Rose City Transit
Encyclopedia
The Rose City Transit Company (RCT, or RCTC) was a private company
that operated most mass transit
service in the city of Portland, Oregon
, from 1956 to 1969. It operated only within the city proper. Transit services connecting downtown Portland with suburbs outside the city but within the Portland metropolitan area
were run by other private companies, mainly a consortium
of four companies known collectively as the "Blue Bus" lines
.
Rose City Transit was a wholly owned subsidiary
of the Portland Traction Company (PTC), which was also its predecessor. Prior to the formation of RCT, most transit service in the city had been provided directly by Portland Traction under that name since the 1930s. After PTC's bus routes were transferred to Rose City Transit in 1956, PTC continued to run two interurban
trolley lines (to Oregon City
and Bellrose) under its own name, but those two lines – the only trolley car
lines remaining in operation in Portland after abandonment of the last city streetcar lines in 1950 – were the only transit routes still operated directly by PTC, which otherwise was a freight railroad. Although RCT was a private company, it operated under a franchise agreement
with the city of Portland, through which the city had some oversight control. Any fare increases or major service changes had to be approved by the city council
.
Many transit systems in the United States were changing from private to public control in the 1950s, as growth in private-car ownership and other factors made the provision of mass transit service an increasingly difficult business in which to make a profit. By 1962, all but two major West Coast
cities had made the change and begun subsidizing
transit, and one of those two exceptions was Portland, served by the Rose City Transit Company (with San Diego being the other). By 1967, RCT was the last remaining privately owned big-city transit system on the West Coast, after San Diego Transit became municipalized
. Rose City Transit's annual ridership
declined from 32.3 million in 1956 to 15.7 million in 1968.
Effective December 1, 1969, a newly formed public authority, Tri-Met
, replaced Rose City Transit, taking over all operation and facilities, and using the same personnel, under an agreement reached between RCT, the city council and Tri-Met.
to operate the city's transit system, approved by city voters in 1936, expired on February 10, 1956. In October 1955, the city council refused to renew the franchise, citing dissatisfaction with the company's practices, quality of service and out-of-state corporate control. Since 1946, PTC had been owned by a San Francisco-based holding company
called Portland Transit Company, which in turn was controlled by a company called Pacific Associates. In January 1956, PTC owner Portland Transit formed a new subsidiary, Rose City Transit Company, which it hoped would gain city council approval to take over all Portland city transit lines. The only lines serving areas outside the city, the two interurban
rail lines to Oregon City and Bellrose (also spelled Bell Rose), would remain with PTC. The council approved this arrangement on a trial basis, and Rose City Transit began operating the city's transit system on February 10, 1956. It used the same vehicles, employees and maintenance facilities previously used by PTC, which technically was its owner, making the transition relatively simple. The new company was initially given only a 60-day revocable franchise by the city, which was later extended by 30 days, while details of a long-term agreement were still being worked out. Both sides wanted changes before agreeing on a long-term franchise; for its part, RCT wanted more freedom to make changes without being required to obtain council approval. At one point when differences between the city council and RCT were great, one city commissioner (council member) proposed putting the idea of municipal ownership of the transit system to a vote by the public if an agreement could not be reached. However, differences were eventually worked out, and RCT was given a two-year franchise, and later a 10-year one, the latter taking effect on January 1, 1963.
Portland Transit, the California holding company, created a separate subsidiary named Landport Company, Inc., to own RCT's vehicles, facilities and properties. Landport leased them to RCT. RCT's first president was Gordon Steele, who had been president of PTC for many years prior; he retired in August 1956.
Local bus service outside the Portland city limits was operated by other private companies, including Portland Stages, Inc.; Tualatin Valley Stages, Inc.; Intercity Buses, Inc. and Estacada-Molalla Stages. These four were collectively – but unofficially – known as the "‘Blue Bus’ lines"
or "Blue Buses". In 1964, RCT began negotiating to purchase the four suburban companies, but no deal was reached, and the four Blue Bus lines remained in operation until taken over by Tri-Met in 1970. Bus service between Portland and Vancouver, Washington
, was provided only by the Vancouver-Portland Bus Company, a private company that remained in operation until the end of 1976.
). The adult fare
(since early 1955) was 20 cents, with tokens
priced three for 50 cents, increasing in February 1958 to 25 cents with tokens two for 45 cents. By mid-1966, the basic fare was 35 cents, which was the highest of any transit system on the Pacific Coast
.
In a series of changes implemented between October 1958 and April 1959, nearly all routes terminating downtown
were connected into through-route combinations – for example, the "Broadway" line was linked to the "Powell" line (a combination which still exists in 2011) – to make operation through downtown more efficient. After these changes, the revised total number of routes in Rose City's system was 21. Routes were designated only by names, not numbers, during RCT's entire existence. Not until 1973, more than three years after Tri-Met
took over, were Portland-area transit routes first designated by numbers. As of 1961, about 180 buses were in scheduled service during rush hour
.
, as they had been under PTC, represented by local
757 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employes of America (later renamed the Amalgamated Transit Union
). In 1960, 227 of the unionized employees were drivers. RCT never experienced a strike
by its drivers, but an impasse between the company and the union during contract negotiations
in 1968 led to a three-day suspension of all service, the first suspension of transit service in the city's history. In mid-1968, the company had 350 drivers and 133 other employees.
service, but its parent, the Portland Traction Company, continued to operated streetcars on its two interurban
lines, from Portland to Bellrose (at SE 136th Avenue north of Foster Road, on what is now the Springwater Corridor
trail) and Oregon City
after the urban transit lines were transferred from PTC to RCT. These operated until January 25, 1958, but service was then abruptly abandoned and PTC retained only its freight service. The last two city streetcar lines had closed on February 26, 1950, six years before the city transit system was transferred to Rose City.
service, albeit for less than three years. The city's first trolley bus line was opened by Portland Traction on August 30, 1936, and by 1937 Portland had one of the largest trolley bus systems in the country, with seven routes and a fleet of 120 "trolley coaches" – the common name for this mode at that time – built by Mack Trucks
. Six trolley bus routes were still intact when RCT took over all of PTC's bus lines in 1956, and these continued under RCT operation, but the Eastmoreland and Sellwood routes were electric only until the end of 1956.
Rose City attempted to discontinue permanently all trolley bus service in January 1958, in part to eliminate the regulatory control of the state Public Utility Commission
(PUC), which had some authority over operating franchises involving streetcars and trolley buses, but not of companies that operated only motor buses. RCT replaced all remaining electric buses with diesel- or gasoline-powered buses on January 29, 1958, on what had been the last four trolley bus routes: Interstate Avenue, Mississippi, Sandy Blvd. and St. Johns. However, the company soon discovered it did not have enough serviceable motor buses to be able reliably to maintain the scheduled service. Trolley bus service resumed on all four routes after only one month, on February 25, 1958, but the reprieve for electric transit lasted only a few months. The company again discontinued all remaining trolley bus service on October 23, 1958, in the late morning, when 16 of the remaining 31 active trolley buses were taken off their routes and driven back to the garage. The city council was upset with the move, but back on January 29 it had passed an emergency ordinance giving RCT the authority to abandon its trolley coach service during a dispute over a requested fare increase, a move the council made so as to keep the state's PUC from asserting jurisdictional control. On October 22, Portland Commissioner William Bowes filed an emergency ordinance to repeal the earlier ordinance and stop RCT from abandoning its trolley service, but the company began dismantling key parts of the overhead wires
the day after service ended; the new council ordinance never came to a vote. RCT offered few details for its action, but told city officials that it was "necessitated" by an impending problem with federal taxes.
fleet was rather old. As of 1958, some buses over 20 years old were still in service, and the youngest buses in the fleet dated from 1951, when 27 buses had been purchased. The company made its first purchase of new buses in 1961, but of only five vehicles, 35-foot General Motors
"New Look"-type buses. At that time, the active fleet comprised 202 buses, and 182 were scheduled to be in service each day in peak period
s. When the city council granted RCT a 10-year operating franchise
in 1962, one stipulation was that the company had to purchase at least 70 new buses within five years. The company complied, proceeding to purchase another 70 buses of the same type, delivered in four batches between 1963 and 1966. These 75 buses (numbered 501–575) were the only new buses RCT ever bought. The paint scheme of Rose City's buses was red and cream, originally a bright red as used in pre-RCT days by the Portland Traction Company, but later changed to a darker red.
, a bus with eyes and an elephant
's trunk, a reference to a popular resident of the Portland Zoo
(from 1953–1993), a pachyderm named Rosy who was the zoo's very first elephant.
Portland transit ridership
declined steadily every year, and several of RCT's requests for permission to raise fares were turned down by the city council. Numerous times over the years, RCT and the council argued about fares and service issues. Tensions between the two at times prompted calls for the transit system to be municipalized
, as had already happened in several other West Coast
cities, including San Francisco and Seattle. At the beginning of 1962, Portland and San Diego were the only two major West Coast cities whose transit systems were still privately owned. Proposition 55, on the May 1962 municipal ballot, would have issued $6.5 million in general-obligation bonds
and established a 10-year tax levy to cover RCT's $300,000 annual operating deficit, created a new city Transit Commission, and given the city authority to take over the transit system if a majority of council approved. The city's voters turned it down by a 7-to-5 ratio. The three-day suspension of all RCT service in November 1968, angered the council and again led to consideration of municipalizing the system.
In 1966, RCT was sued by the suburban
"Blue Bus" lines
consortium
, after announcing plans to extend service into areas that were outside the city and which the Blue Bus companies considered to be their territory. The court ruled in favor of RCT, and the expansion proceeded.
, effective in six months, and to plan for the city to take over the transit system after that period. Commissioner William Bowes explained that it was felt the long trend of ever-increasing fares and declining patronage
seen under private ownership was not sustainable, and that it was in the public interest for the transit system to be municipalized.
In January 1969, mayor Terry Schrunk
appointed a seven-member Mass Transit Advisory Commission to examine the issues and consider options for the future of public transit in the city. In June, it recommended that the city take over the system, taking possession of its vehicles and properties and giving RCT revenue certificates for the appraised value, an action the city said was provided for under the franchise agreement. However, other factors complicated the situation and delayed action for months. RCT said it considered the city's termination of the franchise to be invalid and continued to press for a fare increase. Meanwhile, in May 1969, the Oregon Legislature
approved a bill (House
Bill 1808) allowing the creation of multi-county mass transit districts with taxing authority and boards of directors
to be appointed by the governor
. The city council postponed the original mid-June takeover date by 60 days, but by August, the conflict between the city and Rose City Transit was far from resolved and appeared likely to go to court
.
On October 1, 1969, the city council passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a new Portland metropolitan area
transit district. More specifically, the resolution called on Governor
Tom McCall
to appoint a seven-member board to administer the transit district, under the provisions of the new state legislation (House Bill 1808). The area would soon have a regional transit authority, rather than one run by the city of Portland
. Within one week, McCall had made all seven appointments to what was provisionally referred to as the Portland Metropolitan Mass Transit District. About one month later the transit district had been formally named the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District
, or "Tri-Met"
for short.
In mid-November, RCT was still asserting that the city's termination of its franchise was "illegal" and was awaiting a Multnomah County court ruling on the matter. The contract with its union
employees had expired on October 31, and negotiations on a new contract
had broken down, with the union calling for a strike
to start on December 1, the date that Tri-Met was anticipating taking over the service. Meanwhile, the city council granted Tri-Met a permit to operate buses – over RCT's "strenuous objections" – and Tri-Met was trying to make arrangements to buy or lease about 100 buses from other cities, with which to provide service if RCT declined the city's offer to purchase its fleet. The city and RCT were far apart on a purchase price for RCT's buses, and negotiations were not bringing them significantly closer. On November 19, RCT President Charles C. Bowen offered to allow the city to take immediate possession of the transit system if they agreed to continue the current litigation
and abide by whatever the courts ultimately decided, on both the question of whether the franchise termination had been legal and on determining the fair value of the assets involved, for compensation to RCT and Landport Inc. (A third lawsuit was also in process, to determine whether RCT would be required to pay retirement pensions of its retired employees.) After additional negotiations, an agreement for the city to take possession of the system – and immediately transfer it to Tri-Met – was approved by the city council on November 28, only a little more than 48 hours before a strike had been scheduled to take place and shut down the system.
Tri-Met took over operation of the entire Rose City Transit system on December 1, 1969, using the same buses and workers and serving the same routes. The transit union had shifted its negotiations from RCT to Tri-Met and canceled its planned strike, and a new 19-month contract was approved by the agency's board on the same day that Tri-Met took over the system. At the end of Rose City Transit's management, Portland's city transit system was carrying about 65,000 riders a day.
The lawsuits were not finally concluded until 1971, with court rulings in May in favor of the City of Portland and Tri-Met on the matters of franchise termination and retirement benefits. The court's ruling on the asset valuation came six weeks later. The fair value was set at $2.9 million, which was $200,000 more than the city had offered, but was far less than the $5.5 million Rose City Transit had asserted to be their value. The ruling on the franchise termination was upheld on appeal in 1974.
Privately held company
A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...
that operated most mass transit
Public transport bus service
Bus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...
service in the city of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, from 1956 to 1969. It operated only within the city proper. Transit services connecting downtown Portland with suburbs outside the city but within the Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
were run by other private companies, mainly a consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
of four companies known collectively as the "Blue Bus" lines
Blue Bus lines (Oregon)
The “Blue Bus” lines was a group of four affiliated privately owned public transportation companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus...
.
Rose City Transit was a wholly owned subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of the Portland Traction Company (PTC), which was also its predecessor. Prior to the formation of RCT, most transit service in the city had been provided directly by Portland Traction under that name since the 1930s. After PTC's bus routes were transferred to Rose City Transit in 1956, PTC continued to run two interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
trolley lines (to Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
and Bellrose) under its own name, but those two lines – the only trolley car
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
lines remaining in operation in Portland after abandonment of the last city streetcar lines in 1950 – were the only transit routes still operated directly by PTC, which otherwise was a freight railroad. Although RCT was a private company, it operated under a franchise agreement
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
with the city of Portland, through which the city had some oversight control. Any fare increases or major service changes had to be approved by the city council
Government of Portland, Oregon
The Government of Portland, Oregon, a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include a Mayor, a City Council, and a City Auditor. The mayor and commissioners are responsible legislative policy and oversee the various bureaus that...
.
Many transit systems in the United States were changing from private to public control in the 1950s, as growth in private-car ownership and other factors made the provision of mass transit service an increasingly difficult business in which to make a profit. By 1962, all but two major West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
cities had made the change and begun subsidizing
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
transit, and one of those two exceptions was Portland, served by the Rose City Transit Company (with San Diego being the other). By 1967, RCT was the last remaining privately owned big-city transit system on the West Coast, after San Diego Transit became municipalized
Municipalization
Municipalization is the transfer of corporations or other assets to municipal ownership. The transfer may be from private ownership or from other levels of government. It is the opposite of privatization and is different from nationalization.-Services:There have been two main waves of...
. Rose City Transit's annual ridership
Patronage (transportation)
In public transportation, patronage or ridership is a type of forecasting or statistic for studying the average quantity of passengers carried per certain time in a mode of public transit system. The concept should not be confused with the maximum loading capacity of one particular vehicle or the...
declined from 32.3 million in 1956 to 15.7 million in 1968.
Effective December 1, 1969, a newly formed public authority, Tri-Met
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
, replaced Rose City Transit, taking over all operation and facilities, and using the same personnel, under an agreement reached between RCT, the city council and Tri-Met.
Formation
The Portland Traction Company's 20-year franchiseConcession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
to operate the city's transit system, approved by city voters in 1936, expired on February 10, 1956. In October 1955, the city council refused to renew the franchise, citing dissatisfaction with the company's practices, quality of service and out-of-state corporate control. Since 1946, PTC had been owned by a San Francisco-based holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
called Portland Transit Company, which in turn was controlled by a company called Pacific Associates. In January 1956, PTC owner Portland Transit formed a new subsidiary, Rose City Transit Company, which it hoped would gain city council approval to take over all Portland city transit lines. The only lines serving areas outside the city, the two interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
rail lines to Oregon City and Bellrose (also spelled Bell Rose), would remain with PTC. The council approved this arrangement on a trial basis, and Rose City Transit began operating the city's transit system on February 10, 1956. It used the same vehicles, employees and maintenance facilities previously used by PTC, which technically was its owner, making the transition relatively simple. The new company was initially given only a 60-day revocable franchise by the city, which was later extended by 30 days, while details of a long-term agreement were still being worked out. Both sides wanted changes before agreeing on a long-term franchise; for its part, RCT wanted more freedom to make changes without being required to obtain council approval. At one point when differences between the city council and RCT were great, one city commissioner (council member) proposed putting the idea of municipal ownership of the transit system to a vote by the public if an agreement could not be reached. However, differences were eventually worked out, and RCT was given a two-year franchise, and later a 10-year one, the latter taking effect on January 1, 1963.
Portland Transit, the California holding company, created a separate subsidiary named Landport Company, Inc., to own RCT's vehicles, facilities and properties. Landport leased them to RCT. RCT's first president was Gordon Steele, who had been president of PTC for many years prior; he retired in August 1956.
Local bus service outside the Portland city limits was operated by other private companies, including Portland Stages, Inc.; Tualatin Valley Stages, Inc.; Intercity Buses, Inc. and Estacada-Molalla Stages. These four were collectively – but unofficially – known as the "‘Blue Bus’ lines"
Blue Bus lines (Oregon)
The “Blue Bus” lines was a group of four affiliated privately owned public transportation companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus...
or "Blue Buses". In 1964, RCT began negotiating to purchase the four suburban companies, but no deal was reached, and the four Blue Bus lines remained in operation until taken over by Tri-Met in 1970. Bus service between Portland and Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, was provided only by the Vancouver-Portland Bus Company, a private company that remained in operation until the end of 1976.
Service overview
At the time of the transfer from Portland Traction Company to Rose City Transit, the transit system included about 30 routes, using a fleet of about 230 buses (including trolley busesTrolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
). The adult fare
Fare
A fare is the fee paid by a passenger allowing him or her to make use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used.-Uses:...
(since early 1955) was 20 cents, with tokens
Token coin
In the study of numismatics, tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape...
priced three for 50 cents, increasing in February 1958 to 25 cents with tokens two for 45 cents. By mid-1966, the basic fare was 35 cents, which was the highest of any transit system on the Pacific Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
In a series of changes implemented between October 1958 and April 1959, nearly all routes terminating downtown
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
were connected into through-route combinations – for example, the "Broadway" line was linked to the "Powell" line (a combination which still exists in 2011) – to make operation through downtown more efficient. After these changes, the revised total number of routes in Rose City's system was 21. Routes were designated only by names, not numbers, during RCT's entire existence. Not until 1973, more than three years after Tri-Met
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
took over, were Portland-area transit routes first designated by numbers. As of 1961, about 180 buses were in scheduled service during rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
.
Workforce
Rose City's drivers and most other workers were unionizedTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, as they had been under PTC, represented by local
Local union
A local union, often shortened to local, in North America, or a union branch in the United Kingdom and other countries is a locally-based trade union organization which forms part of a larger, usually national, union.Local branches are organized to represent the union's members from a particular...
757 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employes of America (later renamed the Amalgamated Transit Union
Amalgamated Transit Union
The Amalgamated Transit Union is a labor union in the United States and The Amalgamated Transit Union Canadian Council in Canada, representing workers in the transit system and other industries...
). In 1960, 227 of the unionized employees were drivers. RCT never experienced a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
by its drivers, but an impasse between the company and the union during contract negotiations
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
in 1968 led to a three-day suspension of all service, the first suspension of transit service in the city's history. In mid-1968, the company had 350 drivers and 133 other employees.
Electric transit
Rose City Transit never operated any streetcarTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
service, but its parent, the Portland Traction Company, continued to operated streetcars on its two interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
lines, from Portland to Bellrose (at SE 136th Avenue north of Foster Road, on what is now the Springwater Corridor
Springwater Corridor
The Springwater Corridor Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian rail trail in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It follows a former railway line of the same name in its route from Boring, through Gresham, to Portland, where it ends near the Eastbank Esplanade. A large segment...
trail) and Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
after the urban transit lines were transferred from PTC to RCT. These operated until January 25, 1958, but service was then abruptly abandoned and PTC retained only its freight service. The last two city streetcar lines had closed on February 26, 1950, six years before the city transit system was transferred to Rose City.
Trolley bus service
RCT did operate electric trolley busTrolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
service, albeit for less than three years. The city's first trolley bus line was opened by Portland Traction on August 30, 1936, and by 1937 Portland had one of the largest trolley bus systems in the country, with seven routes and a fleet of 120 "trolley coaches" – the common name for this mode at that time – built by Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks is an American truck-manufacturing company and a former manufacturer of buses and trolley buses. A wholly owned subsidiary of Renault Véhicules Industriels since 1990, Mack Trucks is currently a subsidiary of AB Volvo. The company's headquarters are located in Greensboro, North Carolina...
. Six trolley bus routes were still intact when RCT took over all of PTC's bus lines in 1956, and these continued under RCT operation, but the Eastmoreland and Sellwood routes were electric only until the end of 1956.
Rose City attempted to discontinue permanently all trolley bus service in January 1958, in part to eliminate the regulatory control of the state Public Utility Commission
Oregon Public Utility Commission
The Oregon Public Utility Commission is the chief electric, gas and telephone utility regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It sets rates and establishes rules of operation for the state's investor-owned utility companies...
(PUC), which had some authority over operating franchises involving streetcars and trolley buses, but not of companies that operated only motor buses. RCT replaced all remaining electric buses with diesel- or gasoline-powered buses on January 29, 1958, on what had been the last four trolley bus routes: Interstate Avenue, Mississippi, Sandy Blvd. and St. Johns. However, the company soon discovered it did not have enough serviceable motor buses to be able reliably to maintain the scheduled service. Trolley bus service resumed on all four routes after only one month, on February 25, 1958, but the reprieve for electric transit lasted only a few months. The company again discontinued all remaining trolley bus service on October 23, 1958, in the late morning, when 16 of the remaining 31 active trolley buses were taken off their routes and driven back to the garage. The city council was upset with the move, but back on January 29 it had passed an emergency ordinance giving RCT the authority to abandon its trolley coach service during a dispute over a requested fare increase, a move the council made so as to keep the state's PUC from asserting jurisdictional control. On October 22, Portland Commissioner William Bowes filed an emergency ordinance to repeal the earlier ordinance and stop RCT from abandoning its trolley service, but the company began dismantling key parts of the overhead wires
Overhead lines
Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
the day after service ended; the new council ordinance never came to a vote. RCT offered few details for its action, but told city officials that it was "necessitated" by an impending problem with federal taxes.
New buses
During its first few years, RCT's busTransit bus
A transit bus , also known as a commuter bus, city bus, or public bus, is a bus used for short-distance public transport purposes...
fleet was rather old. As of 1958, some buses over 20 years old were still in service, and the youngest buses in the fleet dated from 1951, when 27 buses had been purchased. The company made its first purchase of new buses in 1961, but of only five vehicles, 35-foot General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
"New Look"-type buses. At that time, the active fleet comprised 202 buses, and 182 were scheduled to be in service each day in peak period
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
s. When the city council granted RCT a 10-year operating franchise
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
in 1962, one stipulation was that the company had to purchase at least 70 new buses within five years. The company complied, proceeding to purchase another 70 buses of the same type, delivered in four batches between 1963 and 1966. These 75 buses (numbered 501–575) were the only new buses RCT ever bought. The paint scheme of Rose City's buses was red and cream, originally a bright red as used in pre-RCT days by the Portland Traction Company, but later changed to a darker red.
Nickname
Rose City Transit dubbed a new downtown "shoppers' special" route as "Rosy" when the service was introduced in 1957, but "Rosy" later became a nickname for RCT itself, used both by the company and by the general public. The company also used the name "Rosy" for an advertising characterAdvertising character
An advertising character is a fictional character that appears within advertising and marketing materials for a given product or service.-See also:*Moe anthropomorphism*List of American advertising characters...
, a bus with eyes and an elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
's trunk, a reference to a popular resident of the Portland Zoo
Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo, formerly the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo in Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located southwest of Downtown Portland, the zoo is inside Portland's Washington Park, and includes a narrow-gauge railway that connects to the International Rose Test Garden inside...
(from 1953–1993), a pachyderm named Rosy who was the zoo's very first elephant.
Problems
The privately owned company struggled financially during several periods. Providing mass transit service was increasingly an unprofitable business during the post-World War II period, when private car ownership in the U.S. was growing rapidly.Portland transit ridership
Patronage (transportation)
In public transportation, patronage or ridership is a type of forecasting or statistic for studying the average quantity of passengers carried per certain time in a mode of public transit system. The concept should not be confused with the maximum loading capacity of one particular vehicle or the...
declined steadily every year, and several of RCT's requests for permission to raise fares were turned down by the city council. Numerous times over the years, RCT and the council argued about fares and service issues. Tensions between the two at times prompted calls for the transit system to be municipalized
Municipalization
Municipalization is the transfer of corporations or other assets to municipal ownership. The transfer may be from private ownership or from other levels of government. It is the opposite of privatization and is different from nationalization.-Services:There have been two main waves of...
, as had already happened in several other West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
cities, including San Francisco and Seattle. At the beginning of 1962, Portland and San Diego were the only two major West Coast cities whose transit systems were still privately owned. Proposition 55, on the May 1962 municipal ballot, would have issued $6.5 million in general-obligation bonds
Municipal bond
A municipal bond is a bond issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Potential issuers of municipal bonds includes cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, special-purpose districts, school districts, public utility districts, publicly owned airports and seaports, and any...
and established a 10-year tax levy to cover RCT's $300,000 annual operating deficit, created a new city Transit Commission, and given the city authority to take over the transit system if a majority of council approved. The city's voters turned it down by a 7-to-5 ratio. The three-day suspension of all RCT service in November 1968, angered the council and again led to consideration of municipalizing the system.
In 1966, RCT was sued by the suburban
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
"Blue Bus" lines
Blue Bus lines (Oregon)
The “Blue Bus” lines was a group of four affiliated privately owned public transportation companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus...
consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
, after announcing plans to extend service into areas that were outside the city and which the Blue Bus companies considered to be their territory. The court ruled in favor of RCT, and the expansion proceeded.
Transition to public ownership
By 1968 Rose City Transit Company was nearly bankrupt. It sought council permission for another fare increase (to 40 cents) and threatened to discontinue all service if this was not approved. On December 12, 1968, the city council declined to vote on the request and instead voted unanimously to revoke RCT's franchiseConcession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
, effective in six months, and to plan for the city to take over the transit system after that period. Commissioner William Bowes explained that it was felt the long trend of ever-increasing fares and declining patronage
Patronage (transportation)
In public transportation, patronage or ridership is a type of forecasting or statistic for studying the average quantity of passengers carried per certain time in a mode of public transit system. The concept should not be confused with the maximum loading capacity of one particular vehicle or the...
seen under private ownership was not sustainable, and that it was in the public interest for the transit system to be municipalized.
In January 1969, mayor Terry Schrunk
Terry Schrunk
Terry Doyle Schrunk was an American politician who served as the mayor for the city of Portland, Oregon, from 1957–1973, a length tying George Luis Baker who also served 17 years . Prior to becoming mayor, he had been the sheriff of Multnomah County since 1949. In his 1956 campaign for mayor, he...
appointed a seven-member Mass Transit Advisory Commission to examine the issues and consider options for the future of public transit in the city. In June, it recommended that the city take over the system, taking possession of its vehicles and properties and giving RCT revenue certificates for the appraised value, an action the city said was provided for under the franchise agreement. However, other factors complicated the situation and delayed action for months. RCT said it considered the city's termination of the franchise to be invalid and continued to press for a fare increase. Meanwhile, in May 1969, the Oregon Legislature
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
approved a bill (House
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
Bill 1808) allowing the creation of multi-county mass transit districts with taxing authority and boards of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
to be appointed by the governor
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
. The city council postponed the original mid-June takeover date by 60 days, but by August, the conflict between the city and Rose City Transit was far from resolved and appeared likely to go to court
Oregon circuit courts
Oregon's circuit courts are general jurisdiction trial courts of the U.S. state of Oregon. These courts hear civil and criminal court cases.The state has 27 circuit court districts, most of which correspond to the boundaries of the Oregon's 36 counties...
.
On October 1, 1969, the city council passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a new Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
transit district. More specifically, the resolution called on Governor
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
Tom McCall
Tom McCall
Thomas Lawson McCall was an American politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the 30th Governor of Oregon from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, he grew up there and in Central Oregon before attending the University of Oregon...
to appoint a seven-member board to administer the transit district, under the provisions of the new state legislation (House Bill 1808). The area would soon have a regional transit authority, rather than one run by the city of Portland
Government of Portland, Oregon
The Government of Portland, Oregon, a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include a Mayor, a City Council, and a City Auditor. The mayor and commissioners are responsible legislative policy and oversee the various bureaus that...
. Within one week, McCall had made all seven appointments to what was provisionally referred to as the Portland Metropolitan Mass Transit District. About one month later the transit district had been formally named the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
, or "Tri-Met"
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
for short.
In mid-November, RCT was still asserting that the city's termination of its franchise was "illegal" and was awaiting a Multnomah County court ruling on the matter. The contract with its union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
employees had expired on October 31, and negotiations on a new contract
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
had broken down, with the union calling for a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
to start on December 1, the date that Tri-Met was anticipating taking over the service. Meanwhile, the city council granted Tri-Met a permit to operate buses – over RCT's "strenuous objections" – and Tri-Met was trying to make arrangements to buy or lease about 100 buses from other cities, with which to provide service if RCT declined the city's offer to purchase its fleet. The city and RCT were far apart on a purchase price for RCT's buses, and negotiations were not bringing them significantly closer. On November 19, RCT President Charles C. Bowen offered to allow the city to take immediate possession of the transit system if they agreed to continue the current litigation
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
and abide by whatever the courts ultimately decided, on both the question of whether the franchise termination had been legal and on determining the fair value of the assets involved, for compensation to RCT and Landport Inc. (A third lawsuit was also in process, to determine whether RCT would be required to pay retirement pensions of its retired employees.) After additional negotiations, an agreement for the city to take possession of the system – and immediately transfer it to Tri-Met – was approved by the city council on November 28, only a little more than 48 hours before a strike had been scheduled to take place and shut down the system.
Tri-Met took over operation of the entire Rose City Transit system on December 1, 1969, using the same buses and workers and serving the same routes. The transit union had shifted its negotiations from RCT to Tri-Met and canceled its planned strike, and a new 19-month contract was approved by the agency's board on the same day that Tri-Met took over the system. At the end of Rose City Transit's management, Portland's city transit system was carrying about 65,000 riders a day.
The lawsuits were not finally concluded until 1971, with court rulings in May in favor of the City of Portland and Tri-Met on the matters of franchise termination and retirement benefits. The court's ruling on the asset valuation came six weeks later. The fair value was set at $2.9 million, which was $200,000 more than the city had offered, but was far less than the $5.5 million Rose City Transit had asserted to be their value. The ruling on the franchise termination was upheld on appeal in 1974.