Quote:
Originally Posted by Encolpius
But I think well-intentioned middle-class Portlanders (and Americans in general) typically don't get this because of stupid American class prejudice against buses, because buses aren't sexy, and because buses don't impress visitors from out of town. Their banality means that investment in buses isn't very effective at virtue signalling that Portland is green and innovative and trendy. Too bad. We'd like to have a great transit system but we just don't know how to do it.
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this is something I've often pondered, and I think you're touching on a very important issue here. from living here for over 50 years my experience has been that buses are seen as a primarily lower-class (economically speaking) option. the advancement of alternate, and relatively low-cost, car-sharing/ride-sharing services have strengthened that divide, I suspect. sure, you'll see middle-class folks using it as a commuting option, but you'll likely never see those same people hopping a bus to go to dinner or a movie.
this perception most likely extends to the ability of TriMet to find adequate funding support for maintenance and expansion of bus service, whether that's an internal prejudice or an impediment for getting votes on ballot measures.
until middle-class and upper middle-class Portlanders view buses in the same light they view MAX or the Streetcar we will be very unlikely to have the robust transit system we need to combat growing traffic congestion. seems like a chicken/egg kinda thing, though. do you "make buses sexier", or do you run an ad campaign targeting the middle-class, or... what?
I've been to London a couple of times and have always been impressed by how many people of different classes use the buses as a matter of course. hoping that someday Portland can be like that.