By Paris Achen, Capital Bureau, Portland Tribune; January 19, 2018
State-subsidized ridership of Amtrak passenger trains has plummeted in the past month, since an Amtrak train derailment just south of Tacoma, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.
That’s significant to taxpayers, because the fewer tickets that riders buy, the greater the amount that the state has to chip in per ride, said Hal Gard, ODOT rail and public transit division administrator. Right now, the state subsidizes each ride to the tune of about $118. The goal is to make riding the train affordable and convenient enough that more commuters will buy tickets. As more people pay fares, the amount the state has to subsidize for each ride declines, or ideally, disappears.
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