WES at 10: Time to Admit Failure
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet recently marked the ten-year anniversary of the…
Read Blog DetailCategory: Transportation
Congestion by Design on the New Sellwood Bridge
By John A. Charles, Jr. Portland-area motorists who have to regularly cross the…
Read Blog Detail
SW Corridor Project: A Net Negative for the Environment
By John A. Charles, Jr. Portland politicians claim to be concerned about carbon…
Read Blog Detail
The New Sellwood Bridge: Promises Unfulfilled
By John A. Charles. Jr. Executive Summary Portland has an international reputation for…
Read Blog Detail
Press Release: Multi-year case study of Multnomah County’s Sellwood Bridge explains the history behind worsening traffic congestion in the SE Portland bridge corridor
June 6, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900…
Read Blog Detail
Wind Energy is Just Hot Air
By Miranda Bonifield TriMet recently announced its first “zero-emission” bus is ready to…
Read Blog Detail
Road Widening, Congestion Pricing Can Improve Metro-Area Drive Times
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. I’ve got a big family, which means we do…
Read Blog Detail
Metro’s Priorities Don’t Match Yours
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Portland regional government known as Metro recently…
Read Blog Detail
How Ride Hailing Services Can Complement Bus and Rail—and Save TriMet Money
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. After teaching an evening class at Portland State University,…
Read Blog Detail
Ride-Hailing Could Give an Uber-Needed Lyft to TriMet Service
By Miranda Bonifield TriMet’s ridership has been steadily declining in recent years, to…
Read Blog Detail
ODOT’s Passenger Rail Project Equals Increasing Costs, High Taxpayer Subsidies
By Justus Armstrong The Oregon Department of Transportation recently published its Tier 1…
Read Blog DetailPress Release: Report shows ride-hailing services would be a viable solution for TriMet’s high-cost bus lines
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900 john@cascadepolicy.org PORTLAND, Ore….
Read Blog Detail
Ride Hailing as a Solution to TriMet’s High-Cost Bus Lines
A Proposal for a Pilot Project By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Summary and recommendation…
Read Blog Detail
Proof by Assertion
By John A. Charles, Jr. Many Portland drivers probably wonder why there are…
Read Blog Detail
TriMet’s New Electric Buses Will Be Less Reliable, More Costly
By John A. Charles, Jr. The TriMet board recently voted to replace the…
Read Blog Detail
Metro Should Let Transit Customers Drive Transportation Innovation
By Justus Armstrong ABC’s Shark Tank may be coming to the Portland region—not…
Read Blog Detail
Electric Buses: Another Costly Fad
By John A. Charles, Jr. The TriMet Board recently approved a plan to…
Read Blog Detail
Moving in the Wrong Direction
By Jakob Puckett Oregonians have a proud tradition of giving back to distinguished…
Read Blog Detail
When Did ODOT Become a Consumer Advocate?
By Jakob Puckett Do you need to be protected from your own judgment?…
Read Blog Detail
High Costs and Low Ridership Are Nothing New for Southwest Corridor Project
By Rachel Dawson Decreasing ridership paired with increasing costs makes for a bad…
Read Blog Detail
New Transportation Tax Is on the Wrong Side of History
By John A. Charles, Jr. Oregon employers began receiving notices this week regarding…
Read Blog Detail
TriMet Shows Pension Reform Is Possible
By Scott Shepard and John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon legislature recently adjourned…
Read Blog Detail
In 9 Years, WES Hasn’t Decreased Westside Congestion
By John A. Charles, Jr. February marked the nine-year anniversary of the Westside…
Read Blog Detail
WES at 9: Time to Admit the Mistake
By John A. Charles, Jr. February marked the nine-year anniversary of the Westside…
Read Blog Detail
TriMet Shows Public Pension Reform Is Possible
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon legislature recently adjourned and once again…
Read Blog Detail
TriMet Shows That Public Pension Reform Is Possible
By Scott Shepard and John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Legislature is currently…
Read Blog Detail
Following in TriMet’s Tracks: Defined-Contribution Pensions a Necessary First Step to Oregon’s Fiscal Health
By Scott Shepard Scott Shepard is a lawyer and was a visiting law…
Read Blog Detail
TriMet Needs a Broader Definition of Diversity
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet has been recruiting a new General Manager…
Read Blog Detail
For Green Activists, the Cleanest Cars in History Are Bad News
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Legislature convened again this week. A…
Read Blog Detail
Road Policy Belongs to Those Who Show Up
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Department of Transportation is hosting three…
Read Blog Detail
Poll Shows Voters Are Smarter Than Politicians Think
By John A. Charles, Jr. In November the regional government, Metro, released the…
Read Blog Detail
Tolling People on to Portland’s Highways
By John A. Charles, Jr. Earlier this year the state legislature passed a…
Read Blog DetailPortland’s latest attempt to centrally plan transportation patterns is backfiring
By Jessica Miller Portland has a longstanding history of attempting to socially engineer…
Read Blog Detail
Transportation Finance Isn’t as Complicated as Legislators Make It
By John A. Charles, Jr. Some members of the Oregon Legislature think you…
Read Blog DetailThe Case of the Missing Transit Money
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last week the TriMet Board adopted a budget…
Read Blog DetailThe Greatest Challenge to Traffic Safety? It’s Not Residential Speed Limits
By John A. Charles, Jr. Earlier this week the Oregon House of Representatives…
Read Blog DetailLet’s Build Some Highways
By John A. Charles, Jr. Oregon stopped building new highways in 1983 when…
Read Blog DetailPortland’s Regional Transit Strategy Is Not Working
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Portland Auditor released the 2016 Annual Community…
Read Blog DetailUber Translated: Better Service for the Underserved
By Lydia White It’s not news that free-market visionaries provide better service than…
Read Blog DetailLight Rail to Bridgeport Village: The Dumbest Train Project Yet
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet and Metro are promoting the idea of…
Read Blog DetailMAX at 30: Portland Transit Needs a New Plan
September 5 marked the official 30th anniversary of the opening of TriMet’s light…
Read Blog DetailNew Report: Transportation Funding Should Be a State and Local Responsibility
Study Finds That Transportation Funding Should Be a State and Local Responsibility May…
Read Blog DetailTriMet’s Edifice Complex
Recently TriMet announced that after two years of planning for an expensive new…
Read Blog DetailPortland Chases Another Dream
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced this week that Portland is one of…
Read Blog DetailBroken Promises: The Real Trends in TriMet’s Transit Performance (2004-2015)
TriMet’s ridership is declining and its level of fixed-route service is lower today…
Read Blog DetailFailed Promises: Why the Legislature Should Reject TriMet’s Request for New Spending Authority
TriMet is currently seeking new spending authority in SB 1510 to help finance…
Read Blog DetailTriMet’s 7-Year-Old WES Line: Still a Project in Search of a Purpose
February marks the seven-year anniversary of the Westside Express Service (WES), the 14.7-mile…
Read Blog DetailWES at 7: Still a Financial Train Wreck
February marks the seven-year anniversary of the Westside Express Service (WES), the 15-mile…
Read Blog DetailNew Transportation Funding Bill: Going Nowhere FAST
Last week Congress passed H.R. 22, a five-year transportation funding bill known as…
Read Blog DetailThe Futility of Public Hearings
Over the past four years, TriMet and Metro have been planning something called…
Read Blog DetailIs TriMet Better Off Than Greece?
Syndicated financial writer Malcolm Berko recently advised a small investor to stay away…
Read Blog DetailMysteries of Tilikum Crossing
Portland’s newest bridge over the Willamette River, Tilikum Crossing, has a few puzzling…
Read Blog DetailTilikum Crossing: More Punishment for Motorists
The new bridge over the Willamette River, TriMet’s Tilikum Crossing, opened for business…
Read Blog DetailOregon Leads the Nation in Passenger Rail Subsidies
By John A. Charles, Jr. In the waning days of the 2015 legislative…
Read Blog DetailThe Extinction of Public Transit
By Emma Newman Uber and Lyft have recently gained over 50 percent of…
Read Blog DetailPress Release: Cascade Policy Institute Urges TriMet to Cancel Proposed Tax Increase
July 23, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900…
Read Blog DetailDoes PCC-Sylvania Need a Light Rail Tunnel?
By Emma Newman Metro and TriMet are jointly considering an expansion of the…
Read Blog DetailEvent Video – Aging Roads? New Ideas!
Cascade welcomed transportation expert Adrian Moore, Ph.D., Vice President of Policy for Reason…
Read Blog DetailTime to “Uberize” the Transportation Economy
This week marks the beginning of a 120-day “pilot project” by the City…
Read Blog DetailAging Roads? New Ideas!
Cascade Policy Institute presents Aging Roads? New Ideas! featuring Adrian Moore, Ph.D. Vice…
Read Blog DetailTriMet’s Great Disappearing Act
During the 2003 session of the Oregon State Legislature, TriMet sought an increase…
Read Blog DetailReport Shows Oregon Public Employment Contracts Are a Ticking Time Bomb
PORTLAND, Ore. – Cascade Policy Institute today announced the release of a new…
Read Blog DetailNo Wonder Portland Can’t Afford to Maintain Streets
The Portland City Council seems determined to raise taxes to pay for street maintenance. But the City doesn’t have a revenue shortage problem; it has a spending misallocation problem, which continues to grow.
Read Blog DetailPortland’s Streetcar Audit: What Went Wrong?
Last Thursday, auditors released a report questioning the Portland Streetcar’s performance. Ridership counts…
Read Blog DetailPortland Should Join the “Free World” of Ridesharing
In November, Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro, and Tigard, Oregon joined Vancouver, Washington in welcoming…
Read Blog DetailPortland’s “F” Doesn’t Stand for “Transportation Friendly”
R Street Institute, a D.C.-based think tank, released its Ridescore website last week….
Read Blog DetailScare Tactics Not Working in Road Tax Debates
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently issued a report describing the deteriorating…
Read Blog DetailScare Tactics Not Working in Road Tax Debates
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently issued a report describing the deteriorating…
Read Blog DetailNo New Street Fee: City Council Should Approve Street Maintenance from the General Fund
Last week Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick suggested that the City Council approve…
Read Blog DetailForum on the Future of America’s Transportation Infrastructure
Cascade president and CEO John Charles presented on the demise of the highway trust…
Read Blog DetailThe Demise of the Highway Trust Fund: A Market Solution
In the 1967 film The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman plays a nerdy twenty-something…
Read Blog DetailTime for a Third Bridge to Vancouver
Last week a conceptual plan for a new bridge over the Columbia River…
Read Blog DetailShould Portland Residents Pay Another Fee to Cover Basic Road Maintenance?
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales is proposing a new transportation tax for 2015. He…
Read Blog DetailTime to Stop Throwing Money down the WES Sinkhole
In its proposed fiscal year 2015 budget, TriMet forecasts the purchase of two…
Read Blog DetailEnergy-Efficiency Myths of Commuter Rail
Advocates of rail transit tend to argue that we need trains because they…
Read Blog DetailJohn Charles Debates Tigard’s Light Rail Ballot Measure
During January’s Tigard Initiative Public Forum, John Charles debated a Tigard City Counselor…
Read Blog DetailAs TriMet Sinks, Should Portland Suburbs Go Down With the Ship?
Last week Cascade released a report encouraging cities and counties to consider leaving…
Read Blog Detail$52 Million Retrofit Makes Traffic Worse in Portland’s South Waterfront
A case study released by Cascade Policy Institute shows the $52 million retrofit…
Read Blog DetailReport Makes the Case for Cities and Counties to Leave TriMet
A report released Monday by Cascade Policy Institute recommends that cities and counties within TriMet’s service jurisdiction…
Read Blog DetailThe Check Engine Light Is On
By William Newell Imagine you’re in a car traveling down I-5 at 60…
Read Blog DetailTriMet Violates Clean Air Act While “Regulators” Stay Silent
In previous decades the Portland region failed to meet national air quality standards…
Read Blog DetailTriMet Finally Admits Rail Problems
Last week I wrote about the problems TriMet is having with its constantly…
Read Blog DetailThe Chronic Failure of Rail Transit
The local transit agency, TriMet, likes to claim that continued expansion of the…
Read Blog DetailWhy Cities and Counties Should Consider Leaving TriMet
Please join us for Cascade’s monthly Policy Picnic led by Cascade President John Charles on Wednesday,…
Read Blog DetailThe Trouble with ObamaCare Is…Parking?
By John A. Charles, Jr. Oregon is scrambling to open its new federally…
Read Blog Detail“Field of Dreams” Is No Strategy for TriMet
September 12 will be the 15th anniversary of the opening of Westside MAX….
Read Blog DetailMoving Forward from the Columbia River Crossing
By Kevin Sharp With the recent suspension of the Columbia River Crossing project,…
Read Blog DetailStatement on the Columbia River Crossing Project
For Immediate Release Media Contact John A. Charles, Jr., john@cascadepolicy.org 503-459-3727 Sarah Ross…
Read Blog DetailOpen Letter to Federal Transit Administration Regarding TriMet
On June 14th, John Charles sent this letter to the Federal Transit Administration…
Read Blog DetailWhy Do Transit Officials Lie About Light Rail?
The transit agency for Vancouver (C-TRAN) is reconsidering its support for the Columbia…
Read Blog DetailWES at 4: Still a Financial Train Wreck
February marked the four-year anniversary of the Westside Express Service (WES), the 14.7-mile…
Read Blog DetailSaving Transit by Shrinking TriMet
In the past eight years, the all-funds budget for TriMet has gone up…
Read Blog DetailWhere’s the Secret Tax for the I-5 Bridge Proposal?
On Monday, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 2800, the new Interstate 5…
Read Blog Detail“Streetcar Drives Development”―Portland’s Urban Legend
For much of human history, mass transit has had the utilitarian goal of…
Read Blog DetailHow Many Feet Should Sellwood’s Sidewalk Be?
If we build a new bridge over the Willamette River, how much space…
Read Blog DetailIs Driving Less a Good Thing?
Recently, the Metro Council received the results of a four-county household travel survey…
Read Blog DetailTaxpayers Pay the Difference for ODOT’s Solar Power “Champagne”
By Chris Barton Imagine heading out to your favorite bar one evening to…
Read Blog Detail