It's the economy, stupid. (intended sarcastically)

The expense of WES was never warranted by demand. "If you build it, they will come" is not much of a business plan.

If the specific ridership numbers for WES ever are released, we will be able to calculate the cost per passenger. Remember they had to tear up tracks and ballast AND underwrite the defunct car builder.

Surely sending out a cab to pick up each person would be cheaper - even over 10 years.

A fleet of limousines would have been much cheaper.

I loved this headline in the Wilsonville Spokesman a few days ago... "WES trains will run on schedule this afternoon".

That was big news in these parts

Along with the idea of a fleet of limos-how about a fleet of rapid/express buses in place of all the streetcars? They can go anywhere and if powered by bio diesel pretty darn economical and green. A bus costs $400,000 and a streetcar costs $2.9 million dollars.
The Portland Streetcar is 73 times more expensive to build than the rapid bus alternative. How is it 73 times better? It isn't superior. The rapid bus system is cheaper, more flexible, twice as fast, arrives more often, is easier to implement and it's users are willing to pay 23 times more for service.

"A bus costs $400,000 and a streetcar costs $2.9 million dollars. The Portland Streetcar is 73 times more expensive to build than the rapid bus alternative. How is it 73 times better? It isn't superior."

But it isn't SEXY!

This is the sort of spending that ruins any chance "government" has of gaining credibility for outlays in areas where we actually need the help.

Hopefully, my morning and evening commutes will be less impacted by WES train signals. More drivers and passengers are held up by WES at each crossing on TV Hwy or Farmington than are on the train.

If the specific ridership numbers for WES ever are released, we will be able to calculate the cost per passenger. Remember they had to tear up tracks and ballast AND underwrite the defunct car builder.

It's about 918 riders a day.

There are 32 daily trains - 16 in the A.M. and 16 in the P.M., so 8 trains in each direction for the morning and afternoon.

918 daily riders, divided by 32 trains, is 29 boarding rides.

The average "boarding cost" for a WES rider is $19.36. So WES costs $17,772 per day, $88,862 per week, $385,070 per month, $4,620,844 per year.

In comparison: A TriMet bus rider costs $3.39 per boarding ride. Yet TriMet likes to play "smoke and mirrors" and claim that the bus system is hugely expensive to operate, while ignoring WES.

By the way: All of this data comes STRAIGHT from publicly available TriMet data (which is a shock, as TriMet refuses to make their budget public information):

http://www.trimet.org/pdfs/publications/performance-statistics/trimetridershipfy09.pdf

Kathe W: how about a fleet of rapid/express buses in place of all the streetcars? They can go anywhere and if powered by bio diesel pretty darn economical and green.

Based upon an analysis of Bus Rapid Transit systems, I calculated that TriMet could institute BRT on the Barbur Boulevard/Highway 99W route from downtown Portland to King City for a cost of $50 million - this includes a fleet of new 60' articulated, diesel-electric hybrid buses, improvements to all major bus stops (they would actually be comparable, although slightly smaller, than a MAX station), limited bus lanes and traffic signal pre-emption, and other benefits. BRT systems in other cities have shown increased ridership, decreased operating costs - one BRT system I researched even had a per-boarding cost of less than $1.00!!!

For the $161 million we spent on WES - TriMet could have instituted BRT on the 12-Barbur, 33-McLoughlin, and 57-T.V. Highway routes. For a little more, add the 9-Powell and 72-Killingsworth/82nd Avenue bus routes.

However, TriMet and Metro are so blatantly anti-bus, that TriMet refuses to spend any money to improve the bus system. That's why TriMet has cancelled all replacement bus orders, has a fleet of some 200 buses that are 20 years old and are well past replacement age -- not to mention, the federal government WILL pay 80% of the cost of a new bus. TriMet is basically snubbing this free federal money because it doesn't want to spend that 20% local match - it'd rather blow its money on MAX and WES lines. TriMet has no financial reserve (it was blown when it build the Red and Yellow lines) and has been criticized for many years of its poor financial condition.

One other comment: Light Rail supporters LOVE to cite, over and over again, that BRT is "just as expensive as light rail, so why not just build light rail?"

I researched a number of light rail, streetcar (which is just stripped down light rail) and BRT projects over the last 20 years, and then adjusted for inflation.

The ONLY way the light rail supporters can claim their argument, is by comparing the original San Diego Trolley line, built in the late 1970s, for what is today an absolutely low-ball price of $10.7 million/mile, to Los Angeles' Orange Line BRT which came in at $25.3 million - which is by leaps and bounds the most expensive BRT line.

Most other BRT lines came in at a price closer to $2-4 million/mile, with Snohomish County's system (north of Seattle) coming in at $700,000/mile, and Eugene's EmX lines coming in at $4-6 million/mile. Meanwhile, the Portland Streetcar cost between $28 and $37 million/mile; and the Eastside Loop will cost $45 million/mile.

WES is actually comparatively cheap at $11.3 million/mile. San Diego's Sprinter "Diesel Light Rail" line cost $21.7 million/mile.

The original MAX line cost $27.7 million/mile; the Westside, Interstate and Clackamas (Blue, Yellow and Green Lines) cost about $68-70 million/mile. The Red Line to the airport came in "cheap" at just $27.7 million/mile, comparable to the Streetcar. Milwaukie MAX is projected to cost $192 million/mile.

Seattle's light rail system? An eye-ball-bulging $185 million/mile!!!!!!!

And here's a comparison: Remember that expensive Los Angeles BRT line at $25 million/mile? Let's look at Los Angeles light rail: the Gold Line cost $150 million/mile!

Speaking of non too brilliant moves, the president of the board of trimet wants Fearless Fred Hansen to try THIS again.