transportation
When diesel spikes, the food system feels it
Global conflicts rarely stay confined to the battlefield. When war disrupts energy markets and global shipping routes, the consequences ripple through the entire economy and have a particularly strong effect on the systems…
Passenger Rail Wrong Fit for Portland, Metro Study Shows
By Naomi Inman Letter by John A. Charles, Jr. This week, Cascade Policy Institute president John Charles sent a letter to the members of Oregon’s House and Senate about Metro’s Regional Rail Futures Study, prepared in…
Report: “A Review of Metro’s Regional Passenger Rail Futures Study”
By Randal O’Toole March 2026 Executive Summary In 2024, the Oregon legislature Senate Bill 4701 (Section 503) directed Metro to study the Portland area’s 200 miles of freight rail corridors as potential regional passenger or…
RGF Freedom Index Results Finalized
As we have done for more than a decade, the Rio Grande Foundation has tracked the votes in New Mexico’s legislative sessions. The 2026 session was a short, 30-day legislative session, but some momentous bills passed (for…
RGF talks to KOAT TV about roads
SB 2 has passed which means that the road issue has been “put to bed” for the time being. The bill which has been signed by the Gov. includes: $1.5 billion in new road spending via a bond (debt) package. This also includes: A…
“Oregon System” Sends Governor Back to Square One
By Naomi Inman The final signatures were plunked down on December 30—down on the Secretary of State’s desk. It was a slam dunk for the Oregon System. In less than 50 days, a quarter-million Oregon voters lined up in every…
Shrinking 82nd Avenue: John Charles Responds to Tyler Frisbee
By John A. Charles, Jr. At TriMet’s December 10 board meeting, director Tyler Frisbee lectured attendees on the need for 82nd Avenue business owners and motorists to embrace the reduction of roadway capacity by 50 percent so…
Transportation – Cascade Policy Institute
Driving new ideas for better Oregon roads. For at least the last 50 years, much of the U.S. transport economy has been characterized by government monopolies and private-sector cartels (such as taxi operations), administered…
TriMet Retreat Should Focus on Crisis, Not Expansion
By John A. Charles, Jr. On November 12, the TriMet Board will hold their Board Retreat at Gresham City Hall. In reviewing their agenda, the first thing you’d notice is what’s missing: the lack of urgency in addressing the…
$2 Trillion and No One Aboard
By Randal O’Toole Since 1965, when Congress began subsidizing urban transit, taxpayers have spent well over $1.4 trillion on transit. When adjusted for inflation to today’s dollars, that’s more than $2.1 trillion: that’s…
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