TriMet News

zero-emissions

  • Welcome aboard! TriMet introduces new generation of battery-electric buses

    Our newest e-buses are now serving riders on Line 9, with more soon to follow

    TriMet Line 9-Powell bus serves Downtown Portland along the Transit Mall.

    TriMet’s new battery-electric buses are officially on the road!

    Twenty-four next-generation “e-buses” are entering service with TriMet this year. The first of those buses began welcoming riders aboard Line 9-Powell in July, offering a smooth, quiet and comfortable ride between Downtown Portland and the Gresham Central Transit Center. We’ll roll out more new e-buses on more lines in the coming weeks.

    Our e-buses are zero-emissions vehicles, powered by 100% renewable electricity. That means they generate no air pollution, reducing overall vehicle emissions and improving air quality in our region.

    They’re also American-made! We purchased these buses from GILLIG, a bus manufacturer headquartered in Livermore, California. GILLIG built the buses at its manufacturing facility in the San Francisco Bay Area and drove them about 650 miles up Interstate 5 to Portland earlier this year.

    The bus electric

    GILLIG outfits its state-of-the-art e-buses with six lithium-ion battery packs. TriMet recharges these batteries every time a bus returns to our Powell Operations Facility, so it’s ready to roll out again the next day.

    With support from the federal government and Portland General Electric, we’ve been installing charging stations for our e-buses. Most recently, we added 24 charging stations at our Powell Facility in outer Southeast Portland, so each of the new e-buses has a place to plug in.

    In place of an internal combustion engine, every e-bus has a powerful electric motor. This motor runs on battery power, with a range of well over 150 miles on a single charge in our latest generation of e-buses. We’ll keep track of how they perform over the next few months, tackling hilly terrain, varying temperatures, traffic conditions and more, as we evaluate how they can best serve our riders.

    These new e-buses have 33% more battery capacity than the previous generation of GILLIG e-buses we first introduced in 2021. They will also be able to charge on the go. Like our short-range New Flyer battery-electric buses, which we first introduced in 2019, they’re equipped with overhead charging rails for fast charging. This will give us additional flexibility in how and where we run these buses.

    As we roll out these e-buses, we’re replacing older diesel buses that have reached the end of the road with TriMet after many years of service. The 24 new e-buses are joining 10 e-buses that were already in service with TriMet, more than tripling the number of zero-emissions buses in our fleet.

    Catching the wave of the future

    TriMet has set a goal of a full transition to zero-emissions buses by 2040.

    The 24 e-buses from GILLIG are paid for with state and federal funding. We appreciate the support we’ve received from our partners!

    Reaching zero emissions requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach. The Federal Transit Administration awarded TriMet a $39 million grant this summer to help us continue moving toward a fully zero-emissions fleet. With this grant, we plan to purchase 14 hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses — a first for TriMet — before the end of this decade.

    The 60-foot articulated fuel-cell electric buses will run along 82nd Avenue, one of the busiest traffic corridors in our region. Together with our partners at Metro, our goal is to open a high-capacity rapid bus transit line, similar to FX2-Division, along 82nd Avenue sometime in 2029.

    The grant will also pay for the infrastructure and training we need to support these buses, including more upgrades for the Powell Operations Facility.

    We also received a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation this summer for the development of our Columbia Operations Facility. This site supports our transition to zero-emissions buses, including fuel-cell electric buses.

  • TriMet awarded $25 million for future home of zero-emissions bus and training operations

    RAISE grant is vital for future Columbia Operations Facility to support TriMet’s goal of 100% clean energy buses by 2040

    A federal grant will help move TriMet closer to our goal of a zero-emissions bus fleet — a necessary step for not only our agency to meet climate action goals, but for achieving state and regional greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets as well.

    The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $25 million from its Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program to TriMet. The grant is dedicated for our future Columbia Operations Facility in Northeast Portland. TriMet purchased the industrial site at Northeast 42nd Avenue and Columbia Boulevard in 2018, for development as our fourth bus facility.

    This grant supports our goal of moving to a 100% zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040. The Columbia Operations Facility is key to reaching our goal.

    “This grant is more than just welcome news — it is vital to building a cleaner, brighter future for our region,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. “I thank Rep. Earl Blumenauer for championing our plans for zero-emissions bus fleet operations to better our community, as well as Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Rep. Andrea Salinas, and Rep. Lori Chavez DeRemer for their support in securing this award.”

    “This is important funding for the region and will improve TriMet’s efficiency,” Rep. Blumenauer said. “The Columbia Operations Facility may sound like a mundane project, but it is not. It’s an important element — part of the nuts and bolts that allow TriMet to function better. I deeply appreciate the Biden Administration’s support.”

    “I am proud to have supported this $25 million federal investment in TriMet because it means families, small businesses and workers in the metro area can count on greener and cleaner buses,” said Sen. Wyden. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law I worked to pass, Oregonians in and around Portland as well as the entire state can have the big-league infrastructure required to have a big-league economy.”

    “Reimagining transportation systems across our state — with sustainability front and center — will benefit Oregonians while creating good-paying, clean-energy jobs in communities that are in desperate need of 21st-century transportation routes,” Sen. Merkley added. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, TriMet is receiving a $25 million RAISE grant to house and maintain their zero-emissions bus fleet, which will support their mission to keep moving Oregonians forward on a safer, more accessible and cleaner transportation system for all.”

    Improving service

    The Columbia Operations Facility will one day house and maintain TriMet hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses.

    TriMet’s zero-emissions bus fleet is growing, with 24 new battery-electric buses set to go into service this year. Building a modern Columbia Operations Facility is essential so TriMet can expand our clean energy bus fleet and deploy more of these buses in our service district, especially to areas with poor air quality.

    This facility is also critical to our ongoing efforts to increase service in areas that rely on transit. Our Forward Together service concept is redrawing the map of TriMet bus lines to increase ridership and improve service for people with low and limited incomes. The Columbia Operations Facility will help us make that service concept into reality.

    Having a fourth facility for our buses will also allow us to make needed improvements at the TriMet Operations Headquarters at Southeast 17th Avenue and Center Street. With future plans to renovate the facility to support zero-emissions buses, we will need the space at the Columbia Operations Facility to house some of the 200-plus buses based out of the Center Street facility during that work.

    Benefits beyond buses

    While TriMet’s focus is on a better bus system, building the Columbia Operations Facility has many more positives as well.

    The project will improve safety in the surrounding community. TriMet is partnering with the City of Portland to make improvements along Northeast Columbia Boulevard, including new traffic signals and pedestrian crossings. These improvements will make the corridor more walkable and transit-friendly, while also helping traffic flow better and more safely. We greatly appreciate the City’s partnership and support of this grant.

    The Columbia Operations Facility will employ hundreds of union workers — including staff in our maintenance, cleaning and training divisions, as well as bus operators. It will house TriMet’s largest dedicated training facility, allowing us to expand our workforce development and training efforts to hire even more people. TriMet provides family-wage jobs and outstanding benefits for our more than 3,300 employees, as well as pathways for advancement. Learn more at trimet.org/careers.

  • Extended-range electric buses supercharge TriMet’s zero-emissions push

    Latest generation of GILLIG battery-electric buses could welcome riders aboard as soon as spring, improving our region’s livability and sustainability

    On a partly sunny February day, the first of a new generation of zero-emissions buses rolled into TriMet’s Columbia Operations Facility.

    The long-range battery-electric buses had been driven up to Portland from GILLIG’s manufacturing center in Livermore, California. On the way to their new home, they had to contend with freeway traffic and mountain passes. All told, they traveled some 650 miles.

    And with TriMet, they’ll be traveling many, many more.

    TriMet is driving ahead with our ambitious goal to have a 100% zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040. Our latest arrivals bring us one step closer to achieving this goal.

    What’s new?

    The first four buses from the order of 24 third-generation battery-electric buses — sometimes called e-buses — arrived earlier this month, and a fifth is on the way. More are scheduled for delivery this spring and summer. Some of the new electric buses could be in service as soon as this spring.

    We’re building upon the successes we’ve seen with battery-electric buses already in service. Our first-generation battery-electric buses, which we introduced in 2019, are short-range buses that charge mid-route. Our second-generation battery-electric buses, like the new ones, are longer-range electric buses brought on board in 2021.

    TriMet’s e-buses are popular with riders, who enjoy the quiet, smooth ride they provide with their powerful electric motors, as well as their eco-friendly technology. The new e-buses incorporate that same comfort and cleanliness, but with boosted battery life and extended range.

    These new buses can hold more of a charge than our existing long-range buses, with a 33% boost to energy storage compared to our second-generation buses. Our testing will determine the effective range of the buses, which we estimate to be at least 150 miles year-round.

    They’re also equipped for flexible charging. Unlike our previous long-range buses, these new buses have overhead charge rails that will allow them to be easily hooked up to TriMet’s fast charging stations in Beaverton, as well as charging ports they’ll use at our Powell Operations Facility in Southeast Portland, where they initially will be housed. We’ve already installed 24 plug-in chargers in anticipation of their arrival.

    This is the largest expansion yet of our electric bus fleet. With these new vehicles, we will more than triple the number of e-buses in service with TriMet this year. That means many more riders will benefit, and many more neighborhoods will see zero-emissions buses rolling down the street on a regular basis.

    What’s next?

    Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be performing rigorous testing and inspections of the new e-buses for safety and efficiency.

    Once we’ve completed our testing and inspections on each bus, we can begin welcoming riders aboard. Depending on how long this process takes, you could be riding on one of these new electric buses this spring, even before all 24 have arrived in Portland. Call it a “rolling start” for these new buses!

    We hope to have the full two dozen in service by September.

    In the meantime, we’ll be putting the buses through their paces. That includes determining exactly how far they’ll go on a single charge under normal conditions, getting a sense for the effects that city traffic, hilly terrain and weather have on battery life. We’ll also be making sure that the safety features on each bus, such as our on-board cameras, are working properly.

    Our operators will also be getting comfortable with how the new buses handle, and our mechanics will be learning their (literal) ins and outs.

    While we’re still determining when and where we’ll be rolling out each bus, our goal is to bring more zero-emissions buses to areas where improving air quality will benefit vulnerable populations. That goal is in keeping with our Green Corridors Plan, which guides us as we do our part to reduce air pollution and create a healthier, more livable region.

    Switching to renewable diesel for our fixed-route diesel buses and WES trains has reduced TriMet’s emissions by nearly 70% since 2022. Reaching zero emissions by 2040, however, means investing in new emerging technologies like battery-electric buses. Our electric bus fleet runs off of 100% renewable electricity.