Sources for above chart - all quoted text below is from the actual article

Data used in chart above is in bold

Date / Link to article

This column contains mostly cut & pasted text from news sources linked in the date column.

(search terms were: westside    "light rail" OR MAX  million)

$295-$395 Million

Riders: 34,150

December 15, 1988

The alignment, which was estimated to cost $195.4 million

The expense of building the line from downtown Portland to that point is expected to run $100 million to $200 million more.

He envisioned a daily ridership of 34,150 on the route in the year 2005,

Open in 1997

July 7, 1992

"The line to Southwest 185th Avenue is scheduled to open in the fall of 1997, with the Hillsboro extension completed a year later."

$963 million

Opened:

Sept. 12, 1998

Westside MAX Blue Line;

Hillsboro/City Center; * Opened: Sept. 12, 1998  * Length: 18 miles    * Stations: 32    * Construction: July 1993-Sept. 1998   * Cost: $963 million

23,000 riders

July 13, 1999

"westside line has drawn an average of nearly 23,000 weekday riders since its opening"

1988  Forecast

1999 Actual

Difference

Ridership

34,150 (for 2005)

23,000

cost of MAX

$295-395 million

$963 million

144-226% over budget

opening date

1997

1998

1 years late

Table created from data found in Oregonian December 15, 1988,  July 7, 1992 , July 13, 1999 (see below) and the Trimet publication, Westside MAX Blue Line;

A Trimet FactSheet claims that:: The 18-mile Westside MAX extension, built on time and on budget, began service in 1998 between downtown Portland and the western suburbs of Beaverton and Hillsboro.Construction: July 1993-Sept. 1998; Funding: $963 million; Federal 73%; State/Local 27%

On October 29, 1998, the Oregonian reported that a TRI-MET COUNT SHOWS WESTSIDE ATTRACTS 1,773 NEW RIDERS .

At its final cost of $963,000,000, that is $543,147 for each new rider  ($963,000,000 / 1773 = $543,147) A look at the numbers shows that most of the riders were former bus riders.