As TriMet’s town-hall style public forums and meetings regarding its $17 million budget deficit and subsequent systemic changes come to an end, Portland-area communities could soon see how their input factors into TriMet’s proposed changes.
According to TriMet, it has been revising its initial budget proposals to incorporate input from the Portland and outlying communities, and while the final budget has yet to be released, the proposals have been refined for further analysis and discussion.
“The full budget has not been released yet,” said Mary Fetsch, TriMet’s chief media relations officer. Fetsch estimates that a final budget will be released sometime in mid-April, after the agency reviews the feedback from the second round of town-hall style public hearings held throughout March.
Feedback from these past events will likely be factored into TriMet’s final budget proposal and ultimately the actual functioning budget. “Additional changes to the proposal will be made based on feedback from hearings and other public comments,” Fetsch said.
One of the biggest sources of controversy regarding TriMet’s budget proposals has been its suggested service cuts, and recent versions of the budget proposals indicate that while cuts in service will still be made, the number of cuts have been significantly reduced. “About half the service cuts have been taken off the table,” Fetsch said.
In order to make up for less service cuts, TriMet has outlined its plans to find revenue gains within its own operations. Fetsch said that TriMet is looking at “internal efficiencies, including layoffs and program cuts to close the $12 to $17 million shortfall.” The initial proposal indicated $500,000 would come from internal reductions, but that has now been increased to $1.2 million. The most recent proposal notes the streamlining of TriMet’s internal functionality through administrative layoffs and fiscal cuts in TriMet’s various transit support departments and programs.
Despite the reduction in service cuts, the elimination of some bus routes and the Free Rail Zone still stand. The current proposal shows the elimination of the Free Rail Zone would generate $2.7 million in yearly revenue. “If we don’t eliminate the Free Rail Zone, it would require an additional 10-cent increase in fares,” Fetsch said.
Philip Bachman is a freshman Japanese major who lives on campus. For him, the elimination of the Free Rail Zone wouldn’t be that big of a change. “Cities need to make money somehow. Anywhere that is in the Free Rail Zone is a short distance from campus,” Bachman wrote in an email.
For many Portland State students, though, eliminating the Free Rail Zone would have significant impact on how they commute to campus and around the city.
Social sciences freshman Katie Schrattenholzer said that getting rid of the Free Rail Zone would have the greatest impact. “I ride the MAX downtown all the time, and as a college student, the idea of having to pay for a ride is daunting,” Schrattenholzer wrote in an email.
I’m pretty bummed about it,” wrote political science freshman Kevin Rackham in an email. Rackham is a daily TriMet rider and uses the Free Rail Zone “at least once a week.” For him, Portland’s public transit system was a big draw in choosing to attend PSU. “I understand it’s really expensive to run, but it was one of the main reasons I was so excited to come to PSU in the first place,” Rackham added.
In addition to eliminating the Free Rail Zone, under-used or overlapping bus routes will be terminated to reduce costs by a yearly $1.1 million. According to the TriMetwebsite, 10 low-ridership bus lines would be removed from service and 15 would be reconfigured to reduce overlapping. This could mean more transfers for bus riders, making the daily navigation of public transportation more tedious. However, TriMet is “no longer proposing to discontinue weekend service on any bus lines, or reduce MAX service,” the website states.
In response to the proposed service cuts, Schrattenholzer said that it would be TriMet’s “responsibility to make sure they’re cutting the right things and to make the most of the revenue that would be gained from them.”
Another big source of controversy—the flat-fare increase and elimination of zones—remains in the budget. However, the one-way ticket proposal “is off the table—at least for now,” according to TriMet’s website.
TriMet is also planning to reduce its annual contribution to the Portland Streetcar, projecting a savings of $300,000 per year. According to Fetsch, the elimination of the Free Rail Zone is in line with the Streetcar’s plans. “The Portland Streetcar is proposing to begin charging fares later this year, so it seemed a natural shift for TriMet,” she said.
As mid-April approaches, PSU students and Portland community members alike will be on the lookout forTriMet’s finalized budget.
“I will definitely be following the news on TriMet,”Schrattenholzer said, “because it could directly affect my day-to-day life.”
More information on TriMet’s proposals as well as the projected budget schedule can be found on its website: trimet.org/mailforms/budgetproposal_refined.