Dishonesty is a core value of the TriMet organization.

Dishonesty is a core value of the TriMet organization. It is not simple incompetence that explains why they have done nothing about overflowing MAX lots while eliminating bus alternatives. Ignorance does not explain why every trip in the region must pass through downtown Portland. Wishful thinking might possibly explain why the backup strategy for MAX failures is to use buses.
The strategic dishonesty flows down to service.
The TriMet app lies blatantly about arrival times, and scheduled arrivals simply disappear if they are late. Managers have repeatedly stranded thousands while promising buses are on their way. MAX drivers tell waiting crowds their is another train "right behind" (of course, as it is a loop, that train might actually be ahead). It is literally not possible to go end to end on MAX on a time-limited ticket unless the rider waits for the right train and validates at the last second (it can't be snowing or hot out, though, and there cannot be even one train or track or bridge with a mechanical problem).
I'm not a suburban troll casting blame as a hobby. I am part of the 2% of the regional populace served by MAX, and I have been riding it to work for a dozen years. But I wouldn't want to live or work where I could not walk to MAX, as the bus alternatives are awful. I want to believe this system can be dramatically improved, but core dishonesty in the organization makes it unlikely.
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