The following is a summary of the degree of subsidization as of 1993 of several major American public transit systems are compared to the three major Oregon transit operators as of 1997. The following is a summary of foreign Fare Recovery Ratios as reported in the 1994 edition of Jane's Urban Transport Systems for several major foreign public transit systems. Not included are revenues raised by other commercial activities, which cover most or all of the balance between passenger revenue and operating costs in many cases. In all of these places there is much greater proportionate use of mass transit compared to Portland. The reason that subsidizing transit fares has proven so ineffective in Portland is that the transit fare itself is only a small part of the total real cost to the traveler.
Time is money and most of the real cost of travel is in travel time.
Making mass transit even cheaper does encourage a more discretionary trips.