BLOG: 300 Miles of Tram Tracks
Sam Adams
6 miles of Portland streetcar tracks compared to over 300 track miles in Melbourne is hardly a fair comparison. While Portland paved over its streetcar tracks in the 1950s and 60s, Melbourne's streetcar system expanded.
Melbourne has the 3rd largest streetcar network in the world. Over 141 million trips were taken on streetcars in Melbourne or 500,000 per day. There are 1,770 streetcar stops spread across the entire network using 500 streetcars.
Roughly 7 percent of trips in Melbourne and Portland are made by transit.
In Melbourne, the streetcars are called “trams” and since 1999, they have been operated by a private joint venture of Transfield Services and Transdev under the name Yerra Trams.
I sat down with Dennis Cliche Chief Executive Officer of Yarra Trams and asked, “Private operation, how do you make money?”
Cliche explained that his joint venture has an open book franchise with the state government to operate the trams for 5 years. The joint venture makes about 5 percent on system income of $300 million and their contact includes “clawback” and incentive provisions.
Ticket revenues pay for about 50 percent of the tram system’s operating costs. The remainder comes from state government. The government and joint venture have to agree on capital improvement projects. The unions and and most of their contract provisions have remained in place since “franchisement” and Chiche says relations are good.
Melbourne has a downtown fareless square like Portland.
I asked, “A 5 percent return doesn’t sound like much, why is your company willing to take such a relatively low return?”
“The start up capital is minimal (state pays for the tram’s capital costs), so the return on equity is what keeps the joint partners interested,” said Chiche..
Recently the state government imposed a $400 to $800 tax per private parking spot, “We are hoping to use some of this for more tram upgrades,” said Chiche..
Some of their stops could be upgraded: some stops are just two feet of road behind a metal rail in the middle of the street. The notion of transit oriented planning and development is also not in wide use in Melbourne.
Posted by Sam Adams on October 16, 2005
(4) Comments | Permalink | TrackBack (1)
Filed Under Blog, Melbourne, Transportation
Comments by site visitors
Some technologies get cheaper as they mature. (Look at cellphones, laser vision correction, flatscreen TV, etc.) Why shouldn't rail transit? Do we really neeed for vehicles which run on dedicated routes to be cumbersome and heavy? Is there no way to ensure passenger safety and at the same time have economical purchase, operation and maintenance. What happened to Yankee ingenuity?
If streetcars can be produced in Oregon, this could be the next step of responsibility; to make them relatively inexpensive for communities to purchase. But in most applications I doubt that anyone can beat the cost effectiveness of a bus.
Posted by: Ron Swaren | Oct 16, 2005 9:39:02 PM
The closest model for Portland's rail transportation system is what you find in most German cities...Strassenbahn (streetcars), U-Bahn (lightrail with subway in central city) and S-Bahn (commuter rail). Together these three components move millions of travelers in German cities today.
I know Frankfurt a/Main best. It has 7 LRT lines running through three tunnels plus a dozen S-Bahn lines most of which run through yet another tunnel under the Innenstadt. Strassenbahns continue in outer neighborhoods, though most lines to the center were converted to U-Bahn lines, which is a mixed blessing...faster, but less daylight for riders!
Germans love their autos! and autobahns ring every city, but don't cut right through the heart. Indeed, Frankfurt, not known as a beautiful city, as parks along both sides of the River Main. Imagine a string of museums where the Eastbank freeway sits in Portland! Oh well...we need to save those sub-urban commuters a few minutes each day.
There is lots more to learn from elsewhere...bikeways, lower speeds on urban streets, etc.
My favorite Frankfurt comment came from a friend at a party who said she came by Strassenbahn because she found a great parking place for her car right in front of her apartment and did not want to lose it! Keep those cars parked!
Lenny Anderson, NE Portland
Posted by: Lenny Anderson | Oct 17, 2005 10:57:04 AM
Buses are notoriously cheap; I have been on some really old ones in Europe (in Switzerland). I understand that much of the rationale behind commuter rail is to serve as a way to focus development. Still when I see the largely empty MAX cars at times other than rush hour how could one not question at least some of the costs vs. benefits? Since I often go to the Carpenters Union hall on North Lombard I frequently observe the Interstate MAX. Yesterday, I chased alongside, in my car, and observed that there were no more passengers than would fit in a bus. I know the East and West MAX's have high ridership. But if largely empty cars are going to be the norm on the Milwaukie MAX, also, then maybe we should look for an alernative.
I have been suggesting that a two line streetcar system, from Milwaukie going north, would provide much better service. 500 million, for a MAX line that is only a small start of what it should be, is a lot of dough and it will also engender the Portland Mall, (another 200 million) plus a new bridge (when we have a resource at hand in the Marquam bridge). At the inflation rate to extend Milwaukie MAX to Oregon City will cost .5-1 billion more. We are already seeing the City impose additional fees to pay for this dream. If the outrageous dreams of some extravagant planners are accomplished we will see many more fees and taxes imposed when the true costliness of these schemes becomes clear.
We need a good transit system, but one built within a budget. Leave the MAX lines for only the most heavily used, lengthy corridors.
Posted by: Ron Swaren | Oct 18, 2005 10:50:21 AM
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Following WW II, the U.S. took a fundamentally different path from Europe (and Melbourne) and dis-invested in our rail infrastructure while Europe re-invested in their.
I'd like to think that Portland can be a leader in reversing this trend as we enter an era of energy prices where petro-fueled vehicles of all kinds will be more expensive to operate.
But I also think we need to look to Europe and Australia for some of our design standards. While I'm not suggesting we should ditch ADA, we have a lot of regulations that govern how our transit system must be constructed (in part because of our tort system) and this makes them more expensive. Portland Streetcar as a public/private partnership has worked hard to keep costs relatively low, but this is an area that needs more work.
What we have done very well here in Portland is focus Streetcar as a catalyst for development. We have $1.5B of development along the Streetcar alignment and it's growing. A study now being conducted as part of the Eastside Alternatives Analysis is showing pretty conclusively that there is a strong link between the Streetcar and intensity of development.
Let's get Portland's next 20 or 30 miles (to the Eastside and Lake Oswego) built soon and continue from there!
Posted by: Chris Smith | Oct 16, 2005 8:35:53 AM