C-Tran officers are contemplating asking voters to approve a gross sales tax to assist cowl the steep price of extending gentle rail into Vancouver as a part of a brand new Interstate 5 Bridge.
At a Tuesday assembly, C-Tran’s board of administrators realized it is going to price $21.8 million a yr to function and keep a deliberate TriMet gentle rail extension, together with extra categorical buses, between Portland and Vancouver.
Company workers engaged on the venture to interchange the I-5 Bridge briefed the board members at their common December assembly.
“That number — it seems so outrageous,” stated Bart Hansen, who represents the Vancouver Metropolis Council on the C-Tran board of administrators. “I’m trying to take this seriously, but it’s hard for me.”
Based mostly on discussions with TriMet workers, C-Tran expects the proposed new bridge’s gentle rail to price about $20.2 million to function when it opens in 2033, plus $1.6 million for extra categorical bus service. The company anticipates fares will cowl a few quarter of that. With each states anticipated to separate the fee, Washington might be on the hook for $7.2 million — $6.8 million to function and keep gentle rail and about $400,000 to function the extra buses.
Workers estimate that working gentle rail prices about 5 instances what it does to function buses. Mild rail, nevertheless, can seat extra folks.
The transit company beforehand insisted it wouldn’t pay for gentle rail operations in Washington, however the board voted to alter C-Tran’s situations of approval for the bridge proposal final month. Now, the company “may participate in funding the operations and maintenance of the bistate transit” part of the bridge venture.
Company workers offered a number of choices for funding the added price of sunshine rail and new bus operations: a 0.1 p.c or 0.2 p.c gross sales tax enhance; a high-capacity transit gross sales tax as much as 0.9 p.c; and a high-capacity gross sales tax charged in only a portion of C-Tran’s taxing district. Any of those measures would require voter approval.
Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle insisted workers additionally search for funding from the state.
“Bistate transit — that happens nowhere else in the state of Washington,” McEnerny-Ogle stated.
The Federal Transit Administration requires the substitute bridge to incorporate high-capacity transit to be eligible for funding from that company.
The Interstate Bridge Substitute Program selected gentle rail because the venture’s high-capacity transit choice in 2022. Every of the accomplice companies, together with C-Tran, authorised that plan.
The bridge venture thought of however rejected bus speedy transit, which C-Tran runs efficiently in Clark County.
John Willis, former deputy program supervisor for the bridge venture, stated on the time that gentle rail had greater demand than bus speedy transit.
Way back to 2019, nevertheless, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee stated Oregon lawmakers would insist on a lightweight rail extension. He additionally praised the thought of connecting to Portland’s MAX system.
It’s unclear if the incoming Trump administration will nonetheless require high-capacity transit.