Could become reeeeal scary come October 6...

I find it interesting how so many people rush to criticize private companies, yet you'd never see this happen with one of them. Maybe it's time to privatize Tri-Met?

@Joey Link
re: your comments
You are joking right???

If Trimet was private, it never would have been built. (MAX anyway.) It doesnt make sense fiscally. It costs five times what they charge just to operate MAX. Thats why they use public money. It doesnt matter if it makes sense. It "feels" good.

Ironically, a private bus transit company was destroyed so Tri-Met could come into existence. Unfortunately, Tri-Met couldn't be privatized as there isn't enough demand in this day and age for mass transit to make it profitable.

I bet if we turned over the system to a private company, provided for a small profit, tie salaries to efficiency and performance, then subsidized it with what we currently spend on it we'd have a system that was far more efficient and plenty of money left over for law enforcement, fare inspectors, etc.

What we're doing now obviously isn't working too well.

@Joey Link
OK Look up the latest news and P&L's on the BC Ferries. What you propose is exactly! what the BC government did to the ferry system about 4 years ago, and it is a miserable failure!
Some things just need to have government subsidy to exist; universal free public education; roads, ferries; transit systems; health care; disaster relief; armed forces. Not everything in the universe is better if privatized; sometimes as a society we are better off if everyone chipps in a little bet for the betterment of everyone else.
BTW I am the owner of a small business, a capitalist by nature, and not a government worker or on the dole.

Thanks portland native, I'll look that up :)

I hope I didn't come off as saying that idea would absolutely work, I'm just brainstorming here. Just a note, I didn't say the government wouldn't subsidize it, just said they wouldn't be in control of it. I agree with you that the government needs to take care of most of those things on your list, but we need to find a way to hold the government accountable for those things. I do believe there is a happy medium between full fledged socialist control with horrible efficiency and a privatization, but so far it seems to be one or the other in most cases.

So lets talk about solutions, with all options on the table, anyone have any ideas?

Privatizing TriMet would be a good discussion. Portland Native has a point, and in response if privitized, an incentive program should be considered for any subsidizing by taxpayers.

For instance: 1)if ridership goes up; 2)revenue increases and reduces stipulated subsidies; 3) service expands with less costs per mile; 4)etc., then an incentive-money is given to the operating private company, or some other agreed incentives.

We sometimes have incentive programs for construction projects-like the Sauvie Island Bridge construction. ODOT sometimes employs incentives. Why not explore incentives for an on-going privatized business?

Getting rid of the fare inspectors is probably cheaper than fixing the ticket vending machines (assuming, for the moment, that these are mutually exclusive strategies).