MARY FETSCH

In response to Dave Lister's Aug. 19 column, "No easy boarding for TriMet's rail line": You asked why doesn't TriMet budget for buses? We had planned to buy 60 buses annually since 1997, but with economic downturns, we only purchased buses in 7 of 13 years. We delayed bus purchases rather than cut service to riders. The severity of the latest economic recession caused us to also have to cut service.

You also asked if now is the time to build the Portland-Milwaukie line. Half of the funding for the Portland-Milwaukie light rail will be paid for by the federal government, with local agencies funding the balance. This is not just an important investment in the region's transit system, it is also vital to our short- and long-term economic health. Our light-rail projects are regional investments, and regional agencies contribute to them.

The cost is not borne solely by TriMet. TriMet's share for the just-opened Green Line was $28 million for the $576 million project. In all, TriMet's contributions for the five light-rail lines built to date is less than 10 percent of the total project costs, or about $242 million.

Finally, a MAX train carries five times more people than bus. Without MAX, we could not carry as many riders as we do today with the funding we have available. The bottom line is that we need both buses and our high-capacity rail system to serve our region.

MARY FETSCH
Fetsch is communications director for TriMet
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