Keen to find out what’s the most pressing transit issues in your city?
If there were one thing that you could change about the cycling or transit infrastructure in the city you live in, what would it be?
In Sydney of late, the reliability of the train network has definitely been an issue. Also, some outer suburban Western Sydney bus services run half hourly or worse during the morning and evening peak, with no nearby rail alternative nearby.
Portland’s bike infrastructure is very good for a North American city. The problem is that it gets a bit spotty traveling further out. There also isn’t infrastructure if you want to bike outside of the city. Want to hop on your bike and go do some camping? Have fun going on tight rural highways with high speeds! And even in the metro area, it’s really just the urban core and surrounding residential areas that have good coverage.
COVID-19 has been devastating to transit service. There are fewer riders and the transit agency, Trimet, has struggled to find drivers. Before, late night service especially was poor, with even “frequent service” reduced to hourly by around 10, and overnight service being non-existent. Now on top of that, the worsening homelessness crisis and opioid epidemic has led to people smoking fentanyl on light rail trains. A lot of passengers just don’t feel entirely safe.