How's this for a funding idea? From the TRAINS Newswire: Oregon’s Cascades service threatened Oregon’s state-sponsored Amtrak Cascades service may vanish if voters reject a tax increase on Jan. 28. Daily trains 502, 504, 507, and 509 to and from Eugene would be removed from the timetable in mid-April. State Senate Transportation Committee chairman Rick Metsger says the state legislature is unlikely to fund the Cascades if Measure 28 fails. However, Sen. Bruce Starr, the committee’s vice chairman, favors using the state’s lawn mower gas tax to save the Cascades. You read that right. When an Oregonian purchases gasoline for machinery that doesn’t run on roads, the tax goes into a different revenue stream from the regular gas tax. The fund accumulates about $7.5 million in a two-year budget cycle. That might be enough to save the service if voters reject Measure 28. However, extra money in the lawn mower fund would be likely to go to the Department of Transportation, freeing Oregon’s strapped general fund for human services or public safety. Cascades service doesn’t quite reach the priority necessary, according to Metsger. It would be the first loss of passenger service in Oregon since 1994. The Cascades have shown steady ridership increases since their inception.
It ain't just lawn mowers, in fact they probably rank low on the list of chainsaws, weedwhackers, outboard motors, etc. that we put gas into here in Oregon. My mower is an old fashioned reel type you pushem. Measure 28 is a political football here. Whole other subject.
Is Oregon the only state where you can't pump gas? I have mentioned it a couple of times to the gas attendants that it was a waste of salaries to have some one pump gas. They went down right snaky on me when I suggested that. Before I knew it was illigal to pump gas in the state, I was filling my own tank. One attendant told me if I didn't stop, he would call the police. I told him that if the cops arrested me for filling my car with gas, not only was the money wasted on gas pumpers, but cops as well.
There used to be 2 others states that were non self pumpers. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think New Jersey was one and the other must be in the east also since Iv'e pumped gas in just about every other state west of the Mississippi.
The talk around here at work is that they are pulling one of the Eugene trains off come spring. This will only effect the train service between PDX and Eugene not PDX to SEA. Local managers have been told not to hire any new engineers to fill the holes created by retirements because of the cutting of the service. The holes were filled by 2 engineers coming from Boston, who fled that crew base because of the loss of the MBTA contract loss.
You can't pump yer own gas in Oregon? And you could get arrested for doing so? Geez-o-Pete, did the rain mildew the brains of the politicians and spotted-owl-lovers???
The thing to remember about Oregon is that it has probably one of the most politically active populations in the nation. People there actually pay atytention to politics and use the iniative process to try to change what bugs them. This current iniative is about a lot more than trains, and as Fitz said, it's quite the political football. Hopefully Oregon won't go the route Washington and California have and destroy public transpotration to avoid paying taxes!
Paying taxes doesn't come too easily to the average person, altho we do pay them- some vital services are funded by tax dollars. In north Texas, DART gets 1% of the total sales tax of the member cities to help fund their system, which gets around 30% or so from fare collection. With the needed expansion of the rail system, and the fact the cars aren't cheap, it's gonna take a lot of tax revenues to build. The wild success of DART's rail system seems to justify the expense, and belay the NIMBY attitude of certain area residents. Gee, what would I want behind MY backyard- a ten-lane freeway, or a two-track light rail system? No comparison......gimme light rail! Good luck to Oregon in its funding attempts, and if y'all come down to Texas, we'll show you how to operate them gas pumps ( - just kidding.....good luck)
Well, 28 failed, so I expect we will lose the train. however as other have said, rail service is a very small part of what's going on the release of prisoners and shuttingdown of crimelabs is far more important in my mind. There is a lot of Anger around here over the money the oregon wastes. But nothing can be done till June when the have a new budget.
Well YoHo is right, crime labs and prison are more important. Also, the trains to Eugene are hardly the most patronized -- the numbers, as always, are a little "optimistic". Frankly I'd love to see the Eugene trains axed. Why? Because what we really need is a second daily (and even thrid daily) Seattle to Vancouver BC run. Right now, the way the schedules are aligned, the earliest Portland-Seattle train arrives too late for the only Seattle-Vancouver train. You *can* get an Am-bus to Vancouver, but not a train, and that sucks. You either have to stay overnight in Seatle or ride a bus! Frankly if same day to Vancouver service were intiated, it would bring far more riders than Eugene contributes to the system. Oh and on a side note, ODOT Rail has been investigating using RDC type cars as a replacement for Portland-Eugene service, a more practical idea by far. They will either be the ex BC Rail RDC units after their use is done on the Astoria run, or they'll be Colorado Railcar DMUs....
I just found this post and had to comment. When I travel in Ore. I will not fill up there, I will fill up in Vancouver WA before I cross into Ore. I don't understand what the deal is with that law, it's stupid and I'm surprised the people there are ok with it?
As long as they keep the Vancouver/Seattle service, they can do what they want with the rest if the population is dumb enough they can't pump their own petrol, then they should have voted for the train.
In the 6 years I lived in Washington I made as few trips to Oregon as possible. And as many others have said we always fill up in Vancouver so we would hot have to stop in Oregon to get gas. There are only two states now that will not let you pump your own gas. They are of course Oregon and New Jersey. Why? who the heck knows. I always wondered why the train ran to Eugene? It seems to me there should be a better place to run to, Coos Bay comes to mind. This whole thing about Amtrak funding got started when the West did not support J.W. you know who. He is pissed that we did not support him out West and is going to make us pay for it. I read the other day that he will make sure the Northeast lines are rebuilt for Amtrak , but nothing out West. Great president we have here. Shannon WP LIVES ATSF LIVES
Why would you boycott gas stations that actually provide service? I'm confused. But then, I live in Oregon, and the politics, environmentalists, activists, you name it, never cease to amaze me. A constant source of (sick) entertainment. I expect the state to secede from the union at any time. Why would trains run to the Peoples Republic of Eugene? I don't know.
They run to Eugene, because it's like the second biggest city in the state and then you can get college kids from UofO going on the weekends up to Portland, plus It runs through Salem the capitol. As for patronizing the Gas stations, you must all be driving some very fuel efficient cars if you can manage to never buy gas in Oregon. Personally, I lived in Beaverton and tried to always buy my gas in Washington, not because I couldn't pump my own, but because it was cheaper even after the drive. And on the occasions when it wasn't cheaper, I wouldn't buy it there. I mean honestly, why would you give a damn? Do you get your jollys from smelling gas fumes? I rather enjoyed not having to pump my own gas. And, lets be honest here, how many of you Oregon visitors were in town to do some shopping in the sales tax free stores? I thought so, Curse you Oregon for not letting us pump our own gas (communists) but thanks for not charging me sales tax on my purchases from the gap. Anyway, since this is a 2 year old topic, does anyone know if they actually cut the service? Last time I was there, it was still running to Eugene.
