If you buy more than $50 worth of stuff, Office Depot will deliver for free. But they might deliver it in a carbon-spewing truck, so the city of Portland has given a $6 million, five-year contract to a delivery company that promises to deliver office supplies by electric-powered tricycles.
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As Bojack says, “It’s dopier than any parody that Fred Armisen will ever appear in.”
But the libtards will like it and it will make them feel all green, and that’s all that matters.
Now what O’Toole didn’t want to say is that.
Portland’s contract with Office Depot is worth $6 million over five years. Office Depot subcontracts with a delivery company called Dynamex that subcontracts with B-Line.
My understanding of the article is that the Portland contract with Office Depot is $6 million for the office supplies. Normally Office Depot contracts a delivery company to deliver it with vans, free to the customer – now they are contracting a delivery company to move it with electric tricycles, free to the customer.
I think Antiplanner read it as Portland giving the cyclists $6 million to pedal around a bit. It doesn’t. It would be nice for the cycling company if anyone was that generous.
“Update: Kelly Ball, a spokeswoman for the city, says Portland’s contract with Office Depot is worth $6 million over five years. Office Depot subcontracts with a delivery company called Dynamex that subcontracts with B-Line.”
It’s got to be cheaper to move stuff by bicycles rather than by van. No petrol, no tax, no expensive spare parts, no congestion.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-26341-city_hall_portland_to_get_office_supplies_by_tricycle.html
Underneath all of the dopey and ignorant postings, there is this: 01.30.2011 at 10:57
“The City of Portland and Office Depot contract is a great example of picking the right tool for the right job. Or in this case, using the right delivery method in the right location.
A group of Portland State MBA students, working on their capstone project analyzing B-Line’s business model, performed a cost analysis with current and prospective clients and “validated B-Line’s belief that not only can they provide time compression for local business deliveries, but they can offer a significant cost savings as well.” (http://www.futureforwardmba.com/blog/2011/01/27/b-line-looks-hit-ground-cycling-2011)
In addition to being a cheaper delivery method downtown, B-Line’s tricycle delivery is also more sustainable and provides more local jobs to our community. Exactly what any local government should be encouraging; the economic growth of their community.
Companies like B-Line are the future of our society. They provide a service that is more economical and more sustainable than traditional delivery service.
I say congrats to B-Line, Office Depot, City of Portland, and our community for choosing to think about the future and how we can better live our lives.”
The office products travel thousands of miles from China, in ships, trains, planes and trucks, just to get to those Office Depot stores in Portland. But if that last mile of delivery has low carbon emissions, then Portland can feel superior to other cities.
So now it’s not only subsidies that are the problem, but who the city contracts deliveries with? Is there anything Portland can do that won’t get your panties in a wad?
Here’s the way I see it. If you hate the way Portland does things you probably don’t live there. If you do,it may be time to Tiebout-sort your way out (There’s always the libertarian cesspool known as Houston).
My guess is that Portland doesn’t do things to “feel superior to other cities,” but perhaps to feel good about itself. While the carbon emissions required to get the office supplies to the desk are immense, Protland is trying to do their part. I think the phrase is “Think globally act locally.”
The other phrase is “Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.” Haters!
Is there anything Portland can do that won’t get your panties in a wad?
Is there anything Portland does that you won’t eagerly defend?
I don’t understand what you are saying, bennett.
Clearly Portland does things to feel superior to other cities. How office products get to your city offices on the very last mile of a 5000 mile journey is pretty much the definition of trivial. Spending time and money on a building with its own sewer treatment system and water collection system is the definition of trivial. Their only value is the psychic payment of feeling morally superior. The city could do 1000 times more for the environment if they just turned off street lights after midnight or made city employees wear sweaters, or a thousand other things.
Why else would a city council invest lots of time on an extremely trivial amount of CO2? As Portlandia gently points out, Portland is obsessed with being “better” than Seattle. Its about elitism messaging.
See, we demand gummint cut costs, unless that cost-cutting lowers carbon emissions. That makes Koch feel bad and invalidates our low-wattage conspiracy theorists, so government cost-cutting is bad, bad, badbadbad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!1one! ZOMG!
DS
More clues to harrumphing umbrage:
Ah. They help the poor and weak as well. Extra double-bad. Catalyst for ocial and environmental change. They’re fracking soshulizts on top of that.
DS
Sometimes I wonder if Dan is Highwayman’s alter ego. I do wonder sometimes…….
This is not a big deal — only if the bike service delivery costs more than typical truck delivery — then it is a major cost concern to the taxpayers.
People are dismissing the fact that it’s a lot easier and logistically better to deliver these types of goods via trikes than large trucks which need to park often in awkward traffic moments (especially in dense environments).
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=city+hall&aq=&sll=45.515474,-122.679316&sspn=0.003345,0.00942&ie=UTF8&t=h&rq=1&ev=zi&split=1&radius=0.27&hq=city+hall&hnear=&ll=45.514737,-122.678629&spn=0,0.008256&z=18&layer=c&cbll=45.514825,-122.678584&panoid=0I9euq_ElUGosa6FwgoHgg&cbp=12,330.58,,0,0.63
I agree with the trivial nature of “saving” the planet by having it shipped 2 miles via bike, but I don’t look at issues like that either and support ideas like this due to the aforementioned reasons.
As long as the bikes aren’t clogging up other lanes with their obnoxiously slow speeds, then I think everything regarding this is fine.
Borealis says: “The city could do 1000 times more for the environment if they just turned off street lights after midnight or made city employees wear sweaters, or a thousand other things.”
If the Portland political leadership did such things, Antiplanners all over the world would be up in arms. ‘How dare they socially engineer’ they would cry out. ‘Darkness is unsafe’ and ‘How dare they take away the freedom of the thermostat.’ You’d never hear the end of it.
metrosucks says: “Is there anything Portland does that you won’t eagerly defend?”
I’ve criticized Portland politics and policies numerous times on this blog, even recently on posts you’ve commented on. “Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
ws says: “People are dismissing the fact that it’s a lot easier and logistically better to deliver these types of goods via trikes…”
Good point. Portland gets one right and it’s discounted as a “moral superiority” complex.
“I agree with the trivial nature of “saving†the planet by having it shipped 2 miles via bike, but I don’t look at issues like that either and support ideas like this due to the aforementioned reasons.”
The whole “saving the planet” idea was put in their mouths by Mr. O’Toole and Borealis. Portland pushes the envelope on many fronts. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It seems as though much of what the city does is a pilot for the rest of the country. We should be so lucky to learn from their mistakes and successes. Lord knows we’re not trying anything new down here.
Dan, Thank you making my point more clear.
As you indicated, over several years the tricycle contract has saved the gas of 12,000 miles of travel, which is about equivalent to one less car for one year. It doesn’t even offset the carbon footprint of one of Al Gore’s houses. (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/GlobalWarming/story?id=2906888&page=2)
I don’t know the relevancy of the meals. I suppose it also makes Portland feel superior to have a tricycle charge $.50 per meal for something that is not buying the food, preparing the food, serving the food, or cleaning up. But Most cities get such service for free.
Just admit it libs….you hate cars and love anything anti-car, which is why you are scrambling for reasons to defend this lunacy. Has nothing to do with the viability of the service, which we will probably found out about as soon as it rains. This is literally a glorified third-world type endeavor.
Yes, the icing on the cake is the AlGoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1one!!!! electric bill. It doesn’t get much better than that. Sooooo precious. Bookmarked for the laugh.
DS
I totally forgot about the fact that these supplies would have been delivered for free. But I guess the City of Portland has 6 million just lying around in the, uh, City Hall restroom, and the libtards on this blog are so obsessed with defending Libtardia that no insanity is too extreme to not deserve their accolades.
metrosucks wrote:
“Just admit it libs….you hate cars and love anything anti-car, which is why you are scrambling for reasons to defend this lunacy.”
Nonsense. It’s just that we can do simple maths.
Road capacity is measured in PCUs. When that’s used up, you get a traffic jam.
Car, size 1 PCU, occupancy 1.5, 0.66 PCU / person
Bus, size 2 PCUs, occupancy 30, 0.07 PCU / person
Bicycle, size 0.2 PCUs, occupancy 1, 0.2 PCU / person
Whichever way you look at it, cars are too big. We see this every rush hour, where the cars block each other’s progress. The issue of the day is how you persuade car drivers to switch. What technology or technologies will they accept?
“I totally forgot about the fact that these supplies would have been delivered for free. ”
They still are. See post #3.
Nice shot of 2nd and Pine. I love the Bijou cafe and lived right across the street from it for several years. Great free-range meats and quirky, but highly efficient and professional, wait staff. E-San Thai is just down the block, the best Thai I’ve had in the PNW. Those are the highlights. The low lights are the 10,000 homeless that converge on the area. Oh, and the lack of jobs and high income taxes. And school class sizes. And…and…and…
Ah, Portland.
Should read *3rd and Pine*. Where did the ability to edit comments go?
Boy Portland my not have money for schools but the can fin 6,000,000 to subsidize stupid ideas.
Hey libs remember when Kozmo.com came Portlandia? Kozmo should still be in Portland if bike delivery was so lucrative. I bet I could do the same delivery service with my F-150 for 600,000 and be profitable.
Richard B,
The $6mil is not a subsidy for deliveries, it’s a contract for office supplies. Tis better to read the linked article then take Mr. O’Toole’s word for it.
Frank,
The grass is always greener. You could live in the libertarian wonderland Houston. Great fried chicken, awesome bbq, and no income tax. Of course you have some of the worse public schools in the country, insane property taxes (That’s what you get with no income taxes), high violent crime rates, swamp butt weather for 9 months out of the year, and, and ,and.
Bennett,
The grass IS greener in Washington. Many of the same perks as Portland without many of the drawbacks. Not having to pay a 10% income tax is very nice, and I’d much rather pay a consumption tax. PPS is by no means an educational utopia; its hiring practices and bureaucracy are Byzantine, and it has one of the shortest school years and one of the highest drop out rates. Many public schools face the same issues. It is in fact the public schools who are somewhat responsible for our consumer and debt culture. (Went on a finance field trip where many major corps were represented. In a simulation, students were forced to buy a house, forced to buy a car on credit, forced to buy brand new IKEA furniture, also on credit, forced to get a HomeDepot credit card and charge a few thou a year on it, forced to take out student loans for college. Riding the bus, not an option. Renting a condo in a high-density neighborhood, not an option. Shopping at Good Will, not an option, paying cash for trade school, not an option. Debt, debt, debt. Your only option, children! Be good American consumers!)
But, yeah, I would never live in Houston. I need mountains.
Bennett, still 6mill is steep for office supplies.
Speaking of Houston, If I had $20,000 in cash rather than credit debt I would had moved down to Texas this year. In Houston I saw a ten to one job posting for technicians. Yea I like Oregon scenery but I take Texas over Portland any time. ( I prefer Dallas)
@24:
How do you know $6M is steep for office supplies? Upon what info do you base this claim?
DS
Not surprising that Dan aka Highwayman had to jump in on the 6million thing. He would have made the same comment even if the amount was 100 million.
metro, you undermine yourself. if you think dan and the highwayman are the same, you haven’t been paying attention and you haven’t done your research. dan is intelligent, highly educated, and makes good points (albeit often condescendingly, but that’s easy to ignore). he’s a planner who lives in colorado. the highwayman is a rambling idiot named andrew from florida. they are two different people as the most basic analysis of their writing reveals. now stop slamming dan and contribute to the discussion.