For the seventh consecutive year, TriMet has achieved the highest possible bond rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), an independent financial institution known for assessing the creditworthiness of government agencies.  The AAA rating is in relation to our Senior Lien Payroll Tax Revenue Bonds and our ability to repay those bonds.

TriMet’s AAA rating reflects a solid vote of confidence in our ability to manage our finances responsibly and remain resilient in the face of economic challenges. Similar top-tier ratings last year from Moody’s (Aaa) and previously from Standard & Poor’s (AAA), two additional leading credit rating agencies, place TriMet in an elite group, underscoring our role as a financially stable transit agency.

What Does an AAA Rating Mean?

In simple terms, an AAA rating is the highest possible rating level a public agency can receive and signals that the agency is considered a low-risk investment by financial experts. This means that TriMet’s creditworthiness has weathered difficult economic times without putting our finances—or the services we provide—at risk.

These ratings directly affect how we can borrow money for major projects, enabling TriMet to secure better terms and lower interest rates. This, in turn, allows TriMet to reinvest in our transit system, improve service, purchase new vehicles, and fund key infrastructure projects like the recently completed A Better Red MAX extension.

According to KBRA’s latest report, TriMet’s payroll tax revenues have shown “resilience during economic downturns” and benefit from “a diverse and strong economic base.” The report praised TriMet for our ability to manage our resources carefully, with KBRA affirming that TriMet’s payroll taxes—our primary source of funding—are a highly stable and reliable revenue stream.

Solid Financial Management in Action

TriMet’s continued strong ratings are the result of careful financial planning and oversight. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many industries faced sharp declines, TriMet’s revenue from payroll taxes continued to grow. This stability is driven by the economic diversity in the Portland metro area, where the taxes collected from employers and self-employed individuals fund much of TriMet’s operations and capital projects.

Our ongoing financial health also comes from our conservative approach to debt. While TriMet has issued debt to fund important projects, we remain well within our debt policy limits. KBRA noted that TriMet’s strong debt service coverage and the safeguards in place to prevent over-borrowing help ensure long-term financial stability. “TriMet’s ability to maintain high debt service coverage margins demonstrates its careful and effective financial management,” the report noted.

Investing in Our Future

TriMet’s consistent AAA ratings don’t just reflect financial stability—they provide the foundation for significant, long-term investments that will shape the future of Portland’s transit system. These ratings allow TriMet to secure favorable financing, ensuring that we can continue expanding and modernizing our network to meet the needs of a growing population.

Looking ahead, TriMet plans to issue additional bonds starting in early fiscal year 2026, further fueling projects critical to enhancing service, improving infrastructure, and keeping our region moving. Our strong financial outlook ensures that even with new investments, TriMet will continue to manage resources responsibly—delivering not just today’s essential transit services but also building a sustainable, resilient system for the future. For more details on TriMet’s bond ratings and financial plans, visit TriMetBonds.com.

About TriMet

TriMet provides bus, light rail, commuter rail and paratransit services in the Portland, Oregon metro area. We connect people to opportunity, while easing traffic congestion and reducing air pollution — making our community a better place to live.

Annual survey found improved opinions of TriMet service and safety among both riders and non-riders but large gap remains between those who use the system and those who do not

At TriMet, we’re making transit better, with service that comes more often and helps you reach your destinations faster. We’re adding safety and security personnel and expanding our Clean Team for a better experience when riding. We’re connecting more people to opportunities throughout our region, and riders are noticing that it’s getting better on board. That’s according to the results of our 2024 Attitude & Awareness Survey that show overall approval of the job TriMet increased five percentage points over last year, with approval of bus service, improved by the rollout of the Forward Together Service Concept, up by seven percentage points.

Measuring community sentiment

The purpose of TriMet’s annual Attitude & Awareness Survey is to help measure community perceptions among both those who ride and those who do not and gain insight into the opinions of our agency and the area we serve. More than 4,000 people participated in this year’s survey, which was done online and via phone from April 27 to May 31, 2024. Some 68% of those surveyed said transit is one of the primary ways they get around.

The 2024 report found opinions around TriMet service, safety and reliability holding steady or improving in most categories and perceptions of how things are going in the Portland metro area improving as well. Yet half of those surveyed said Portland is still on the wrong track. 

Approval higher among those who use TriMet’s service

The 2024 Attitude & Awareness Survey showed TriMet’s ongoing focus on safety, security and cleanliness is making a difference. The survey found that 73%, or nearly three out of four people, either strongly or somewhat approve of the job that TriMet is doing. That’s five percentage points higher than in 2023. 

TriMet’s surveys consistently show that our riders’ perception of our transit system is much higher than those whose opinions are based on what they have heard about it, and that was again reflected in the 2024 survey. Nearly eight out of 10 riders (77%) approved of the job that TriMet is doing; only 44% of non-riders shared that positive view. While the gap between the sentiment of those who use our transit service versus the opinions of what people have heard about it remains large, the approval of non-riders increased by 6% over last year. 

Is Portland on the right track?

In general, the 2024 survey found consensus around the idea that things are getting better – not only on TriMet but also in the City of Portland. For the first time in more than a decade, perceptions around Portland’s direction showed a positive trend. For 2024, about half of all respondents said the Portland area was on the wrong track, but that’s a marked drop from 64% just one year ago. Similarly, about a quarter of all respondents said the Portland area is headed in the right direction, an increase from 18%, in 2023.

The survey also provided a look at how and where people throughout the region are working. About 40% of people who responded have no option to work from home; they must report to a work site. Of those who said they could work from home, about 70% had a hybrid work schedule that allowed them to work from home at least several times per week. 

Forward Together helps drive bus system approval

TriMet’s bus service improvements coming out of our Forward Together Service Concept seem to be fueling optimism, especially among riders. 

Created with the community to address travel changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Forward Together has two primary goals: increasing ridership and improving connections for people with low and limited incomes. From expanding the number of lines that have buses arriving every 15 minutes for most of the day, every day, to adding midday and weekend service, and adjusting routes so they’re faster and more direct, Forward Together has been a game changer for bus service in recent years. 

Approval of the bus system increased by seven percentage points between 2023 and 2024, to 77%. Among riders only, the approval reached 81%, up from 74% last year. 

Opinions of the MAX system in 2024 remained unchanged but mostly positive at 76%. This comes amid the three-year-long A Better Red project. TriMet’s biggest light rail project in nearly a decade, it required sections of the MAX Blue, Green and Red lines to be disrupted for weeks at a time. The project was completed in late August 2024, with the opening of the 10-station extension of the Red Line into Hillsboro. This gives more people a one-seat ride to and from Portland International Airport and reduces wait times for trains to just 7-8 minutes during most of the day in a growing section of Washington County. The project also made track improvements between PDX and Gateway Transit Center that are keeping trains moving MAX systemwide. 

More than 2 out of 3 riders express satisfaction 

The 2024 Attitude & Awareness Survey found that most people who ride TriMet buses and trains – about 68% – are satisfied with their overall experience, with about 23% saying they are “very satisfied.” Overall rider satisfaction increased slightly from 2023. Regular and frequent riders appear to have the most favorable opinions, with nearly 40% saying they would “enthusiastically recommend” TriMet to friends and family.  

Focus continues on safety and security investments, perceptions 

TriMet continues to focus on safety and security investments and the perception of safety on our transit system improved slightly in 2024, to 68% from 67% the previous year. Serious incidents are rare on our transit system, which provides more than 1.3 million rides per week—resulting in one call to police for every 13,580 trips taken on TriMet in 2023.

One of the starkest contrasts of the 2024 survey was around opinions of safety and security. The survey asked, “From what you know or may have heard, how safe would you feel riding TriMet buses or MAX trains?” While nearly 60% of bus riders said they would feel safe riding, only 20%, or one in five, non-riders perceived they would be safe. For MAX, 45% of riders said they would feel safe, with only 19% of non-riders feeling the same way, based on what they’ve heard.

About 46% of those surveyed said personal safety concerns have kept them from riding MAX at times, with about 37% saying they had opted out of a bus trip due to concerns. 

The primary reason people felt unsafe while riding was “other riders’ behavior.” The second reason was “lack of Transit Police” and the third was “time of day.” 

While riders are seeing and experiencing what non-riders are not, TriMet will continue adding personnel and efforts to advance safety on our system. We currently have more personnel dedicated to safety and security than ever before, with more than 460 field staff and contractors discouraging unwanted behavior, responding to incidents and educating people about our rules for riding. 

Riders also have a valuable resource that we’ve added in the past year: TriMet’s 24-hour security hotline: 503-238-7433 (RIDE). We strongly encourage riders to text or call the number to report non-urgent concerns. Dispatchers in our Security Operations Center then alert TriMet safety or security team members who are nearby to the issue. Emergencies will always be handled by the police, so for urgent matters, we urge riders to contact 911 and alert the operator.

Cleanliness is another area of emphasis. The latest survey results come on the heels of the introduction of TriMet’s enhanced cleaning efforts, spearheaded in late 2023, with a focus on sprucing up and deep cleaning MAX stations, transit centers and park and rides, along with more cleaning of our buses and trains.

About the survey

Communications, marketing and research firm, PRR, conducted TriMet’s 2024 Attitude & Awareness Survey between April 27 and May 31, 2024. They received more than 4,200 valid responses – our highest-ever level of participation. The survey was offered in six languages; however, the vast majority of responses – more than 98% – were in English. Participation was incentivized with an entry into a drawing for a $100 gift card. All three Portland metro counties were represented in the responses, with 63% coming from Multnomah County. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 1.27%. PRR is a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE), based out of Seattle.

Construction has begun on two additional stories of parking at the SE Park Avenue Park & Ride 

TriMet kicked off a year-long project that will free-up more parking at an historically busy Park & Ride in North Clackamas County, giving commuters southeast of Portland more access to transit. The project will also fully realize the original plans for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project, which brought federal funds to the region for the MAX Orange Line, completed in 2015.

Construction will expand the three-story structure at the south end of the MAX Orange Line by two additional floors, adding 334 new spaces, including six accessible parking spaces. The project will also add wiring and equipment to support 40 additional electric vehicle charging stalls. The new parking will open in spring 2025, and the electric vehicle charging stalls will open at a later date. With the exception of the third floor, the Park & Ride will remain open during the majority of construction.

A five-story parking facility was originally planned for SE Park Ave, but TriMet deferred construction until we could ensure  federal funding remained in the project budget to build it. Development of the MAX Orange Line itself came in under budget, allowing us to tap federal money for the Park & Ride expansion. 

When the three-story Park & Ride opened in 2015, with 401 spaces, it quickly became one of TriMet’s most popular, often filling to capacity on weekdays or during events. TriMet had planned for this possibility, building the structure to allow for its future growth. As a short-term measure, TriMet entered into an agreement with the adjacent Milwaukie-Portland Elks Lodge #142 to lease spaces in its parking lot to manage overflow.

While demand is less today due to travel changes following the COVID-19 pandemic, adding the two new floors of parking now allows us to build for the future to match the growing transit needs in North Clackamas County—without inconveniencing riders. 

Short-term construction, long-term benefits

Expanding the garage will make it easier and more convenient for people to reach jobs, services or other important destinations. The SE Park Avenue Park & Ride is served by the MAX Orange Line and bus lines 33-McLoughlin/King Rd and 99-Macadam/McLoughlin. The Line 291-Orange Night Bus also serves the station from Downtown Portland, replacing MAX Orange Line trains after midnight. 

While both the garage and the onsite Bike & Ride will remain open during construction, the entrance from McLoughlin Boulevard will be closed through the project’s completion. Drivers will enter and exit from the driveway off Southeast Park Avenue. The sidewalk on McLoughlin Boulevard will remain open, however. The Park & Ride elevator will also be closed during construction. 

TriMet’s goal is for roughly 20% of the construction contract be set aside for certified disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) firms. DBEs are businesses owned by minorities or women at a level of at least 51%, with these contracts used to build a diverse and skilled workforce while at the same time making critical improvements to our region’s transportation system. 

Design and site features

In addition to increasing the garage’s capacity, the project will add decorative panels that vines will climb. The landscaping surrounding the garage will be temporarily removed during construction. It will be replaced when the project is completed. We’re also temporarily removing the garage’s rooftop solar panels to accommodate construction.

Learn more about the Park Avenue Park & Ride expansion at trimet.org/bettertransit/park.

Proposals aimed at adding and expanding bus service, improving MAX maintenance and reliability and speeding up trains head before TriMet Board March 27

TriMet’s Board of Directors will take up proposals next week at their March meeting that are geared toward improving bus and MAX service. They’ll begin considering two ordinances, one for our Fiscal Year 2025 service plans, which includes expansion of night buses to replace late-night MAX trains, adding three bus lines and adjusting 30 others, as well as bringing bus service hours within 5% of pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. The second ordinance calls for closing the Skidmore Fountain MAX Station to speed up MAX Blue and Red Line service.

The Board is meeting Wednesday, March 27, at Clackamas Community College, rooms 170/172 in the Harmony West Building, 7738 SE Harmony Rd., Milwaukie. They will hold a public hearing as part of the first reading of each ordinance, as required by Oregon Budget Law. Public forum will begin at 9:30 a.m., with in-person sign-ups beginning at 9 a.m. Virtual testimony sign-ups will close at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26. For more information on sign-up for virtual testimony or to provide written testimony, visit trimet.org/meetings/board.

TriMet previously engaged the community around the proposals. We conducted outreach and held a series of open houses in fall 2023 about our Forward Together bus service improvements, receiving more than 1,700 comments. Additional outreach and open houses were held in January 2024, focused on the second year of bus service changes under our Forward Together plan, as well as the MAX night bus network and Skidmore Fountain concepts. More than 1,000 comments were received. The proposal to close the Skidmore Fountain MAX Station has gone through extensive outreach previously and years of review.

Forward Together enters year two

TriMet’s bus service improvements are in full swing through our Forward Together Revised Service Plan. They’re designed to build better connections and increase ridership. After all, riders are front and center in the improvements, playing a major role in crafting the Forward Together plan in 2022. Our goal is to focus on how and where people ride, and to improve connections to destinations, particularly for people with low and limited incomes.

The second year of Forward Together looks to add three bus lines to our Frequent Service network, with buses arriving every 15 minutes or more often for most of the day, every day. Plans also call for three new bus lines and changes to 27 other bus lines.

To learn more about all of the proposed changes, visit trimet.org/betterbus.

Improving MAX reliability with a night bus network

TriMet has the second-shortest overnight maintenance period of any transit agency in the United States that operates light rail. That’s despite just 2% of MAX riders making trips after midnight. In late summer/early fall of 2023, an average of just over 1,200 trips were taken across all MAX lines between midnight and the start of service shortly before 4 a.m.

Providing late night transit service on buses along the MAX lines would extend our light rail maintenance period, reducing the need to disrupt MAX service during the day in order to accomplish critical rail improvements and reduce unplanned disruptions as well. A longer period of downtime on the MAX system would also allow maintenance teams to perform more thorough cleaning and detailing work aboard our trains after hours.  While the overnight window differs by MAX line, there is currently only a 47-minute period when no trains are running anywhere on the system.

We’re modeling the proposed MAX night bus network after the existing Line 291-Orange night bus. Line 291 was established in 2015 to provide more service from Downtown Portland to Milwaukie while at the same time giving crews a window to perform work on MAX tracks.

Similar to Line 291, the night buses would replace trips after midnight on the MAX Blue, Red and Yellow lines. For the Blue Line, its shuttle buses would be split between two separate segments due to its length — a Blue Line East, between Cleveland Ave in Gresham and Goose Hollow, and Blue Line West, between Hatfield Government Center in Hillsboro and the Rose Quarter Transit Center. This will help buses stay on schedule and give operators more opportunities for breaks. A MAX Green Line night bus is not needed because the Green Line already has a nearly five-hour overnight work window. Additionally, service between Milwaukie and Downtown Portland would be added to the Line 291-Orange Night Bus, which currently offers only southbound service to Milwaukie.

Skidmore Fountain: streamlining service

The best transit system designs strike the right balance between speed and convenience in order to maximize ridership and serve the community. With this in mind, TriMet has examined ways to speed up service, including the removal of some MAX stations in Downtown Portland.

In 2019, TriMet conducted a station optimization study to determine whether the closure of four downtown stations could improve efficiency and retain convenience. TriMet identified the Kings Hill/SW Salmon, Mall/SW 4th Ave, Mall/SW 5th Ave and Skidmore Fountain MAX stations as the best candidates for consolidation. While the other stations have already closed, Skidmore Fountain, which is only two blocks from the Old Town/Chinatown MAX Station—or 500 feet—underwent a multi-year review. TriMet is moving to close the station in fall 2025 as it has not met the two conditions identified to remain open: 1) ridership did not increase at the station and 2) development in the area did not occur. In addition to the Old Town/Chinatown Station being just two blocks away, the Oak/SW 1st Ave Station is also close by, just four blocks to the south.

Evaluations following the closures of the Mall and Kings Hill/SW Salmon stations found time savings of two minutes, which we hope to further improve with Skidmore’s closure.

Learn more at trimet.org/maxdowntown.

Facilities across the transit system are going through thorough deep cleaning and daily improvements as part of refresh

You may notice more activity at TriMet’s stations and transit centers: painting, power washing, litter pick up and more. It’s all part of a focused effort to refresh our most heavily used rail stations and transit hubs, along with our track areas and equipment. More than a simple clean up, TriMet is also replacing damaged signs, glass, older bus shelters and trash receptacles.

Repairing and renewing TriMet facilities

Enter the “Clean Team,” a TriMet group dedicated to sprucing up the system. They are working with an initial emphasis on some of our oldest stations, which are also among our most heavily used. These include several stations along Interstate 84 and in Downtown Portland, which are now more than 37 years old. 

At the Gateway Transit Center, crews have replaced bus shelters and begun deep-cleaning efforts, including repainting the MAX shelters on the platforms. Elsewhere, the Clean Team is working to revitalize public art, eliminate graffiti and improve landscaping.

Making it better on board and off

TriMet’s commitment to maintaining a safe and clean transit system shines through in our daily efforts to target vehicles, stations and transit centers. In a strategic move to enhance cleanliness, end-of-line cleaners are stationed at seven key transit Centers and MAX stations where operators take their breaks. Working seven days a week, they take care of spills and trash to make sure vehicles remain welcoming while in active service.

Those cleaners focusing on trains and buses are joined by other cleaners, whose daily efforts emphasize the platforms at rail stations. But with a service area stretched across 533 square miles, and with about 1.3 million trips made each week, there’s a lot to do! TriMet’s Clean Team helps by going deeper and reaching more areas than we can with daily cleaning.

This includes:

• Repainting structures, such as poles and shelters
• Deep cleaning shelter roofs and station platforms
• Cleaning or covering over graffiti 
• Repairing damaged equipment, such as tactile pavers, pylons and signs 
• Improving landscaping, including making sure tree roots don’t damage walkways
• Removing tripping hazards
• Picking up litter from the track area and nearby

The work comes as TriMet has increased security, and we’re rolling out better service as part of Forward Together, the service plan developed with the community. The COVID-19 pandemic posed the greatest public health crisis in over a century and pushed limited resources toward health and sanitation initiatives for nearly two years. Now, as more people return to the system, we want to make sure we’re looking our best and giving our riders the customer experience they want and deserve.

Keeping TriMet safe and clean

Rider safety and comfort are always TriMet’s top focus, no matter the circumstance. This year has seen more efforts aimed at making riding easier, faster and friendlier. TriMet has doubled the number of Customer Safety Supervisors on the system and deployed a diverse and growing security presence, with more than 300 people across various teams.

We also know cleanliness matters. Nothing is better than when everyone takes pride and ownership in the space they share with others. Here are some things you can do to help us keep buses, trains, stations, stops and other locations looking and feeling good. Your help is greatly appreciated!

• Set a good example by not leaving your trash behind. Not only is litter a nuisance and bad for the environment, it can also attract pests.
• Don’t feed the pigeons! As friendly as they seem, pigeons can spread diseases, mites and cause damage to the areas we all use. Feeding them only encourages their behavior, diminishing the hard work of TriMet’s cleaners. 
• Report unwanted behavior, which can be anything from smoking to vandalism to other forms of disruptive conduct. Because we want to know of bad behavior as soon as you see it, we recently made it easier to report security concerns 24 hours a day. For non-urgent matters, text or call 503-238-7433 (RIDE) or submit a report at trimet.org by clicking the security button. If it is urgent, tell the operator or other TriMet employee, or contact 911.