THE TRUE STORY OF TRIMET

Taken from the movie by the Transit Equity Coalition:
Once upon a time there was this wonderful transit agency that was known far and wide for its excellent bus system. They also ran a small railroad and the citizens of the lovely hamlet of Portlandia were pleased because they had this excellent bus system and sexy little choo choo they could ride hither and yon. Seeing how pleased the citizens were the executives of Trimet declared: "We must have more light rail, it's sexy, loved, and how we roll" "We will get the Fed's to pay 1/2 the cost and whatever funds we can't find, we will put on our MAGIC CREDIT CARD the bond market"

Alas the economy went south and the wise leaders of Trimet found themselves with reduced revenue and a big bag of bonds to pay off. Oh my what shall we do? We shall raise fares reduce our service and BLAME OUR EMPLOYEES. FOR THAT IS HOW WE ROLL! And the citizens are asking loud and clear, "why must you reduce our service and raise our fares"? Trimet's answer in reading between the lines is quite clear: "the orange line must go on whatever the cost. If we stop our expansion all  will be lost"

So dear citizens of Portlandia, it is perfectly clear, our beloved Trimet  is lost we fear. Follow the money and you can clearly see  a transit developer they've come to be. Providing a ride on a bus or a train is seen as an annoyance a small thing a pain.