Open houses will be held Jan. 25-Feb. 1, with public input welcomed
At TriMet, we’re continuing to redraw our bus service map in 2024 — and we need your help.
This spring, we will be putting the finishing touches on a plan to run more frequent buses along routes where we see high demand, extend service hours and days on multiple bus lines, adjust schedules to keep buses on time, and more. You’ll start seeing some of those improvements on Aug. 25, 2024.
It’s the next piece in our Forward Together service concept, which will guide our bus service improvements over the coming years.
Our goal with Forward Together is to increase ridership and expand and improve service and connections for people with low and limited incomes.
To accomplish that goal, we’re counting on feedback from our riders. We’ve already made changes to our earlier proposals based on public input and available staffing. Once more, heading into Forward Together planning for 2024-25, we want to hear from you.
Open houses
Make your voice heard at one of TriMet’s upcoming open houses.
We’ll share the details of our proposed service changes for 2024 and 2025, and TriMet representatives will be on hand to answer questions. Attendees will be able to submit their input as well.
Open house dates
- Thursday, Jan. 25, from 5-6 p.m. on Zoom. This virtual open house will be held in English and Spanish.
- Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 4-6 p.m. in the Tualatin Public Library Community Room, 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave. in Tualatin. This in-person open house will include information in multiple languages.
- Wednesday, Jan. 31, from 5-7 p.m. in the Portland Community College Rock Creek Event Center, Building 9, 17705 NW Springville Road in Bethany. This in-person open house will include information in multiple languages.
- Thursday, Feb. 1, from noon-2 p.m. in the University of Oregon White Stag Block, Rooms 142/144, 70 NW Couch St. in Portland. This in-person open house will be held in English and Spanish.
After the open houses, we’ll gather up the feedback we’ve received and use it to help shape the final version of our service plan for the year.
Submit your comments
Can’t make it to an open house? Not to worry — we still want to hear from you.
Have your say in TriMet’s Forward Together planning process by submitting your comments at trimet.org/plan. You can also give us a call at 503-238-7433 (RIDE) and share your thoughts on our proposed bus service.
Our public comment period on this round of Forward Together service improvements ends Sunday, Feb. 11. If you’d like to provide feedback on the plan, be sure to do so by then, to ensure what you have to say is considered as we wrap up our service plan.
We’ll present the results of our public outreach to the TriMet Board of Directors in March. A vote on the final service changes will likely take place in May. That will clear the way for new and improved bus service to begin as soon as August this year, if operator staffing allows.
Improving service
TriMet is proposing changes to 24 bus lines in the next round of our Forward Together service improvements, as well as three new bus lines to better serve riders.
More frequent buses
Three of our most popular bus lines would be upgraded to Frequent Service, meaning buses will arrive every 15 minutes or better for most of the day, every day:
- Line 52-Farmington/185th
- Line 77-Broadway/Halsey
- Line 87-Airport Way/181st
Those aren’t the only bus lines we plan to upgrade. Some lines would have their routes extended, so they serve significantly more stops. Additionally, some lines would see buses arrive more often. Lines to be upgraded include, but are not limited to:
- Line 17-Holgate/Broadway
- Line 24-Fremont/NW 18th
- Line 29-Lake/Webster Rd
- Line 67-Bethany/158th
- Line 81-Kane/257th
Replacing bus lines
With Forward Together, we’re taking a look at our entire bus system and figuring out how to serve our riders in the most efficient, most equitable way we can. That means some riders will see new line numbers on their routes, either because we’re introducing a brand-new bus line or we’re changing which lines serve their stop.
Under our proposal, the following line numbers would be retired and replaced with new service:
- Line 21-Sandy Blvd/223rd
- Line 80-Kane/Troutdale Rd
- Line 85-Swan Island
- Line 99-Macadam/McLoughlin
- Line 154-Willamette/Clackamas Heights
Skidmore Fountain MAX Station
Along with these bus service improvements slated to begin as soon as August 2024, TriMet is also considering a plan to close the Skidmore Fountain MAX Station in September 2025. Attendees can learn more about this proposal at the open houses and comment on it as well.
Find more details on all of the proposals and learn more at trimet.org/plan and trimet.org/maxdowntown.
Your ideas matter
Public input has consistently helped to shape TriMet’s Forward Together service concept.
TriMet incorporated feedback we received after we first unveiled Forward Together in 2022, which was reflected in our first round of service improvements last year.
That feedback has also influenced our planned second round of improvements in 2024-25.
TriMet is hiring!
Forward Together is a years-long overhaul of TriMet’s bus service.
Over the course of this project, our goal is to increase ridership, improve connections and expand bus service throughout the region. We want to provide better service for communities of need, add service in emerging neighborhoods and employment areas, and increase the frequency of buses in areas where we see high demand.
To add bus service, however, we need to have operators to drive those buses, and maintenance workers to keep them on the road.
Limited staffing has forced us to slow the pace of our service improvements. We had hoped to roll out some of the upgrades we’ve proposed for August sooner, but we delayed them due to our operator shortage.
You can help! Visit trimet.org/careers to learn about opportunities at TriMet. We are offering $7,500 hiring bonuses for bus operators, including part-time positions, and $2,500 hiring bonuses for mechanics and maintainers, along with great benefits and competitive salaries. Together, we can keep the tri-county area moving.
