Complaints are pouring in about TriMet's new budget.
Advocates
for riders are criticizing fare increases and service reductions.
Downtown residents are unhappy about the end of free MAX rides. And
Portland Mayor Sam Adams has accused TriMet of breaking a promise to
provide free rides to public school students.
The complaints
follow TriMet's decisions to close a $12 million gap in the budget that
took effect Sunday. But TriMet officials say things could get worse -
much worse - in the future.
"We need a massive change of
astronomical proportions in our finances for things to get better," says
Randy Stedman, TriMet's executive director of labor relations and human
resources.
Bruce Hansen, new president of the union that
represents most TriMet employees, is not convinced, however. Hansen says
he has not yet seen any documents that prove the financial picture is
that bleak.
"My understanding is we've repeatedly asked for proof
and haven't seen it," says Hansen, who became president of Amalgamated
Transit Union Local 757 on July 1.
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