Rose City Transit

Last updated
Rose City Transit Company
Rose City Transit Company logo.jpg
ParentPortland Traction Company
Founded1956
Defunct1969
Locale Portland, Oregon, United States
Service areacity of Portland; not suburbs
Service type bus transit
Routesabout 20–30
Fleetabout 200–230 buses
Annual ridership
  • 1957: 29.1 million
  • 1968: 15.7 million

The Rose City Transit Company (RCT, or RCTC) was a private company that operated most mass transit service in the city of Portland, Oregon, from 1956 to 1969. [1] [2] It operated only within the city proper. Transit services connecting downtown Portland with suburbs outside the city but within the Portland metropolitan area were run by other private companies, mainly a consortium of four companies known collectively as the "Blue Bus" lines. [2]

Privately held company business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members, and the companys capital stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged privately

A privately held company, private company, or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock (shares) to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the company's stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged privately or over-the-counter. More ambiguous terms for a privately held company are closely held corporation, unquoted company, and unlisted company.

Public transport bus service road transport using buses

Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable.

Portland, Oregon City in Oregon, United States

Portland is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County. It is a major port in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. As of 2018, Portland had an estimated population of 653,115, making it the 25th most populated city in the United States, and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest. Approximately 2.4 million people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area (MSA), making it the 25th most populous in the United States. Its Combined Statistical Area (CSA) ranks 19th-largest with a population of around 3.2 million. Approximately 60% of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area.

Contents

Rose City Transit was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Portland Traction Company (PTC), which was also its predecessor. [3] [4] Prior to the formation of RCT, most transit service in the city had been provided directly by Portland Traction under that name since the 1930s. [2] [5] [6] After PTC's bus routes were transferred to Rose City Transit in 1956, PTC continued to run two interurban trolley lines (to Oregon City and Bellrose) under its own name, but those two lines – the only trolley car lines remaining in operation in Portland after abandonment of the last city streetcar lines in 1950 [7]  – were the only transit routes still operated directly by PTC, which otherwise was a freight railroad. [2] [4] [8] [9] Although RCT was a private company, it operated under a franchise agreement with the city of Portland, through which the city had some oversight control. Any fare increases or major service changes had to be approved by the city council. [10]

A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company that is owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company, parent, or holding company. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a government or state-owned enterprise. In some cases, particularly in the music and book publishing industries, subsidiaries are referred to as imprints.

Interurban

The interurban is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like light electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. They were prevalent in North America between 1900 and 1925 and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Limited examples existed in Europe and Asia. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, and the cars that ran on the rails.

Oregon City, Oregon City in Oregon, United States

Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. Established in 1829 by the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1844 it became the first U.S. city west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated.

Many transit systems in the United States were changing from private to public control in the 1950s, as growth in private-car ownership and other factors made the provision of mass transit service an increasingly difficult business in which to make a profit. By 1962, all but two major West Coast cities had made the change and begun subsidizing transit, and one of those two exceptions was Portland, served by the Rose City Transit Company (with San Diego being the other). [11] By 1967, RCT was the last remaining privately owned big-city transit system on the West Coast, [12] [13] after San Diego Transit became municipalized. Rose City Transit's annual ridership declined from 32.3 million in 1956 [14] to 15.7 million in 1968. [15]

West Coast of the United States Coastline

The West Coast or Pacific Coast is the coastline along which the continental Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. As a region, this term most often refers to the coastal states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. More specifically, it refers to an area defined on the east by the Alaska Range, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, and Mojave Desert, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The United States Census groups the five states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii together as the Pacific States division.

A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from government, the term subsidy can relate to any type of support – for example from NGOs or as implicit subsidies. Subsidies come in various forms including: direct and indirect.

San Diego City in California, United States

San Diego is a city in the U.S. state of California on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. With an estimated population of 1,419,516 as of July 1, 2017, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder agglomeration between the U.S. and a bordering country after Detroit–Windsor, with a population of 4,922,723 people. The city is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the United States Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.

Effective December 1, 1969, a newly formed public authority, Tri-Met, replaced Rose City Transit, taking over all operation and facilities, and using the same personnel, under an agreement reached between RCT, the city council and Tri-Met. [16]

TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created in 1969 by the Oregon legislature, the district replaced five private bus companies that operated in the three counties; Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas. TriMet started operating a light rail system named MAX in 1986, which has since been expanded to 5 lines that now cover 59.7 miles (96.1 km), as well as a commuter rail line in 2009. It also provides the operators and maintenance personnel for the City of Portland-owned Portland Streetcar system.

Formation

The Portland Traction Company's 20-year franchise to operate the city's transit system, approved by city voters in 1936, [2] [17] expired on February 10, 1956. [18] [3] In October 1955, the city council refused to renew the franchise, citing dissatisfaction with the company's practices, quality of service and out-of-state corporate control. [19] Since 1946, PTC had been owned by a San Francisco-based holding company called Portland Transit Company, [6] [4] which in turn was controlled by a company called Pacific Associates. [9] [20] [21] In January 1956, PTC owner Portland Transit formed a new subsidiary, Rose City Transit Company, which it hoped would gain city council approval to take over all Portland city transit lines. [22] The only lines serving areas outside the city, the two interurban rail lines to Oregon City and Bellrose (also spelled Bell Rose), would remain with PTC. [23] The council approved this arrangement on a trial basis, [18] and Rose City Transit began operating the city's transit system on February 10, 1956. [3] It used the same vehicles, employees and maintenance facilities previously used by PTC, which technically was its owner, making the transition relatively simple. The new company was initially given only a 60-day revocable franchise by the city, which was later extended by 30 days, while details of a long-term agreement were still being worked out. [24] Both sides wanted changes before agreeing on a long-term franchise; for its part, RCT wanted more freedom to make changes without being required to obtain council approval. [25] At one point when differences between the city council and RCT were great, one city commissioner (council member) proposed putting the idea of municipal ownership of the transit system to a vote by the public if an agreement could not be reached. [26] However, differences were eventually worked out, and RCT was given a two-year franchise, [10] and later a 10-year one, the latter taking effect on January 1, 1963. [27]

A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity.

San Francisco Consolidated city-county in California, US

San Francisco, officially City and County of San Francisco and colloquially known as SanFran, is a city in—and the cultural, commercial, and financial center of—Northern California. San Francisco is the 13th most populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous in California, with 883,305 residents as of 2018. It covers an area of about 46.89 square miles (121.4 km2), mostly at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city, and the fifth most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. San Francisco is the 12th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States, with 4,729,484 people in 2018. With San Jose, it forms the fifth most populous combined statistical area in the United States, the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area.

A holding company is a company that owns other companies' outstanding stock. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies to form a corporate group. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow the ownership and control of a number of different companies.

A 1948 Twin Coach bus of Rose City Transit laying over in Linnton in 1963 Rose City Transit bus laying over in Linnton in 1963.jpg
A 1948 Twin Coach bus of Rose City Transit laying over in Linnton in 1963

Portland Transit, the California holding company, created a separate subsidiary named Landport Company, Inc., to own RCT's vehicles, facilities and properties. Landport leased them to RCT. [21] [28] RCT's first president was Gordon Steele, who had been president of PTC for many years prior; [3] he retired in August 1956. [29]

Local bus service outside the Portland city limits was operated by other private companies, including Portland Stages, Inc.; Tualatin Valley Stages, Inc.; Intercity Buses, Inc. and Estacada-Molalla Stages. These four were collectively – but unofficially – known as the "‘Blue Bus’ lines" or "Blue Buses". [2] [30] [31] In 1964, RCT began negotiating to purchase the four suburban companies, [31] but no deal was reached, and the four Blue Bus lines remained in operation until taken over by Tri-Met in 1970. [32] Bus service between Portland and Vancouver, Washington, was provided only by the Vancouver-Portland Bus Company, [2] a private company that remained in operation until the end of 1976. [33]

Service overview

Logo used on Rose City Transit buses (shown here in black-and-white) RCT logo bw.png
Logo used on Rose City Transit buses (shown here in black-and-white)
Rose City Transit fare tokens Rose City Transit tokens - Portland, Oregon.jpg
Rose City Transit fare tokens

At the time of the transfer from Portland Traction Company to Rose City Transit, the transit system included about 30 routes, using a fleet of about 230 buses (including trolley buses). [19] The adult fare (since early 1955) was 20 cents, with tokens priced three for 50 cents, [34] increasing in February 1958 to 25 cents with tokens two for 45 cents. [35] By mid-1966, the basic fare was 35 cents, which was the highest of any transit system on the Pacific Coast. [36]

In a series of changes implemented between October 1958 and April 1959, nearly all routes terminating downtown were connected into through-route combinations [2]  – for example, the "Broadway" line was linked to the "Powell" line [37] (a combination which lasted until 2012) [38] [39]  – to make operation through downtown more efficient. After these changes, the revised total number of routes in Rose City's system was 21. [2] Routes were designated only by names, not numbers, during RCT's entire existence. Not until 1973, more than three years after Tri-Met took over, were Portland-area transit routes first designated by numbers. [40] As of 1961, about 180 buses were in scheduled service during rush hour. [41]

Workforce

Rose City's drivers and most other workers were unionized, as they had been under PTC, represented by local 757 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employes of America [42] (later renamed the Amalgamated Transit Union). In 1960, 227 of the unionized employees were drivers. [43] RCT never experienced a strike by its drivers, but an impasse between the company and the union during contract negotiations in 1968 led to a three-day suspension of all service, [44] the first suspension of transit service in the city's history. [45] In mid-1968, the company had 350 drivers and 133 other employees. [36]

Electric transit

Rose City Transit never operated any streetcar service, but its parent, the Portland Traction Company, continued to operate streetcars on its two interurban lines, from Portland to Bellrose (at SE 136th Avenue north of Foster Road, on what is now the Springwater Corridor trail) and Oregon City after the urban transit lines were transferred from PTC to RCT. These operated until January 25, 1958, but service was then abruptly abandoned and PTC retained only its freight service. [7] [46] The last three city streetcar lines had closed on February 26, 1950, six years before the city transit system was transferred to Rose City. [7]

Trolley bus service

RCT did operate electric trolley bus service, albeit for less than three years. The city's first trolley bus line was opened by Portland Traction on August 30, 1936, and by 1937 Portland had one of the largest trolley bus systems in the country, [5] [7] with seven routes and a fleet of 120 "trolley coaches" – the common name for this mode at that time – built by Mack Trucks. [5] Six trolley bus routes were still intact when RCT took over all of PTC's bus lines in 1956, and these continued under RCT operation, but the Eastmoreland and Sellwood routes were electric only until the end of 1956. [5]

Rose City attempted to discontinue permanently all trolley bus service in January 1958, in part to eliminate the regulatory control of the state Public Utility Commission (PUC), which had some authority over operating franchises involving streetcars and trolley buses, but not of companies that operated only motor buses. [47] [48] RCT replaced all remaining electric buses with diesel- or gasoline-powered buses on January 29, 1958, on what had been the last four trolley bus routes: Interstate Avenue, Mississippi, Sandy Blvd. and St. Johns. However, the company soon discovered it did not have enough serviceable motor buses to be able reliably to maintain the scheduled service. Trolley bus service resumed on all four routes after only one month, on February 25, 1958, [2] [5] but the reprieve for electric transit lasted only a few months. The company again discontinued all remaining trolley bus service on October 23, 1958, [5] in the late morning, when 16 of the remaining 31 active trolley buses were taken off their routes and driven back to the garage. [49] The city council was upset with the move, [49] but back on January 29 it had passed an emergency ordinance giving RCT the authority to abandon its trolley coach service during a dispute over a requested fare increase, a move the council made so as to keep the state's PUC from asserting jurisdictional control. [48] [50] On October 22, Portland Commissioner William Bowes filed an emergency ordinance to repeal the earlier ordinance and stop RCT from abandoning its trolley service, [50] but the company began dismantling key parts of the overhead wires the day after service ended; the new council ordinance never came to a vote. RCT offered few details for its action, but told city officials that it was "necessitated" by an impending problem with federal taxes. [49]

New buses

1966 GM bus 575, pictured in 1985 wearing Tri-Met's first color scheme, was the last bus purchased by Rose City Transit. It and others of its type passed to Tri-Met in 1969, and the last examples were in service until 1985. Ex-Rose City Transit bus, Tri-Met 575, in 1985.jpg
1966 GM bus 575, pictured in 1985 wearing Tri-Met's first color scheme, was the last bus purchased by Rose City Transit. It and others of its type passed to Tri-Met in 1969, and the last examples were in service until 1985.

During its first few years, RCT's bus fleet was rather old. As of 1958, some buses over 20 years old were still in service, and the youngest buses in the fleet dated from 1951, [51] when 27 buses had been purchased. [41] The company made its first purchase of new buses in 1961, but of only five vehicles, 35-foot General Motors "New Look"-type buses. [2] [41] At that time, the active fleet comprised 202 buses, and 182 were scheduled to be in service each day in peak periods. [41] When the city council granted RCT a 10-year operating franchise in 1962, one stipulation was that the company had to purchase at least 70 new buses within five years. [52] The company complied, proceeding to purchase another 70 buses of the same type, delivered in four batches between 1963 and 1966. These 75 buses (numbered 501–575) were the only new buses RCT ever bought. [2] The paint scheme of Rose City's buses was red and cream, originally a bright red as used in pre-RCT days by the Portland Traction Company, but later changed to a darker red.

Nickname

Rose City Transit dubbed a new downtown "shoppers' special" route as "Rosy" when the service was introduced in 1957, [53] but "Rosy" later became a nickname for RCT itself, used both by the company and by the general public. [43] [54] [12] The company also used the name "Rosy" for an advertising character, a bus with eyes and an elephant's trunk, a reference to a popular resident of the Portland Zoo (from 1953–1993), a pachyderm named Rosy who was the zoo's very first elephant. [55]

Problems

The privately owned company struggled financially during several periods. [21] [51] Providing mass transit service was increasingly an unprofitable business during the post-World War II period, when private car ownership in the U.S. was growing rapidly. [29] [34] [20]

Portland transit ridership declined steadily every year, [51] [56] and several of RCT's requests for permission to raise fares were turned down by the city council. Numerous times over the years, RCT and the council argued about fares and service issues. [21] [36] Tensions between the two at times prompted calls for the transit system to be municipalized, as had already happened in several other West Coast cities, including San Francisco and Seattle. [57] At the beginning of 1962, Portland and San Diego were the only two major West Coast cities whose transit systems were still privately owned. [11] Proposition 55, on the May 1962 municipal ballot, would have issued $6.5 million in general-obligation bonds and established a 10-year tax levy to cover RCT's $300,000 annual operating deficit, created a new city Transit Commission, and given the city authority to take over the transit system if a majority of council approved. [58] The city's voters turned it down by a 7-to-5 ratio. [59] The three-day suspension of all RCT service in November 1968, angered the council and again led to consideration of municipalizing the system. [60]

In 1966, RCT was sued by the suburban "Blue Bus" lines consortium, after announcing plans to extend service into areas that were outside the city and which the Blue Bus companies considered to be their territory. [61] The court ruled in favor of RCT, and the expansion proceeded. [62]

Transition to public ownership

By 1968 Rose City Transit Company was nearly bankrupt. [1] It sought council permission for another fare increase (to 40 cents) and threatened to discontinue all service if this was not approved. On December 12, 1968, the city council declined to vote on the request and instead voted unanimously to revoke RCT's franchise, effective in six months, and to plan for the city to take over the transit system after that period. [63] Commissioner William Bowes explained that it was felt the long trend of ever-increasing fares and declining patronage seen under private ownership was not sustainable, and that it was in the public interest for the transit system to be municipalized. [56] [63]

In January 1969, mayor Terry Schrunk appointed a seven-member Mass Transit Advisory Commission to examine the issues and consider options for the future of public transit in the city. [64] [1] In June, it recommended that the city take over the system, taking possession of its vehicles and properties and giving RCT revenue certificates for the appraised value, an action the city said was provided for under the franchise agreement. [65] However, other factors complicated the situation and delayed action for months. RCT said it considered the city's termination of the franchise to be invalid [66] [67] and continued to press for a fare increase. Meanwhile, in May 1969, the Oregon Legislature approved a bill (House Bill 1808) allowing the creation of multi-county mass transit districts with taxing authority and boards of directors to be appointed by the governor. [68] [69] [1] The city council postponed the original mid-June takeover date by 60 days, but by August, the conflict between the city and Rose City Transit was far from resolved and appeared likely to go to court. [67] [70]

On October 1, 1969, the city council passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a new Portland metropolitan area transit district. More specifically, the resolution called on Governor Tom McCall to appoint a seven-member board to administer the transit district, under the provisions of the new state legislation (House Bill 1808). [71] The area would soon have a regional transit authority, rather than one run by the city of Portland. Within one week, McCall had made all seven appointments to what was provisionally referred to as the Portland Metropolitan Mass Transit District. [72] About one month later the transit district had been formally named the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District , or "Tri-Met" for short. [73]

In mid-November, RCT was still asserting that the city's termination of its franchise was "illegal" and was awaiting a Multnomah County court ruling on the matter. [74] [75] The contract with its union employees had expired on October 31, and negotiations on a new contract had broken down, with the union calling for a strike to start on December 1, the date that Tri-Met was anticipating taking over the service. [75] Meanwhile, the city council granted Tri-Met a permit to operate buses – over RCT's "strenuous objections" [76]  – and Tri-Met was trying to make arrangements to buy or lease about 100 buses from other cities, with which to provide service if RCT declined the city's offer to purchase its fleet. [77] [73] The city and RCT were far apart on a purchase price for RCT's buses, [73] and negotiations were not bringing them significantly closer. On November 19, RCT President Charles C. Bowen offered to allow the city to take immediate possession of the transit system if they agreed to continue the current litigation and abide by whatever the courts ultimately decided, on both the question of whether the franchise termination had been legal and on determining the fair value of the assets involved, for compensation to RCT and Landport Inc. [75] (A third lawsuit was also in process, to determine whether RCT would be required to pay retirement pensions of its retired employees.) After additional negotiations, an agreement for the city to take possession of the system – and immediately transfer it to Tri-Met – was approved by the city council on November 28, only a little more than 48 hours before a strike had been scheduled to take place and shut down the system. [78]

Tri-Met took over operation of the entire Rose City Transit system on December 1, 1969, using the same buses and workers and serving the same routes. [16] The transit union had shifted its negotiations from RCT to Tri-Met and canceled its planned strike, and a new 19-month contract was approved by the agency's board on the same day that Tri-Met took over the system. [79] At the end of Rose City Transit's management, Portland's city transit system was carrying about 65,000 riders a day. [80]

The lawsuits were not finally concluded until 1971, with court rulings in May in favor of the City of Portland and Tri-Met on the matters of franchise termination and retirement benefits. [81] The court's ruling on the asset valuation came six weeks later. The fair value was set at $2.9 million (equivalent to $18 million in 2018 [82] ), which was $200,000 more than the city had offered, but was far less than the $5.5 million Rose City Transit had asserted to be their value. [83] The ruling on the franchise termination was upheld on appeal in 1974. [84]

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South Metro Area Regional Transit

South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART) is a public transit system operated by the city government of Wilsonville, Oregon, United States. The system currently consists of seven routes and is funded by local businesses. It was created when Wilsonville petitioned to withdraw from the TriMet service district in the late 1980s. Offices of the agency are in the former city hall off Wilsonville Road.

MAX Green Line Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

The MAX Green Line is a light rail service in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned and operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system. It extends from downtown Portland to the eastside community of Clackamas, connecting Portland State University (PSU), Portland City Center, the Northeast and Southeast sections of Portland, and Clackamas Town Center. The line is 15 miles (24.1 km) long and serves 30 stations between the PSU South stations and Clackamas Town Center Transit Center. It is the only service that shares parts of its alignment with all four of the other MAX services, sharing the Portland Transit Mall with the Orange Line and the Yellow Line, and the Banfield segment of the Eastside MAX with the Blue Line and the Red Line. Southbound from Gateway/Northeast 99th Avenue Transit Center, the Green Line serves an exclusive segment along Interstate 205 (I-205), referred to as the I-205 MAX. It runs for approximately 21​1⁄2 hours per day with a headway of fifteen minutes during most of the day. The line is the third busiest in the system, carrying an average of 20,640 riders per day on weekdays in September 2018.

Portland Vintage Trolley

The Portland Vintage Trolley was a heritage streetcar service in Portland, Oregon, United States, that operated from 1991 to 2014. It operated on a portion of the MAX light rail system, and for a brief time also operated on the Portland Streetcar system, in downtown and nearby areas. Service was provided with replicas of a type of Brill streetcar, nicknamed the "Council Crest" cars, which last served Portland in 1950. The service was managed by Vintage Trolley Inc., a non-profit corporation, and the cars were owned and operated by TriMet, Portland's transit agency. For 18 of its 23 years, the service followed a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) section of what is now the MAX Blue Line, between Lloyd Center and the west end of downtown. In September 2009, the route was changed to a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) section of the MAX system, along the transit mall in downtown Portland, from Union Station to Portland State University (PSU).

WES Commuter Rail

WES Commuter Rail is a commuter rail line in Washington County, Oregon, United States, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is owned by TriMet and operated by Portland and Western Railroad (P&W). It serves five stations in the cities of Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, and Wilsonville. The line spans 14.7 miles (23.7 km), traveling north–south along the west side of Oregon Highway 217 and Interstate 5 between Beaverton Transit Center and Wilsonville station. WES connects suburban commuters to MAX Light Rail, running on a 30-minute headway on weekdays during morning and evening rush hours. In May 2018, it carried an average 1,590 riders.

Portland Transit Mall

The Portland Transit Mall is a public transit corridor that travels north–south through the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. It encompasses a pair of one-way streets—one for northbound traffic, the other for southbound—along which two of the three lanes are restricted to transit vehicles only. The transit mall opened in 1977 and until light rail trains were added in 2009, buses were the only transit vehicles using it. The mall was rebuilt and extended southwards from 2007 to 2009, and it reopened for buses on May 24, 2009. Light rail service on the mall was introduced on August 30, 2009, with the shifting of the MAX Yellow Line to the mall from its original routing in downtown, and a second MAX line, the Green Line, began serving the mall a month later on September 12. Between fall 2009 and July 2014, the Portland Vintage Trolley also served the transit mall on certain Sundays. Although the mall's stops are mainly served by TriMet vehicles, on weekdays buses on express routes operated by C-Tran and the Columbia County Rider also serve the mall. In September 2015, the new MAX Orange Line replaced the Yellow Line service in the southbound direction on the mall, on 5th Avenue, with the Orange and Yellow lines being through-routed at all times.

Blue Bus lines

The "Blue Bus" lines was a group of four affiliated privately owned public transportation companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus lines", "Blue Lines", "blue bus" lines and "blue buses". The Blue Bus companies provided service only between Portland and suburbs outside the city, or within such suburbs, as transit service within the city of Portland was the exclusive franchise of the Portland Traction Company or, after 1956, the Rose City Transit Company (RCT). The "blue buses" were prohibited from making stops inside the city except to pick up passengers destined for points outside RCT's service area. The "blue" name was a reference to the paint scheme worn by most buses of the consortium. By contrast, city transit operator Rose City's buses wore a primarily red paint scheme.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Graf, Tyler (November 9, 2007). "The tracks of time". Daily Journal of Commerce . Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Portland Traction Co." [history of Portland transit up to 1971]. Motor Coach Age , September 1971, pp. 4–23. Motor Bus Society.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "New Transit Company To Start Operation Friday". (Friday, February 10, 1956). The Oregonian , p. 17.
  4. 1 2 3 "PTC Lists 1955 Net $470,347: Freight Traffic Offsets Slump in Passengers". (March 15, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1974). The Trolley Coach in North America, pp. 219–223. Los Angeles: Interurban Press. LCCN 74-20367.
  6. 1 2 Labbe, John T. (1980). Fares Please! Those Portland Trolley Years, pp. 142, 148. Caldwell, ID (US): Caxton. ISBN   0-87004-287-4.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Thompson, Richard (2006). Portland's Streetcars, pp. 113–114, 121. Charleston, South Carolina (US): Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   0-7385-3115-4.
  8. ↑ Turner, Wallace and Lambert, William (January 12, 1956). "New Setup In Owners Due Busses: Rose City Transit Proposed to Run Portland Vehicles". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  9. 1 2 "Disputed Interurban Lines Sole Rails To 125 Business Firms Near Portland". (January 12, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 6.
  10. 1 2 "Transit Firm Gets 2 Years". (July 6, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  11. 1 2 Holm, Don (January 1, 1962). "Powerful Group Booms Public Ownership Of Transit Line". The Oregonian, p. 24.
  12. 1 2 Barber, Lawrence (September 1, 1968). "Rosy In Distress: Transit Firm Faces Crisis As Costs Rise". The Sunday Oregonian , p. 1.
  13. ↑ Guess, George M. (1990). Public Policy and Transit System Management. New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN   978-0-313-26372-9 . Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Transit Firm Reports Loss; Freight Division Returns Profit". (March 13, 1958). The Oregonian, section 2, p. 4.
  15. ↑ "Portland Transit Annual Report Shows Cost Rise, Revenue Dip". (March 22, 1970). The Sunday Oregonian, section 1, p. 28.
  16. 1 2 "Tri-Met Takes Bus Control; Strike Averted". (December 1, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  17. ↑ "Four State Measures Defeated by Voters; Airport, Trolleys Win". (February 1, 1936). The Morning Oregonian, p. 1.
  18. 1 2 "New Firm Gets OK To Operate: Transit Company Given 60 Days By City Council". (January 24, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  19. 1 2 Turner, Wallace (November 24, 1955). "Barde Says $250,000 Now Ready As Nucleus for Purchase of PTC". The Oregonian, p. 15.
  20. 1 2 Lambert, William and Turner, Wallace (October 16, 1955). "Postwar Rider Slump Squeezes Traction Firm". The Oregonian, p. 47.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Holm, Don (January 7, 1962). "History Shows Portland Transit Systems Ride Rough Road". The Oregonian, p. 35.
  22. ↑ "Transit Firm Files Articles [of Incorporation]". (January 14, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 7.
  23. ↑ "PTC Asks Only for 60-Day Extension to Permit Transfer". (January 20, 1956). The Oregonian, p.12.
  24. ↑ "Two-Year Permit Asked To Assure City Transit". (June 14, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  25. ↑ "Transit Franchise Talks Hinted as Near Opening". (January 26, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 15.
  26. ↑ "City Ownership of Transit Line Eyed for Ballot: 'Guaranteed Profit' Proposal Draws Criticism From Commissioner Bowes". (April 6, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  27. ↑ "Transit Pact Now Official". (August 24, 1962). The Oregonian, p. 29.
  28. ↑ "City, Transit Company Officials Disagree On Issues Related To Takeover". (August 14, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 29.
  29. 1 2 "Gordon Steele's New Auto" (editorial). (August 10, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 16.
  30. ↑ "'Blue Buses' Raise Fare". (February 14, 1967). The Oregonian, p. 23.
  31. 1 2 "Competing Portland Bus Lines Maneuver For Advantage As Merger Talks Continue". (October 22, 1965). The Oregonian, p. 18.
  32. ↑ Federman, Stan (September 2, 1970). "Tri-Met Action Averts Strike Of Bus Drivers; Agency To Assume Operation Of Four Suburban Blue Lines". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  33. ↑ McDonough, Sandra (January 1, 1977). "40 Years of service: Bus firm quietly rolls to end of line" [Vancouver–Portland Bus Company goes out of business]. The Oregonian, p. 1.
  34. 1 2 "Boody Backs Fare Boost". (February 8, 1957). The Oregonian, p. 19.
  35. ↑ "Fare hike due Sunday". (February 8, 1958). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  36. 1 2 3 "Portland Mass Transit Shows History Of Great Financial Woe". (September 1, 1968). The Sunday Oregonian, p. 8.
  37. ↑ "Bus Routes Join Sunday: Turns Eliminated By Through Runs". (October 15, 1958). The Oregonian, p. 13.
  38. ↑ "Bus Line 9-Broadway/Powell". TriMet. 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Service Changes Effective Sept. 2, 2012". TriMet. 2012. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Tri-Met directors discontinue little-used experimental route". (August 7, 1973). The Oregonian, p. 15.
  41. 1 2 3 4 "Transit Firm Places Order For Vehicles". (May 18, 1960). The Oregonian , p. 1.
  42. ↑ "Traction Wage Pact Inked Giving Raise of 16 Cents". (October 27, 1956). The Oregonian, p. 9.
  43. 1 2 "Awards Due Rosy Drivers". (February 18, 1960). The Oregonian, p. 4.
  44. ↑ "Fare Increase Looms As Bus Service Resumes; Rose City, Union OK Contract". (November 4, 1968). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  45. ↑ Federman, Stan (November 2, 1968). "City Loses Bid To Halt Bus Shutdown: Judge Delays Tieup Decision". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  46. ↑ David, Ken (January 26, 1958). "PTC Halts Oregon City Trolleys: Company Surprises Customers; Firm Abandons Passenger Run After Sundown". The Sunday Oregonian, p. 1.
  47. ↑ Spagna, George (January 29, 1958). "Fare Raise Issue Gets New Life". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  48. 1 2 Spagna, George (January 30, 1958). "State Pulls to Sidelines in 25¢-Bus-Fare Fight". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  49. 1 2 3 Spagna, George (October 24, 1958). "Coaches Off Ere Council Able to Act". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  50. 1 2 Spagna, George (October 23, 1958). "Bus Crisis Expected By Bowes: RCT Said Ready to Cut Trolleys". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  51. 1 2 3 Penny, Herb (January 26, 1958). "Fiscal Woes Dot Transit History From Start". The Sunday Oregonian , pp. 34–35.
  52. ↑ "Council Approves 10-Year Rose City Transit Franchise Proposal". (July 20, 1962). The Oregonian, p. 14.
  53. ↑ "Here comes 'Rosy', your new downtown 'Shoppers’ special'". Rose City Transit advertisement in The Oregonian, November 8, 1957, p. 16.
  54. ↑ "The Importance of Rosy's New Fare Schedule". RCT advertisement in The Oregonian, January 4, 1962, p. 14.
  55. ↑ "Elephant matriarch Rosy dies at 43". (January 29, 1993). The Oregonian, p. C1.
  56. 1 2 Hill, James (December 13, 1968). "Decision To Take Over Buses Follows History Of Woes". The Oregonian, section 1, p. 46.
  57. ↑ Holm, Don (January 9, 1962). "Bus System You Get Depends On How Much You Want To Pay" (last in a series of seven articles). The Oregonian, p. 16.
  58. ↑ Holm, Don (May 6, 1962). "City Bus Bill Due May Vote". The Sunday Oregonian, section 3, p. 10.
  59. ↑ "Tax Base, Bus Plan Defeated". (May 20, 1962). The Sunday Oregonian, p. 1.
  60. ↑ Mershon, Andy (November 2, 1968). "City Plans Takeover Of Transit Operation". The Oregonian, p. 19.
  61. ↑ "City, Transit Firm Face Suit Over Expansion Into Suburbs". (August 5, 1966). The Oregonian, p. 28.
  62. ↑ "Court Relief Denied Suburban Bus Lines". (January 7, 1967). The Oregonian, p. 15.
  63. 1 2 "City To Take Over RCT Operation". (December 13, 1968). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  64. ↑ "Mayor Names Seven To New Transit Unit". (January 15, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 18.
  65. ↑ "Advisory Group Urges City To Operate Buses". (June 4, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  66. ↑ "RCT Warns City Again". (June 3, 1969). "The Oregonian, p. 10.
  67. 1 2 Hill, James (August 14, 1969). "RCT Chief Shuns City Takeover; Buses Expected To Keep Running Despite Refusal". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  68. ↑ "Senate OKs Transit Bill". (May 20, 1969). "The Oregonian, p. 14.
  69. ↑ "Panel Director Urges Rapid Move Ahead In Metro Transit Planning" (August 27, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 23.
  70. ↑ "RCT Requests Court Support For Franchise: Action Follows Portland Move To Take Over Bus Operation". (August 15, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  71. ↑ Hill, James (October 2, 1969). "City Approves Mass Transit District Start: Tri-County Board Supported; McCall To Select Directors". The Oregonian , p. 1.
  72. ↑ "Seven Make Up Metro Unit On Transit: McCall Selects Membership Of New Board". (October 8, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 1.
  73. 1 2 3 "Tri-Met Offers 'Power'". (November 8, 1969). The Oregon Journal .
  74. ↑ "Portland Reasonably Sure Of Bus Service For Next Two Weeks". (November 14, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 17.
  75. 1 2 3 Federman, Stan (November 20, 1969). "Union Calls Rosy Strike For Dec. 1; New Takeover Terms Offered By Transit Firm President". The Oregonian , p. 1.
  76. ↑ Hill, James (November 14, 1969). "Transit Unit Gains Okay To Operate: Tri-County Action Planned If Rose City Buses Stop". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  77. ↑ "Council's Action Could Be Vital Step In Starting Tri-County Transit System". (November 14, 1969; second of two articles on same page). The Oregonian, p. 17.
  78. ↑ Hill, James (November 29, 1969). "Council Passes Agreement; Strike Averted" (subheadline: "Tri-Met To Assume Operations; Spokesmen Plan New Vehicles"). The Oregonian , p. 1.
  79. ↑ Hill, James (December 2, 1969). "Buses Keep Rolling As Tri-Met Moves Into Gear, Tackles Organizational Problems". The Oregonian, p. 10.
  80. ↑ "Union Official Fears Bus Strike Problems". (November 7, 1969). The Oregonian, p. 22.
  81. ↑ "Tri-Met wins suits in transit takeover". (May 18, 1971). The Oregonian, section 2, p. 7.
  82. ↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  83. ↑ Federman, Stan (July 7, 1971). "City, Tri-Met save $2.5 million". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  84. ↑ "State Appeals Court upholds Rose City Transit takeover". (August 20, 1974). The Oregonian, section 2, p. 4.
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