The glitz has worn off. Portland - area taxpayers understandably wanted to see what the $57 million "transport system" really got them. The answer: not much. Having ponied up their tax dollars (and another four bucks to actually ride the thing), Portland-area taxpayers are now staying away in droves.
This wasn't entirely unexpected; even Portland City Council sort of suspected that paying ridership might drop off after the first year or so of operation. This sort of thing is highly unusual for PCC; they don't usually consider much of anything beyond trying to figure out how to con folks out of a few hundred grand to pay for wino piss-houses and illegal alien day care centers.
Nonetheless, despite all the shucking and jivin', it looks a lot like the City (i.e., residents thereof) are going to be on the hook as paying ridership declines below the 15% negotiated threshold.
When you elect Sam The Sham as the Pharaoh, you don't get to whine. If you're dumb enough to go for it, you deserve what comes next.
