PDX transportation.
Portlanders, especially a good many east-siders, are in a tizzy over the cost of the recently-built aerial tram connecting Oregon Health & Science University's Marquam Hill campus with its Waterfront campus (much of which has yet to be built). The 2004 project estimates didn't come close to the final cost of the tram (...duh), sparking the first flashes of anger. OHSU is paying 85% of the cost of building the tram and will pay 85% of the cost of running it for a couple of years, when the city can get an accurate count of what percentage of ridership is related to OHSU and what percentage is made up of sightseers and commuters using it as a link over the West Hills. Originally, the plan was to completely integrate the tram into the existing public transportation system, charging the price of a regular two-zone Tri-Met ticket for a ride. The rest of the building and operation costs would come from parking revenue once the South Waterfront area gets built up. Tri-Met currently provides a link to the base of the tram via streetcar and will be adding bus service this year. A pass lasts 1-2 hours, so riders would probably only pay once for the round trip (OHSU will pay for its faculty, staff, students, patients, and official visitors, all of whom would likely outstay a purchased pass). Nevertheless, the proposed fare announced last week was $4 instead of the $1.70 regular Tri-Met fare. Editorials abound, and (openly gay) City Commissioner Sam Adams, in charge of Portland’s Office of Transportation and the Bureau of Environmental Services, has been holding tram car naming contests and forums about the price on his website, commissionersam.com. My favorite exchange:
Skinny City Girl, Yeah, split the difference: "Definately [sic] try to split the difference. Let Trimet [sic] pass holders go for free and sell multi-ticket packages for the tram only. Charge $6-$8 for single tickets. Tourists and people who ride for fun twice per year won't care. If it only costs $4, tourists won't think it's worth doing. Do PR promotions like "Two Dollar Tuesdays" or "Free Fridays" or something to keep us locals happy.
"Some of the operating costs could be recaptured, but not at the expense of regular commuters (or whoever [sic] is going to depend on the tram. I'm not sure who will be riding it on a regular basis other than OHSU people)."
Skinny City Girl, MoonrakerII: "Or better yet, ask Columbia Pictures to stage James Bond's next death defying fist fight on Portland's tram. Get a photo of Daniel Craig jumping from the tram with his shirt off. Then we could charge tourists $20 for a ride."
Sam Adams, James Bond Shirtless: "I love this idea! :)"
Hah. Homo. It is a good plan, though. I'd like it to be mostly tied to Tri-Met fares, though I see the merit of having the tram cost an extra $0.30 "upgrade" fee, just like the one already assessed for upgrading from a two-zone to an all-zone pass. The tram is actually entirely in zone one, but $0.30 is cheap enough that I can't see anyone seriously complaining about it. People with all-zone single, monthly, or annual passes could just use those. People are buzzing with ideas of pulling the city's 15% out of its budget and letting riders use the tram for free/Tri-Met pass cost, adding upgrades up to a dollar to Tri-Met passes and charging everyone else about $7, requiring all users to pay a flat fee of $2 each way, adding a gift shop at the base of the tram, and/or letting anyone with an Oregon ID card pay $1.70 (or use a Tri-Met pass) and charging tourists buckets. Many people would like only the tram riders to pay so that the city can use its transportation dollars for fixing roads, adding sidewalks, replacing old bridges (like the Sellwood), and reducing traffic problems (like on Burnside, a major city artery). In the meantime, reservations for free rides on opening day(s) next weekend are gone already and they're going to let people ride for free on Saturdays in February as well. My only other concern is that the tram schedule says it will be open Monday through Saturday. I'm pretty sure the hospital's not going to be closed on Sundays, though I agree that the tram will have less traffic, and I think it makes sense to let resident tourist riders check it out on weekends for at least the first few months, when there's less chance of them sharing a car with a gurney-ridden patient.
Over the next decade, OHSU plans to keep all the main hospital departments (and the other three hospitals up there) on Marquam Hill and move most of the outpatient, research, and schools (nursing, medical, ophthalmology (err I think that's what they teach at the Eye Institute), hard science grad programs, PT, etc.) down to the waterfront half of the campus. At that point, most tram riders should either be carrying an OHSU ID card or inpatients. We'll see. Regardless, it's a fun ride.
I also have even stronger opinions on ex-governor Kitzhaber's Archimedes Movement to fix Oregon's (and hopefully eventually the nation's) health care problems, but that's another post.
Skinny City Girl, Yeah, split the difference: "Definately [sic] try to split the difference. Let Trimet [sic] pass holders go for free and sell multi-ticket packages for the tram only. Charge $6-$8 for single tickets. Tourists and people who ride for fun twice per year won't care. If it only costs $4, tourists won't think it's worth doing. Do PR promotions like "Two Dollar Tuesdays" or "Free Fridays" or something to keep us locals happy.
"Some of the operating costs could be recaptured, but not at the expense of regular commuters (or whoever [sic] is going to depend on the tram. I'm not sure who will be riding it on a regular basis other than OHSU people)."
Skinny City Girl, MoonrakerII: "Or better yet, ask Columbia Pictures to stage James Bond's next death defying fist fight on Portland's tram. Get a photo of Daniel Craig jumping from the tram with his shirt off. Then we could charge tourists $20 for a ride."
Sam Adams, James Bond Shirtless: "I love this idea! :)"
Hah. Homo. It is a good plan, though. I'd like it to be mostly tied to Tri-Met fares, though I see the merit of having the tram cost an extra $0.30 "upgrade" fee, just like the one already assessed for upgrading from a two-zone to an all-zone pass. The tram is actually entirely in zone one, but $0.30 is cheap enough that I can't see anyone seriously complaining about it. People with all-zone single, monthly, or annual passes could just use those. People are buzzing with ideas of pulling the city's 15% out of its budget and letting riders use the tram for free/Tri-Met pass cost, adding upgrades up to a dollar to Tri-Met passes and charging everyone else about $7, requiring all users to pay a flat fee of $2 each way, adding a gift shop at the base of the tram, and/or letting anyone with an Oregon ID card pay $1.70 (or use a Tri-Met pass) and charging tourists buckets. Many people would like only the tram riders to pay so that the city can use its transportation dollars for fixing roads, adding sidewalks, replacing old bridges (like the Sellwood), and reducing traffic problems (like on Burnside, a major city artery). In the meantime, reservations for free rides on opening day(s) next weekend are gone already and they're going to let people ride for free on Saturdays in February as well. My only other concern is that the tram schedule says it will be open Monday through Saturday. I'm pretty sure the hospital's not going to be closed on Sundays, though I agree that the tram will have less traffic, and I think it makes sense to let resident tourist riders check it out on weekends for at least the first few months, when there's less chance of them sharing a car with a gurney-ridden patient.
Over the next decade, OHSU plans to keep all the main hospital departments (and the other three hospitals up there) on Marquam Hill and move most of the outpatient, research, and schools (nursing, medical, ophthalmology (err I think that's what they teach at the Eye Institute), hard science grad programs, PT, etc.) down to the waterfront half of the campus. At that point, most tram riders should either be carrying an OHSU ID card or inpatients. We'll see. Regardless, it's a fun ride.
I also have even stronger opinions on ex-governor Kitzhaber's Archimedes Movement to fix Oregon's (and hopefully eventually the nation's) health care problems, but that's another post.