The Oregonian was writing metaphorically when it reported last Tuesday that Portland’s low-capacity trains were “knocked off track by expensive, deferred maintenance.” By Friday, it was no longer a metaphor, as a light-rail car derailed near downtown, shutting down much of the system for several hours.
Transit commuters complained that they were given no information about the shutdown and many waited in increasing frustration as stations became more and more crowded. To make matters worse, the elevator at the Hollywood station, about one station away from the derailment, stopped working as well.
As a “thank you for your patience,” TriMet has announced all rides on its low-capacity trains will be free today.
In an unrelated incident, Portland’s Central streetcar was shut down for much of Saturday due to problems with the overhead wires on the Broadway Bridge.
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Needless to say, none of these problems would exist if TriMet and Portland had stuck with buses rather than expensive rail transit. When a train derails or a streetcar gets stuck, all of the trains or cars on that route have to stop and wait, while passengers have to wait for the transit agency to marshall numerous shuttle buses to get around the problem. When a bus breaks down, other buses can go around it and it is easy to find one bus to replace it.
Buses are also less likely to kill people than trains. A Portland woman and her adult, disabled son were killed Saturday in a sad accident when the son jumped on her lap sending her wheelchair into a light-rail train leaving the platform they were on. This comes just eleven days after a pedestrian was killed by a Portland light-rail train. While some would say these accidents were the fault of the victims, not the light-rail operators, the numbers show that putting 100,000-pound trains on the same streets as pedestrians and cars does not create safe conditions for the pedestrians and cars.
A Portland bus was involved in a horrific accident in 2010 when the driver made an illegal left turn and slammed into five pedestrians, killing two. Statistically, however, light-rail trains kill nearly a dozen people per billion passenger miles, while buses kill only a little more than four.
So enjoy your free rides–but watch your step.
Just curious…are there any papers on an apples to apples comparison of the cost to implement a dedicated bus route vs. light rail (using identical infrastructure…e.g if a el is proposed, then a dedicated el road for buses only…or if the light rail will use existing roads, then a bus lane). I am also interested in cost for a dedicated high speed bus lane vs. high speed train. I would think that the flexibility of the bus would always win, plus the reduced startup cost for infrastructure and lowered maintenance. I am sure there are buses that can average 80 mph no problem (at least from what I see on the NJ turnpike)
Hopefully, a light rail ban can be put into place so we can save one life.
“But if there’s even one thing we can do, if there’s just one life we can save, we’ve got an obligation to try.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/04/remarks-president-preventing-gun-violence-minneapolis-mn
It was a ruse, and TriMet got caught.
http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/08/trimet_free_rides_max_portland.html#incart_river
Any engineer would instantly recognize that a single-track transportation option on streets is ridiculously stupid. The only reason these monstrosities cost out is that they use less carbon or emit less pollution by a small amount so they get credited with huge subsidies. An underground subway is enormously expensive, but it increases the transportation options by a huge amount.
Taking away surface transportation lanes for single purpose and single track options is 18th century thinking.