Portland transit up and down

[Stephane Dumas]

I spotted this article via a post on Skyscraperpage forum, it's at  http://www.humantransit.org/2010/01/portland-a-challenging-chart.html

Portland is supposed to be one of America's great transit success stories.  Is it still?  Do we know what it's achieving?  Do we know how to measure it?

A couple of months ago Portland reader Adrian Lawson pointed me to an Oregon Catalyst article ridiculing the Portland Metro goal of tripling non-auto mode share by 2035.  The author, John Charles, Jr., is the CEO of the Cascade Policy Institute, a conservative Oregon think tank that opposes Oregon's land use planning system and generally favors roads over transit, so this is not a surprising view.

But the article cited some data that I found curious.  Adrian was kind enough to analyze it for me.

[KEK Inc.]

I used the light rail in Portland once, and I've lived in the area for 6 years.  The only thing I remember about the trip was the weed on the seat and the Spanish automated voice.   If you look at the traffic on the Banfield with those statistics, a third cross-town freeway needs to be built...   

The Mt. Hood Freeway simply put, won't happen.  There can still be a freeway where US-30BYP is.

[xonhulu]

My brother and sister-in-law live out in Aloha (basically Beaverton), and they use MAX all the time: she to get to/from work, both of them to get to shopping, restaurants, etc., and he and I to go downtown to PGE Park or the Rose Garden.  I've left my car at their place and taken MAX to the airport so I don't have to park my car in one of the lots.  It's nice to avoid the bother of bringing a car downtown, where the streets are narrow and crowded and parking is a pain.

But most of the population of the metro area is well away from the few light rail lines, and I can see why those folks would prefer their cars to riding the bus.

[yanksfan6129]

somewhat off topic, but in terms of transit success stories, em, New York, anyone?
Even I commute into NYC by train (I drive my car to Harrison PATH station and take the PATH from there to the WTC)

[Alps]

If you look at debt margins, New York is by far the least unprofitable of American transit systems.  It makes something like 50%-60% of its costs back, if I recall correctly.  Most systems make under 20%.  And yet the MTA is still bitching and moaning - come on guys, you're actually not doing that badly!

[Chris]

Actually, the MTA farebox recovery ratio is only 39.6%. The Farebox operating ratio is 58.5%. Normally, the FRR's are compared.

See here

Farebox Recovery Ratio has a long-term focus. It approximates the percentage of operating and long-term expenses paid for by passenger fare revenue and fare reimbursements. Long-term expenses include costs not funded in the current year such as depreciation for equipment and facilities funded through the capital program and interest expense on bonds. It also includes each agency's estimated share of certain MTA expenses such as the Inspector General and MTA Headquarters.

Farebox Operating Ratio focuses on the agency's operating performance. It approximates the percentage of agency operating expenses paid for by passenger fare revenue and fare reimbursements.

The FOR is only a short-term indicator, that does not represent all expenses.

I also wonder if the income of MTA also includes the toll bridges. If so, the farebox recovery ratio could actually be far lower than 39.6%. The toll revenue of MTA for 2010 is $ 1.4 billion, over 20% of the total revenue.

[KEK Inc.]

New York City is terrible for driving, so it makes sense that public transportation is up (sans taxis).

[Chris]

New York City is not that bad compared to the city centers of Paris, London or Rome. Manhattan parking fees are generally lower than in Amsterdam. A workday of parking in central Amsterdam will cost you $ 60.