There is an article here about neglecting buses for light rail service.  Also Al M & Erik Halstead are notorious for their rants in the blogosphere about how TriMet neglects buses in favor of light rail.  But here’s my question.

Imagine tomorrow, that these people proposing this where in charge;  Lew Church, Jason Barbour, Xander Dunlap, Patrick Ryan, Al M, & Erik Halstead.  What would they do?

If we stopped running light rail tomorrow how would we move the people that ride the blue, red, and yellow lines with buses?  If the budget where to stay EXACTLY what it is today – how would TriMet move the same number of people if we started using only buses?  Please, answer that for me would you guys?

In addition to that explain exactly how TriMet is supposed to not cut service, if they don’t have the money for the service?  If every executive at TriMet and every single office employee was paid the same as the bus drivers tomorrow that would only fund a couple of frequencies, barely enough to even maintain the lines they have.  In addition to that it would mean we’d lose transit tracker, scheduling would have to be printed and we’d probably lose the TriMet website just to point out a few things.  So when the ridership plummets what is the proposal to fix that?

I guess what I want to see among these people are legitimate fixes.  What are their solutions.  Not the mythical fantasy of "if we’d spent all that money on Bus Rapid Transit" or "if we’d only harness the power of the sun" or other nonsense.  Take a look at the current budget (not the odd $900 million that is presented in the Oregon Line Article, but the real operations budget) and tell me how you’d fix the problems.

Another thing I’ve noticed is this Transit Riders Union.  They’re attacking the cuts also, but I’ve seen no real solutions.  Not tangible ones that will actually save TriMet the money needed to maintain operations.  If we stopped building light rail and instead put all that money toward bus operations we’d be bankrupt before the end of the year just trying to handle the rush hour volume of passengers that light rail handles.

So really, where are the solutions of decreased service isn’t it?

Alright, it is time to get the interviews rolling again!  First in line is a tech community illuminati Tyler Stricka.  This guy does some great work for McAffee Software.  You can check out his portfolio and such.  Seriously, go check out his site it is an impressive array of graphics and design work!  Also Tyler is an avid Twitterer, so feel free to jump online for a tweet or two via @tylersticka.  Two of his pieces are shown to the right, click either of them to check out full size images on his site of the graphics.

Now, on to the interview.

1. What is your occupation?  What exactly does the occupation entail?

I'm a designer, artist, speaker and educator, currently employed full-time at McAfee. I help create web experiences, iconography and identity work in digital and traditional media.

2. How long have you been in the occupation?

Part-time since 2002, full-time since 2007.

3. What city & state do you live in?

Hillsboro, Oregon.

Now for the commuting nitty gritty.

1. What mode (car, bike, foot, boat, airplane, train, airship, etc) of transport do you use for getting to and from work?

Car. I may relocate soon within walking distance, which would be a lot more fun.

2. How long does each leg of your commute take?  If you don't commute, how much time do you spend getting to and from your desk or place of work?

Ten to fifteen minutes, depending on traffic.

3. How do you pass the time while commuting or traveling?  Read, write, compute, chat, other?

I listen to music, and the occasional podcast. I love reading, but I can't surrender my vision while commuting.

4. If you had your choice, what mode would you take?

Walking or train; either lets me be contemplative during my journey in ways driving can't match.

5. If there was one thing you could change about your commute, what would it be?

Less of it! And crazy stoplights on Cornell Road don't help much.

6. If gas went up to $5.00 a gallon, how would that change your commute?

Unfortunately, I'm just far enough away for biking to be inconvenient and strenuous, but just close enough that the impact on my gas bill wouldn't be incredibly severe. I wouldn't like it, but I'd probably maintain my current regiment.

Commuting Interview Statistics

• Occupations: Software Developer, Software Architect, QA Analyst, Graphic Design, Swiss Army Knife/Rock Star, Multimedia Journalist, Photographer
• Prospective Mode Trip Count:
  • Walk: 1
  • Bike: 2
  • Bus: 2
  • Streetcar: 1
  • Automobile: 2
  • Light Rail: 1  (Phoenix Valley Metro x1)
• Cities:  Portland (OR) x4, Vancouver (WA), Phoenix (AZ)
• Commute Activities:
  • Podcasts: 3
  • RSS Feeds: 1
  • Blackberry: 1
  • Music: 1
  • E-mail, Txt, Twitter, Moblog: 1
• Commute Times:
  • Total For Everyone:  325 minutes door to door.
  • Average Commute:  54 minutes door to door.
• Commute Changes:
  • Make it shorter: 2
  • Nothing: 1
  • No cars: 1
  • Wifi on Light Rail: 1
• $5.00 Commute Changes:
  • Nothing:  4
  • Bus Pass Would Increase: 1
  • Would help decide about what to do with the car:  1  (by getting rid of it)
• Total Interviews Published: 7

Cincinnati officials have hopes of building a $128 million streetcar line in the city and are coming to Portland to check our system out.  It makes me wonder if they’ll get to actually hear both sides of the coin, the positives and negatives of the system.  I fear as systems are built around the country there will continue to be the skewed view of the transit planners and the extremely skewed view of the anti-transit pro-roads people.  It seems the middle ground of logical infrastructure will remain the distinct characteristic of America’s past and not our future.

So if any Cincinnati Streetcar people want some more thoughts, from an informed individual, you guys should shoot me an e-mail.  I also could speak distinctly to the conservative base that holds sway in the Cincinnati area.  Good luck to ole’ Cincinnati on getting something that works for them, I sure hope they do it well informed.  I can guarantee Cincinnati one thing, they will NOT see the level of development Portland has, so that skewed view hopefully won’t cloud the decisions for that city.  After all, Cincinnati seriously needs some help on a number of fronts.  Portland, by comparison, has made no mistakes.