When I moved to the Portland area, I was amazed by how convenient the public transportation system was. During my two years there, I drove my car fewer than 50 times.
Yet, nearly every native Portlander I met thought I was crazy for relying on public transit. Many looked down on those who used it.
I had moved from the Caribbean, where public transportation was nonexistent, and traffic and parking were a constant nightmare. To me, Portland’s transit system felt like a game-changer—but locals didn’t seem to see it that way.
I was in the V.I for almost 10 years. They have the safari system set up but it only runs on the tourist routes. So you're out of luck unless you lived on one of the two main routes that had the safaris.
When the ports were full of cruise ships, you could expect to spend 45+ minutes getting from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook. Sometimes I spent an hour going from Charlotte Amalie to Havensight. That was only a distance of about 2 miles.
The V.I is extremely corrupt and the taxi unions there have a great deal of influence. That's why the public transportation never improved while I lived there.
Who hated on the MAX? Other than it being a cattle car pre-covid and shutting down at like 10 or 11 everyone I knew liked it; There were more and more issues with the homeless, sure, but I don't know many portlanders who'd admit that was why they didn't like it.
I think there's some kind of filter bubble effect going on. And a little classism. People who use public transit like it and think everyone likes it, and people who never use it hate it and think everyone hates it. My ex-boss never used public transit despite living right next to a train stop, because he was rich and trains are for poor people. He probably didn't know that's how I got to the office Christmas party (in that area).
Perhaps, but from my experience, everyone in downtown PDX circa ~2015 rode the max to some degree. I am the least public transit friendly person in the world and even I rode it and loved it.
I left the area in October 2010, so maybe public transit became more popular after I was gone. I owned a home in SW Portland, about a 15-minute walk from the MAX station. That's a perfectly reasonable distance, even in the cold or rain.
I never knew where my neighbors worked, but I never saw them walking to or parking at the MAX station. None of my coworkers used it either.
For me, though, it was invaluable especially when I wanted to go out for a few drinks. And since it only ran until 10 or 11, it was the perfect excuse for not staying out too late.
Yet, nearly every native Portlander I met thought I was crazy for relying on public transit. Many looked down on those who used it.
I had moved from the Caribbean, where public transportation was nonexistent, and traffic and parking were a constant nightmare. To me, Portland’s transit system felt like a game-changer—but locals didn’t seem to see it that way.