Beyond the bus

TriMet’s bus fleet is one of the oldest in the metro system.

In the increasingly cold weather, these 17-, 18- and 1900 series buses, all almost 20 years old and made by Flxible, are at risk of breakdown as age takes its toll. Yet their maintenance staff continues to clean and polish these dinosaurs while the economy is getting back on its feet.

They are waiting on future rail development, which will continue to hold consistent focus and will help increase efficiency of bus service. An example of this is the recent addition of the Green Line, which decreased the need of buses on line 72 down Southeast 82nd Avenue.

Bus and bus-service maintenance receives almost half of its funding from taxes, 22 percent from fare and 20 percent from state and federal operating grants and other sources. Bus purchases, replacements and wages are paid for by this general fund. On the other hand, TriMet’s rail expansion primarily comes from federal capital grants, which are allocated in advance for major projects. These, by law, cannot be used to fund bus operations—that would be a misuse of federal capital.

Meanwhile, TriMet has put Measure 26-119 on the ballot to “help enhance service for seniors and people with disabilities” by purchasing at least 150 new buses and improving stop and station amenities, thereby helping the bus fleet receive a much-needed update.

Rail systems are simply much more efficient than buses, both in the amount of speed that can be achieved and in sustainability. For example, magnet trains, also known as Maglev trains transport people from Shanghai, China to the airport, hitting a top speed of 268 mph. The airport is 18 miles away, and the trip lasts just over seven minutes.

This speed is achieved by means of magnetic propulsion and monorail structure, a suspended system that tends to diminish human targets along its tracks—quite the opposite of TriMet’s MAX, which led to 20 fatalities between 1998–2006, while buses led to 10 during the same time period.

Of course, we can’t expect a Maglev system to come to Portland any time soon, but perhaps we should be focusing on preparing for the future rather than keeping with a nearly out-of-date method of mass transit, such as busses.

From the Nissan Leaf to the Chevy Volt, companies are investing in new methods of transportation. Google has officially programmed a driverless car and electro-charge stations are popping up in California. Why don’t we wait on purchasing new buses—at least until something better comes out? In fact, there are electric-motor options for buses. It would be a good idea to look into those options for the time being, until we advance our rail systems.

Usually TriMet buys 40 buses annually, but that has been put off in order to combat budget cuts. The money allotted to buying buses has been diverted to maintenance of the aging fleet, while federal money helps out with rail development. We seem to have a dilemma.

TriMet needs capital growth, both because of increasing ridership and in an attempt to keep up with other agencies, so they recently raised the bus fares. They also have to keep day-to-day operations going. Due to high unemployment and low payroll tax revenue, they have lost state and local support and have had to temporarily cut back service.

Given these considerations, it makes sense that TriMet is spending resources on rail development. Once the economy gets back up on its feet, then we’ll have an expanded Street Car and perhaps the rumored Orange Line directed towards southeast Portland. Beyond that, maybe we can hope for even grander future systems, such as the MagLev system.

For now, one can only hope that the bus won’t break down during the daily commute. ?