete
By Rachel Dawson TriMet’s weekly system boardings were down 68% in May compared…
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Metro’s Transportation Package: Progressive Politics Mask Regressive Tax
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. While much of the region is stuck at home…
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Cars, not transit, are the COVID-19 transportation heroes
By Rachel Dawson When it comes to commuting during COVID-19, private vehicles are…
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ODOT Must Move Forward on the Rose Quarter I-5 Bottleneck
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week, the Oregon Transportation Commission took a significant…
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Cascade Policy Institute Asks the Federal Transit Administration to Enforce Light Rail Contracts with TriMet
March 9, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. (503)…
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TriMet Drops Ridership Estimate by 13% for Tigard Light Rail
By John A. Charles, Jr. After eight years of bragging that the proposed…
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Frustrated with Traffic? According to PBOT, That’s Your Problem
By Rachel Dawson The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), the agency charged with…
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Oregon and Washington Need to Think Bigger on I-5 Bridge Project
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. “It’s time to get this done!” Governor Kate Brown…
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Why are rural, low-income residents subsidizing Teslas for Oregon’s urban elite?
By Rachel Dawson Oregon state officials recently celebrated helping the state reach 25,000…
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T2020 is the transportation measure that Metro wants—not Portland residents
By Rachel Dawson Is it possible to spend billions of dollars on transportation…
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Deal With It—Commuters Need Cars
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. How did you get to work today? If you’re…
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Like Other MAX Projects, TriMet’s Green Line Underdelivers at 10th Anniversary
By Rachel Dawson TriMet has proven time and again that it is unable…
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Shrinking Roads and Rising Fatalities Don’t Bode Well for Portland’s Vision Zero
By Rachel Dawson Portland hasn’t seen 50 road fatalities since 1996. With 43…
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The MAX Yellow Line: A Look Back After 15 Years
By Rachel Dawson TriMet’s MAX Yellow Line first opened 15 years ago in…
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Better Buses May Be the Transit Solution the SW Corridor Needs
By Rachel Dawson TriMet may have found a better alternative to the proposed…
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Portland’s Temporary Gas Tax Should Stay Just That
By Rachel Dawson Portland’s temporary gas tax should stay just that: temporary. Portland…
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Congestion Pricing in Portland: Good in Theory, Bad in Practice
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. “Good in theory, bad in practice.” Sure, it’s a…
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Think TriMet’s New Electric Buses Run on Wind Power? Think Again.
By Rachel Dawson TriMet unveiled five new battery-electric buses (BEBs) in April 2019,…
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WES at 10: Time to Admit Failure
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet recently marked the ten-year anniversary of the…
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You and Your Car: Portland Public Enemy No. 1
By Micah Perry Driving around Portland could get a lot more expensive. The…
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Congestion by Design on the New Sellwood Bridge
By John A. Charles, Jr. Portland-area motorists who have to regularly cross the…
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SW Corridor Project: A Net Negative for the Environment
By John A. Charles, Jr. Portland politicians claim to be concerned about carbon…
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The New Sellwood Bridge: Promises Unfulfilled
By John A. Charles. Jr. Executive Summary Portland has an international reputation for…
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Press Release: Multi-year case study of Multnomah County’s Sellwood Bridge explains the history behind worsening traffic congestion in the SE Portland bridge corridor
June 6, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900…
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Wind Energy is Just Hot Air
By Miranda Bonifield TriMet recently announced its first “zero-emission” bus is ready to…
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Road Widening, Congestion Pricing Can Improve Metro-Area Drive Times
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. I’ve got a big family, which means we do…
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Metro’s Priorities Don’t Match Yours
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Portland regional government known as Metro recently…
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How Ride Hailing Services Can Complement Bus and Rail—and Save TriMet Money
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. After teaching an evening class at Portland State University,…
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Ride-Hailing Could Give an Uber-Needed Lyft to TriMet Service
By Miranda Bonifield TriMet’s ridership has been steadily declining in recent years, to…
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ODOT’s Passenger Rail Project Equals Increasing Costs, High Taxpayer Subsidies
By Justus Armstrong The Oregon Department of Transportation recently published its Tier 1…
Read Blog DetailPress Release: Report shows ride-hailing services would be a viable solution for TriMet’s high-cost bus lines
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900 [email protected] PORTLAND, Ore….
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Ride Hailing as a Solution to TriMet’s High-Cost Bus Lines
A Proposal for a Pilot Project By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Summary and recommendation…
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Proof by Assertion
By John A. Charles, Jr. Many Portland drivers probably wonder why there are…
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TriMet’s New Electric Buses Will Be Less Reliable, More Costly
By John A. Charles, Jr. The TriMet board recently voted to replace the…
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Metro Should Let Transit Customers Drive Transportation Innovation
By Justus Armstrong ABC’s Shark Tank may be coming to the Portland region—not…
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Electric Buses: Another Costly Fad
By John A. Charles, Jr. The TriMet Board recently approved a plan to…
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Moving in the Wrong Direction
By Jakob Puckett Oregonians have a proud tradition of giving back to distinguished…
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When Did ODOT Become a Consumer Advocate?
By Jakob Puckett Do you need to be protected from your own judgment?…
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High Costs and Low Ridership Are Nothing New for Southwest Corridor Project
By Rachel Dawson Decreasing ridership paired with increasing costs makes for a bad…
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New Transportation Tax Is on the Wrong Side of History
By John A. Charles, Jr. Oregon employers began receiving notices this week regarding…
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TriMet Shows Pension Reform Is Possible
By Scott Shepard and John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon legislature recently adjourned…
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In 9 Years, WES Hasn’t Decreased Westside Congestion
By John A. Charles, Jr. February marked the nine-year anniversary of the Westside…
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WES at 9: Time to Admit the Mistake
By John A. Charles, Jr. February marked the nine-year anniversary of the Westside…
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TriMet Shows Public Pension Reform Is Possible
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon legislature recently adjourned and once again…
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TriMet Shows That Public Pension Reform Is Possible
By Scott Shepard and John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Legislature is currently…
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Following in TriMet’s Tracks: Defined-Contribution Pensions a Necessary First Step to Oregon’s Fiscal Health
By Scott Shepard Scott Shepard is a lawyer and was a visiting law…
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TriMet Needs a Broader Definition of Diversity
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet has been recruiting a new General Manager…
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For Green Activists, the Cleanest Cars in History Are Bad News
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Legislature convened again this week. A…
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Road Policy Belongs to Those Who Show Up
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Department of Transportation is hosting three…
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Poll Shows Voters Are Smarter Than Politicians Think
By John A. Charles, Jr. In November the regional government, Metro, released the…
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Tolling People on to Portland’s Highways
By John A. Charles, Jr. Earlier this year the state legislature passed a…
Read Blog DetailPortland’s latest attempt to centrally plan transportation patterns is backfiring
By Jessica Miller Portland has a longstanding history of attempting to socially engineer…
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Transportation Finance Isn’t as Complicated as Legislators Make It
By John A. Charles, Jr. Some members of the Oregon Legislature think you…
Read Blog DetailThe Case of the Missing Transit Money
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last week the TriMet Board adopted a budget…
Read Blog DetailThe Greatest Challenge to Traffic Safety? It’s Not Residential Speed Limits
By John A. Charles, Jr. Earlier this week the Oregon House of Representatives…
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