TriMet readies minor service reduction beginning Nov. 30, as initial round of community outreach on more impactful cuts for late 2026 wraps up Friday, Oct. 31
Time is running out to take part in TriMet’s Service Priorities survey. The survey will help shape the future of our transit service as we prepare for service cuts to help close a significant and ongoing budget gap. To ensure we continue delivering safe, reliable and convenient service into the future, we must take action now to match our expenses with our revenues. That is requiring internal budget cuts as well as reducing service. The Service Priorities survey gives riders a chance to tell us how we can best serve them and our region in the face of those service cuts. The survey closes this Friday, Oct. 31.
TriMet must close a $300 million ongoing budget gap, created by years of staggering cost increases. Our transit system is also aging, meaning more maintenance needs to be done — including upgrading equipment — to keep our vehicles, light rail system and properties in a good condition. The expense for safety and security has also risen dramatically as we address ongoing public safety challenges that extend onto our system. This all comes as revenue from fares has dropped, first due to the pandemic and now as more people work from home. There’s also sustainable funding uncertainty at the state and federal levels.
TriMet will begin cutting service on Nov. 30, 2025, with limited reductions on five lines, during evening hours, in areas where ridership is lower. A handful of similar cuts will occur in March 2026. Larger, more impactful service reductions will follow in late 2026 and 2027, as we work to balance our budget by July 1, 2028.
TriMet is Oregon’s largest transportation provider, and reducing service is something we never want to do. Even the smallest cuts can make it challenging for people who rely on our service to get to work, school and important appointments. However, if we do not act now, we will face a fiscal cliff in coming years that would be devastating to our employees, riders and our region.
Although difficult, the service cuts we are making, combined with significant administrative cuts already underway and efforts to bring in additional revenue, will help re-establish TriMet’s financial stability and preserve our region’s transit service for years to come.
What’s happening next?
Starting on Sunday, Nov. 30, TriMet will begin reducing service on the following five bus lines during evening hours, when fewer people are riding:
- FX2-Division: Buses will arrive every 24-35 minutes after 7 p.m.
- Line 35-Macadam/Greeley: Buses will arrive once an hour after 9 p.m.
- Line 52-Farmington/185th: Buses will arrive once an hour after 9 p.m.
- Line 77-Broadway/Halsey: Buses will arrive once an hour after 9 p.m.
- Line 81-Kane/257th: Buses will arrive once an hour after 9 p.m.
Additional, smaller cuts coming in March
TriMet will make another round of smaller service cuts in March, similar to those coming this November. Those cuts will mean fewer buses running during lower ridership times at night, on the following four bus lines:
Assessing rider and community feedback
After our Service Priorities survey wraps up at the end of October, TriMet research and service planning teams will analyze the feedback we’ve received from it and our open houses held this month. We will use those comments, along with ridership trends, to put together proposals for the more extensive service reductions that will be needed in late 2026 and 2027. In January, we will begin another round of outreach, similar to what was done in October, asking riders to weigh in on those more detailed proposals. We will launch another survey and hold another series of open houses, where riders and community members can get information, ask questions and share their thoughts.
Visit trimet.org/servicecuts for updates, timelines, background information and more.
