Trimess

Saturday, September 6, 2014

How Trimet 'loads' its questionnaires

Notice the framing of the question:
The actual answer for everyone that uses Trimet but has a car is 
"I take Trimet because its a pain in the ass to drive and park downtown"
But because of the way the survey is written it will end up showing that people 'prefer' to take Trimet.
Typical Trimet bullshit propaganda
Take the Trimet survey HERE!

17 comments:

Jason McHuff said...

That's not true. You can't put every single rider in your made-up category.

Some people ride because they can use the time productively, doing things its not good to do while driving. Some may ride because they'd rather save money than spend it on a personal vehicle.

Lastly, driving and parking in downtown Portland is not that bad compared to what it could be.

Al M said...

Listen up Jason, the only answer available for a car owner using Trimet is "i Prefer to ride trimet" and there should be another car rider category like "i prefer to drive but due to infrastructure problems I take mass transit"

Having only one wording for car owners taking Trimet is deceitful.

Jason McHuff said...

OK, a category like that ("I don't highly enjoy TriMet, but I find driving worse") would be fair.

Its true that "prefer" can be taken to mean "like", and not just "better than other options"

But its not bad when people actually have to pay for their parking.

Al M said...

Nobody 'prefers' being jammed into a sardine can I assure you

Max said...

Parking downtown isn't difficult, it's just very expensive. $100-$250/mo for a parking space.

Al M said...

And the highways that lead to Portland during rush hours are jammed packed ranks #6 worst traffic jams in the USA by some sources due to poor infrastructure. Driving+Parking=transit ridership

Erik H. said...

"I ride TriMet because the cost of parking downtown is high, and my employer subsidizes the cost of TriMet."

I bet is a substantial reason why people take TriMet. If the cost of parking were lower, OR the cost of TriMet was not as subsidized, it would be a very different story.

@nonpartisantoo said...

Subsidized pass for me. Parking can't beat it. I don't have a second car so I'd have to take TriMet even if it wasn't subsidized but there'd be more incentive to look at a second car.

Jason McHuff said...

Well, if drivers had to pay for the cost of oil defense, pollution cleanup like a portion of the billion dollar Big Pipe project, there would be a lot more people that could potentially drive but decide to ride. (and if that happened, the demand should result in better transit)

Also, I don't think $100/month is the expensive for a parking spot compared to office space.

Al M said...

People don't want to ride American public transit because IT SUCKS!

Max said...

... and it sucks because people don't ride it.

Classic chicken/egg problem.

Al M said...

Now I definitely do not agree with that thesis Max.

American mass transit exists to be a source of money for all the people that are involved in providing it, that's why American mass transit sucks so bad.

Billions of dollars are spent on union labor and outlandish executive salaries and pensions.

Riders are not considered at all in the grand scheme.

(of course the power elite says that its all about the riders but they lie, as always)

Just look at the Trimet list of salaries sometime.

American mass transit has to be completely deconstructed and rebuilt as a system that serves the riders, not the employees.

Max said...

People in NY & Boston ride transit a lot, and they have great service. People in Beaverton don't ride it as much and have crappy service. People in Portland ride more, have better service.

See the connection? The more people ride, the better the service gets.

Max said...

You yourself have said that TriMet service isn't half bad provided that you live in close-in Portland; but it's a different story when you live out in Beaverton.

Al M said...

True enough. Last time I rode the mbta I was not thrilled. Overcrowded and sorta scary

Erik H. said...

" if drivers had to pay for the cost of oil defense, pollution cleanup like a portion of the billion dollar Big Pipe project,"

If transit riders had to pay for the cost of transit-oriented development, rezoning, landscaping, art projects, yada yada yada oh cry me a river...

Let's see. Pollution cleanup for the big pipe project. Yeah, because all those motorists are the ones shitting down and overflowing a poorly designed sewer system. Because Portland packed development so tightly that it has no natural drainage (remember, downtown Portland used to be a swamp and other wetlands.)

Yeah, defense, because we know that oil is ONLY used for cars. And never energy production, raw materials for things like plastic, and of course trains don't burn oil, and neither do airplanes...and all those bikes are personally delivered by being ridden from the bicycle factory in China too.

So, let's extend your "motorists ought to pay for everything" argument Jason McHuffandPuff...and let's make transit users pay for everything too. Congratulations - every time you set foot on a TriMet bus, you better shell out something like $40. To ride WES, it's more like $100. Be careful what you ask for.

Jason McHuff said...

If transit riders had to pay for the cost of transit-oriented development

Any incentives for it wouldn't be needed because developers would want to build near transit and people would want to be near transit

rezoning

What's the cost in doing that?

landscaping, art projects

Minor costs

Yeah, because all those motorists are the ones shitting down and overflowing a poorly designed sewer system.

Storm water is why the system is needed as the sewers don't overflow when there's only sewage to transport, and storm water that comes from streets and parking lots contains chemicals that need to be removed.

remember, downtown Portland used to be a swamp and other wetlands

Ancient history. When a building is replaced with another, taller building no new ground is covered.

And never energy production, raw materials for things like plastic, and of course trains don't burn oil, and neither do airplanes

Did I say that drivers should have to pay for the entire cost of defense?

every time you set foot on a TriMet bus, you better shell out something like $40.

Since I don't use dial-a-ride, the vehicle is going to come whether or not I ride it, and every additional rider (as long as there's room) reduces the subsidy needed.