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A message from Neil McFarlane, TriMet General Manager

TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane

Dear riders,

Many of you have asked when TriMet is going to be able to restore the service that was cut over the last few years. I know first-hand that buses and trains are crowded, and for some of us, it’s a long wait for the next one.

On Wednesday, I made a presentation to our Board of Directors about the state of TriMet’s budget and what we can expect in the years ahead. I wanted to share with you what I told them.

First, the good news: We don’t anticipate any more service cuts or fare increases—except for a scheduled LIFT paratransit fare increase—in the next fiscal year (through June 2014).

That’s assuming that the Oregon Employment Relations Board upholds our latest labor contract with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 (ATU), which the union has challenged. I’m optimistic, but be aware that it could mean additional service cuts if the ATU prevails.

The bad news: An even bigger budget crisis is on the horizon. Looking out a few years, we are projecting a $15-17 million budget shortfall in 2017, increasing annually to $195-$200 million in 2030. The main reason is the rising cost of health care benefits for our union employees and retirees. Retiree benefits, for example, are growing at compound annual rates of 15-18 percent per year.

In fact, without a change to our labor contract, employee health care costs will consume nearly half of TriMet’s operating revenue from payroll taxes by 2020.

Our job is to keep the Portland area moving. TriMet and the ATU have a responsibility to bring these costs under control so that we can restore—and eventually grow—transit service to meet the rising demand.

Of course, that’s not sustainable. The more we pay in health care, the less service we can provide. Plain and simple, it’s about the math.

And we only have a brief window of time before riders will feel the effects. So, how can we fix this?

As we begin negotiations for a new labor contract, we have proposed solutions to the ATU leadership that will help rein in these costs. Our proposal would bring health care costs down while maintaining a fair and competitive benefit package that is more in line with that of other public employees.

To be clear, I believe our hard-working employees deserve quality health care. We’re simply proposing that ATU employees receive the same level of health care benefits that I and other non-union staff receive—which, while not as rich as the union’s current plan, is still a very good benefit package by any measure.

As I’ve said before, TriMet is a transit agency, not a health care provider. Our job is to keep the Portland area moving. TriMet and the ATU have a responsibility to bring these costs under control so that we can restore—and eventually grow—transit service to meet the rising demand. It will take some time to get there, but, working together, I’m confident that we will get there.

Thank you for your continued support, and thanks for riding.

RELATED: Read Neil McFarlane’s “Hot Seat” interview with Willamette Week, February 13, 2013 

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Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks took a critical step toward bus desegregation on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, when she chose to be arrested rather than give up her bus seat to a white man while riding a segregated bus. Her stand against racism inspired a boycott which has improved all our lives.

TriMet strives to provide equitable service, placing a high priority on providing high-quality transit service to low-income populations and communities of color. Rosa Parks’ courageous act drew national attention to simple truths: A public transit system paid for by all must benefit all, and civil rights must be protected for all.

This year TriMet was named by the National Association Minority Contractors of Oregon (NAMCO) as Champion and Agency of the Year for our support of local minority construction and contracting businesses. Our Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program is a national model for encouraging and supporting businesses owned by people of color and women when competing for contracts on transit construction projects.

For more information about our nationally recognized diversity programs, please visit trimet.org/dbe.

As seen by @ElliotIs

“Seen and Heard on TriMet” is a regular compilation of some of the funny, entertaining and uplifting content we see posted about our system every day.

Want to get in on the fun? Just include #trimet in your tweets, and your content could be featured here on our blog.

Here are some of the highlights from the last few weeks:

ElliotIs:

The_CJG:

pymander:

FallMoonlitRose:

joshuakagi:

briaceves:

johnpierce77:

anissa_is_about_that_life:

thepineappleburner:

pssshyah:

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Want to be featured in our rider profile series? We’d love to hear from you. Submit your story for consideration through our handy questionnaire at trimet.org/stories.

Raymond B.

Why I ride:

I ride TriMet to avoid the problems and costs of a car.

“Most people spend 10-15 percent of their income on cars.”

I am a recovered car addict. I live in the Pearl District, and I use buses, MAX, and Portland Streetcar to get around.

My insight for non-riders:

People have no idea of how much they are spending on cars. Most people spend 10-15 percent of their income on cars, and that doesn’t count the hassles of car ownership—vandalism, finding and paying for parking, dings, getting it in for repairs.

My favorite things to do while riding:

Reading and checking email.

The thing I like best about living in the Portland area:

Public transportation.

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Read more profiles of TriMet riders

Shelly Lomax is TriMet’s Executive Director of Operations.

The Oregonian has an article they call “TriMet overtime: ‘Exhaustion has become part of the culture’ at transit agency.” We wanted to take this opportunity to provide some further information and to assure you that we have a safe system that you can trust.

The story stems from when a MAX train hit a bumping post at the Expo Center in 2011 and there was speculation that the operator may have fallen asleep. This was an extremely rare and unfortunate event for TriMet—but we followed up with the appropriate investigation and discipline regarding this incident.

Since then, The Oregonian has asked for years of complaints against operators, hours of service (HOS), pay records and collision data to determine if there is a pattern of this type of behavior.

We have a few bus operators who choose to work a lot of overtime, and at times taking just a few hours off between service days. While this is rare it complies with our HOS policy. We are vigilant when it comes to improving safety because we can always do better, and we will.

Every day we do a lot to ensure a safe operation:

• Our operators are trained professionals who all receive annual safety training and refresher training when appropriate.
• We comply with the Oregon Department of Transportation’s requirement that we have an HOS policy approved by ODOT for our rail operators and have applied a similar policy to our bus operators. The HOS policy defines a service day differently between bus and rail. As we negotiate the next contract, we hope to work with the ATU to improve the hours of service policy and further strengthen our support of safe operations.
• Our negotiated HOS policy limits the number of hours a person can work in a week and the number of consecutive days a person can work; it also requires a period of rest within the service day. Additionally, operators have the ability to pass up work or request later work under certain circumstances so they can get the rest they need.
• If an operator is feeling tired, we have safety measures in place. If we get a complaint about unsafe driving or concern over a sleepy operator, we perform a field fit-for-duty check on the operator.

Bus and MAX operators come to work each day prepared to deliver safe and reliable transportation for our customers and our community. It is a responsibility every operator, and in fact, every Operations employee, takes very seriously.

Safety is our core value. There is no greater priority. We can always improve our safety efforts and will continue to do so—hand in hand with our entire Operations Division, Safety and Security Division and the ATU.

Want to be featured in our rider profile series? We’d love to hear from you. Submit your story for consideration through our handy questionnaire at trimet.org/stories.

Jan M.

About me:

I’m a vendor at Saturday Market. I sell hand-bound non-adhesive blank books in 13 different sizes, with paper, cloth and leather covers. I make linoleum block designs which I use to create the prints on the paper covers, and I sell prints of those designs too. (My niche is “kick it across a soccer field” books.) I have two Maine Coon cats, and I’m proud to call Portland home.

The only part of the TriMet system that I haven’t used is the WES. To be honest, I have become a terrible car rider; they are too low to the ground and don’t have a signal to pull when I feel the need to get out!

Why I ride:

I retired from my position of Radioman First Class (RM1) in the Navy in 1993. I decided when I retired that if I was going to go into debt, it would be for an education, not a car or a house. I am so fortunate to have gone to school—I graduated from the Oregon College of Art and Craft—in a city with the TriMet system.

This is the only city that I have ever lived in that will allow you to work at a temp agency and not have a car. That is because TriMet can put you within blocks of any job. I know, because during the summers, I would temp at jobs all over the city, and I always arrived on time.

Last year I did a temp job in the industrial section of Beaverton and once again arrived on time by bus and MAX!

“To be honest, I have become a terrible car rider; they are too low to the ground and don’t have a signal to pull when I feel the need to get out!”

My favorite things to do while riding:

Read a book, catch up on my journal, and watch for changes that have happened in the city.

My story:

When I first started riding I would hear people saying “thank you” whenever they got off the bus. I had never heard that before on any other system in the states or overseas.
Over time, I began saying “thank you.” “Thank you for doing this job, for calling out streets and letting me know where to get off, for keeping your temper when cars and bikes get crazy, for continuing to drive in heat, cold and crazy rain, for delivering and picking me up 365 days a year! Thank you!”

The thing I like best about living in the Portland area:

Being able to live without the car payments, license costs, gas prices and car maintenance and still do everything I want to do and haul everything I need (although I won’t buy drywall again and bring it home on the bus again, I promise).

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Read more profiles of TriMet riders

As seen by @HalesforMayor.

“Seen and Heard on TriMet” is a regular compilation of some of the funny, entertaining and uplifting content we see posted about our system every day.

Want to get in on the fun? Just include #trimet in your tweets, and your content could be featured here on our blog.

Here are some of the highlights from the last month or so:

HalesforMayor:

andrewmatia:

CheyenneSimply:

Took my niece to school on the Trimet bus and she was freaking out and screaming because she was so excited. It was cute

nategarvison:

daisy_madison:

michellekfisher:

dooleyerinm:

jenncrowell:

Will_Thomas: