Testimony for the Joint Legislative Committee on the IBR
December 17, 2024 Joint Legislative Committee on the IBRSalem, OR 97301 Dear Committee…
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Extending the Yellow MAX Line to Vancouver Is TriMet’s Worst Idea Yet
By John A. Charles, Jr. At a December 17th meeting of the Joint…
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Portland to Expand Streetcar, Riders Not Included
By John A. Charles, Jr. In mid-November, the Portland City Council approved a…
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Legislative committee wants to extend commuter rail to Salem at a cost of $118 per ride
By John A. Charles, Jr. On February 22, the Joint Committee on Transportation…
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TriMet’s Existential Crisis
By John A. Charles, Jr. For those of us who came of age…
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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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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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TriMet’s Electric Bus Plans Could Burst into Flames
By Mia Tiwana Connecticut’s bus service just pulled its entire fleet of electric…
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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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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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TriMet’s Zombie Light Rail Project
By John A. Charles, Jr. President Trump is not the only one refusing…
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$7 Billion for That?
Metro’s Transportation Tax Will Overspend on Underused Projects By Rachel Dawson and Vlad…
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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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The Era of Permanent Prosperity Is Over: It’s Time for a Serious Budget Discussion
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The 2020 we’re living in is very different from…
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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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The hidden truth behind the Renewable Energy Certificate market
By Rachel Dawson You may have noticed companies and public agencies using the…
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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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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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TriMet Broke Key Promises About MAX
Published in Portland Tribune By Rachel Dawson TriMet’s payroll tax has been increasing…
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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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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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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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Wind Energy is Just Hot Air
By Miranda Bonifield TriMet recently announced its first “zero-emission” bus is ready to…
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Testimony Before the Joint Subcommittee on Capital Construction HB 5005
By John A. Charles, Jr. Members of the subcommittee, my name is John…
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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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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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Electric Buses: Another Costly Fad
By John A. Charles, Jr. The TriMet Board recently approved a plan to…
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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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TriMet Shows Pension Reform Is Possible
By Scott Shepard and John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon legislature recently adjourned…
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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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TriMet Needs a Broader Definition of Diversity
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet has been recruiting a new General Manager…
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