Parts of this article (those related to documentation) need to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2018)
TheTri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, branded asTriMet, is atransit agency that serves most of theOregon part of thePortland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by theOregon legislature, the district replaced five private bus companies that operated in the three counties:Multnomah,Washington, andClackamas. TriMet began operating alight rail system,MAX, in 1986, which has since been expanded to five lines that now cover 59.7 miles (96.1 km). It also operates theWES Commuter Rail line since 2009. It also provides the operators and maintenance personnel for thecity of Portland-ownedPortland Streetcar system. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 66,876,200, or about 202,800 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2025.
In addition to rail lines, TriMet provides the region's bus system, as well as LIFTparatransit service. There are over 650 buses on 79 lines as of September 2025.[7][2] In 2018, the entire system averaged 310,000 rides per weekday and operates buses and trains between the hours of approximately 5 a.m. and 2 a.m. TriMet's annual budget for FY 2018 is $525.8 million, with 30% of resources coming from a district-widepayroll tax and 10% from fares.[1] The district is overseen by a seven-person board of directors appointed by the state's governor. As of 2022[update], the agency has around 3,428 employees.[8]
TriMet operates a light rail system (MAX Light Rail), the Portland Streetcar, and a commuter rail line (WES Commuter Rail).
TriMet is "a municipal corporation of the State of Oregon", with powers to tax, issue bonds, and enact police ordinances and is governed by a seven-member board of directors appointed by theGovernor of Oregon.[9] It has its own boundary, which currently encompasses an area of about 533 square miles (1,380 km2).[1] The TriMet district serves portions of the counties ofMultnomah,Washington, andClackamas; it extends fromTroutdale toForest Grove east to west, and fromSauvie Island toOregon City andEstacada north to south.
For more than 30 years the agency called itselfTri-Met, but it formally dropped the hyphen from its name in 2002, as part of a newcorporate identity strategy involving a redesignedlogo and new color scheme for its vehicles and other media.[10]
Areal-time display of schedule information at a stop on the transit mall in 2009
TriMet was formed in 1969 after disputes between thePortland City Council and theRose City Transit Company, the private company that previously operated the bus system serving the city (but not its suburbs).[5] The new public agency was created by an ordinance of the Portland city council, under provisions of a law enacted by the 1969Oregon Legislature, and took over all of Rose City Transit's service and fleet effective December 1, 1969.[11] Bus service in the suburban portions of the metropolitan area was operated by four smaller private companies which had a common union and were collectively known as the"Blue Bus" lines: Portland Stages, Tualatin Valley Buses, Intercity Buses and Estacada-Molalla Stages. These were taken over by TriMet on September 6, 1970.[12] Eighty-eight buses owned by the four suburban companies were transferred to TriMet,[13] but many were found to be in poor condition[14] and the TriMet board soon took action to replace them with new buses.[15]
TriMet's first paint scheme was this orange and white, worn by all vehicles from 1971 until 1980 and by a portion of the fleet (the oldest buses) until 1991.
As of January 2024, TriMet operates a total of 695buses on 84 routes,[citation needed] 145 MAXlight rail cars on five lines, and 253 LIFTparatransit vehicles.[1] Each of the five MAX and 17 of the bus lines are designated as "Frequent Service" lines, scheduled to operate atheadways of 15 minutes or less for most of the service day (service is less frequent in the early morning and late evening).[16]
TriMet connects to several other public transit systems:[17]
Long-range transportation planning for the metropolitan area is provided byMetro, an elected regional government. Metro also has statutory authority to take over the day-to-day operations of TriMet, but has never exercised that power, as past studies of such a merger have found it to be problematic.[19]
The agency's administrativeheadquarters was, for more than 40 years, located in Southeast Portland, at SE 17th Avenue and Center Street, the site of the largest of its three garages; the current office building at that site replaced an older one in 1978.[20]: 25 In early 2013, the administrative offices were relocated to downtown Portland, to leased space in a building at SW 1st Avenue and Harrison Street known as Harrison Square, with the former administration building becoming TriMet's Operations Headquarters.[21][22] The administrative offices were moved again in 2023, within downtown, to space in theOne Main Place building.[23]
MAXtrain traveling on the Yellow line (Interstate Avenue)
TriMet runs theMAX Light Rail (short for Metropolitan Area Express) system, and contracts withPortland and Western Railroad to operate theWES Commuter Rail line (short for Westside Express Service). Fares on MAX (as well as WES) are the same as TriMet bus fares, and fare collection uses aproof-of-payment system (or honor system) withticket vending machines at each station. Fare inspectors patrol the system randomly. Incidents of violence on the system have led to calls for more security,[24] and some have argued that more thorough checking of fares would improve riders' overall feeling of safety.
The TransitTracker system uses satellite tracking on buses and sensors in the MAX tracks to predict arrival times at stops and stations.[25] Additionally, TriMet is partnering withGoogle Maps to installBluetooth low energy beacons on MAX platforms, allowing nearbyAndroid device users to directly receive schedule and alert information.[26]
From 1991 until 2014,[27][28] TriMet also operated thePortland Vintage Trolley service, which ran on a portion of the MAX system on most weekends.[29] It was reduced to only seven dates per year in 2011 and was discontinued entirely in July 2014.[27][28]
Additionally, thePortland Streetcar system, which is owned and managed by the City of Portland, not TriMet, is operated and maintained by TriMet under contract with the City of Portland.[30] TriMet also provides a portion of the funding for the streetcar lines.
A bus stop sign of the current design (2000-present) with frequent service.A typical TriMet bus stop shelter
As of September 2024[ref], TriMet operates 75 bus routes (plus five routes that replace the MAX light rail service in late-night hours).[31] Each route is identified by both a number and a name. The numbers are mostly in the range 1–99, but there are currently eight routes with three-digit numbers.[31] From 1969 until 1973, TriMet bus routes were named but not numbered, a practice inherited fromRose City Transit and the"Blue Bus" lines, but route numbers were assigned to all routes in August 1973.[32][33]
Seventeen bus routes are designated as "Frequent Service Lines", which the agency defines as having aheadway of 15 minutes or less most of the service day (service is less frequent in the early morning and late evening).[16] Fifty-eight percent of all bus trips are on the frequent service lines.[16] Bus stops that are served by a frequent service line are identified with an additional green sign.
The bus system includes15 transit centers, that allow passengers to transfer between bus routes and, at many transit centers, MAX routes.
TriMet buses began carrying bicycles on the front in 1992, on a trial basis on eight routes;[34] the experiment was judged a success and within three years the entire bus fleet had been fitted with bike racks.[35]
TriMet added a temporary free shuttle service connecting betweenRose Quarter Transit Center and a temporary bottle redemption facility in industrial district in Northwest Portland specifically to address people redeeming empty containers while grocers have been relieved from theOregon Bottle Bill during theCOVID-19 pandemic. This service was created at the request of GovernorKate Brown[36] and it went into service on April 29, 2020.[37]
TriMet uses a flat fare system, with a single price (for each category of rider: adult, youth, senior or disabled) regardless of the distance of the trip. Single-fare tickets permit unlimited transfers to other routes within 2½ hours, and passes are valid until end of the service day.
Several different methods of fare payment are available. On buses, riders can pay with cash, but no change is given.[39] On the MAX Light Rail system, in common with most other North Americanlight rail systems[40] and on the WES Commuter Rail line, TriMet uses aproof-of-payment fare system, requiring riders not already in possession of a valid fare to purchase or validate one before boarding.[39]Ticket vending machines at MAX and WES stations accept cash and credit and debit cards.[41] For both bus and rail riders, a number of other payment methods are available as an alternative to cash.
TriMet tickets and passes are also valid on thePortland Streetcar, which is owned by theCity of Portland but operated mostly by TriMet personnel under a contract with the city.[30]
TriMet also has a mobile ticketing app, allowing riders to purchase and use tickets for buses, light rail, and commuter rail on their smartphones.[42] The app, called TriMet Tickets, was developed by Portland startup GlobeSherpa (now Moovel Transit) and released in September 2013 at no cost to TriMet. Instead, Moovel Transit will take a commission on every ticket sale through the app.[43]
An e-fare system named "Hop Fastpass" was introduced in July 2017.[44] Developed by INIT (Innovations in Transportation)[45] for TriMet, the City of Portland, andC-Tran, at a cost estimated (in 2015) to be about $30 million,[46] the new Hop Fastpass system enables riders to pay with afare card, using card readers on buses and train platforms and, as of August 2017, using a smartphone equipped with NFC (near field communication) via adigital wallet.[47][48] The name is said to evoke both the speed of therabbit and thehop plant used as an ingredient in thecraft beer brewed in Portland.[46]
Buses come in lengths of either 40 or 30 feet (12 or 9 meters) for use on traditional fixed-route services.[8] TriMet also owns a fleet of 253 minibuses and 15 vans for use on LIFT Paratransit service.[1] As of September 2025[update], TriMet's fleet included over 650 buses.[2]
By March 2017, the entire active fleet of regular buses werelow-floor models and equipped withair-conditioning.[49] This was the culmination of a plan launched 20 years earlier. In 1997, the TriMet board decided that all buses purchased in the future should be low-floor type and equipped with air-conditioning.[50] The decision was for a gradual phase-out of high-floor, non-air-conditioned buses as they reached the ends of their normal lifespan (about 18–20 years) and in 2013 TriMet was anticipating that by 2017 all buses would have low floors without steps.[50][51] In the agency's early years, all buses it purchased new had air-conditioning, but TriMet decided to stop using it in the late 1970s and to only buy non-air-conditioned buses, because it did not consider the expense of maintaining the equipment to be justified given the relatively few hot days in Portland (in the 1970s).[52][53][54] The agency returned to a policy of having air-conditioning in new buses in 1997. TriMet retired its last non-air-conditioned buses in late December 2015.[55] The last series of high-floor buses in service were taken out of regular use in June 2016, but with some kept serviceable[56] through the summer for use on temporary shuttles used during construction-related disruptions to MAX service that took place between August and September.
While most of TriMet's fleet uses diesel motors for propulsion, the agency has also experimented withhybrid electric buses. The first two hybrid buses entered service in 2002,[57][58][59] but in 2008 TriMet stated that the buses had not performed sufficiently better than its newest diesel buses to justify the estimated 50-percent-higher purchase cost, and that consequently the agency had no plans to purchase additional hybrid buses at that time.[60] These first two hybrid buses were retired in 2012.[59] However, with hybrid technology having improved since that earlier purchase, TriMet acquired four new hybrid buses in 2012 and placed them into service in January 2013 on line 72,[59][61] a long, mostly level north–south route. TriMet acquired four more hybrid buses in 2015 with even greater electronic technology on board.[62]
Since October 30, 2006, all TriMet buses and paratransit minibuses have been fueled by a B5biodiesel blend.[63] Plans to increase to a B10 or higher mix were later put on hold as a result of cost increases and problems experienced in a trial use of B10 blend in about one-quarter of the fleet.[64]
The agency delayed new bus purchases for four years due to theGreat Recession and the resulting decrease in income from taxes.[65] In 2012 TriMet began to replace buses on an accelerated schedule.[66] By that time some of the buses in the fleet were more than 20 years old and had become more expensive to maintain and less reliable. The first order of 55 40-footGillig buses began to enter service in fall 2012,[67] followed by 70 buses in 2013,[68] 60 in the summer of 2014,[69] followed by another 30 in October 2014.[70] In early 2015, TriMet received its first new 30-foot buses in more than 20 years.[71] These 22 Gillig buses are similar to the rest of TriMet's new buses, but their shorter length allows them to serve routes with tighter turns and difficult terrain.[71]
By mid-2016 TriMet planned to have 326 buses on the road under four years old, which would allow the agency to meet the industry standard of an average age of eight years. TriMet's 3900-series buses, an order of 64 diesel buses built in 2018 and 2019 and entering service in February 2019, introduced a new paint scheme for the agency, of all-over blue with a trio of semi-upright orange stripes near the rear on each side.[72]
The Frequent Express service operates a fleet of 60-foot (18.3 m) articulated buses;[73][74] they were manufactured by Nova Bus inPlattsburgh, New York. Each bus can carry up to 115 passengers, 60% more than TriMet's standard 40-foot (12.2 m) bus,[75] and features all-door, right-side boarding via three doors along the front, middle, and rear.[76] Up to twobicycles can be stored inside the bus using roll-inracks located near the rear.[77]
TriMet's buses operate out of three garages:
Center Street Garage (in inner Southeast Portland); current facilities opened in 1978, replacing former RCT facilities at same site[20]: 25
Merlo Garage (in Beaverton to the west); opened in 1980[20] with temporary facilities, and full-service maintenance building opened in 1983[78]
Powell Garage (located in East Portland); opened in 1977;[20]: 25 completely rebuilt 2018–2022 (with main building and most other structures replaced)[79]
TriMet's fleet includes 145 light rail vehicles, of 5 general types: TriMet Type 1, Type 2/Type 3 (almost identical), Type 4 and Type 5.[81][82] The first two cars of Type 5 entered service in April 2015.[83] TriMet placed an order for new cars to replace the Type 1 trains in 2019.[84] The first car arrived in December 2022, to be tested.[85][86]
^TriMet's "Type 5" cars were model S70 when purchased and placed in service, but in 2020 were retroactively rebranded as model S700 by Siemens.[89]
Notes on capacities:
The capacities given are for a single car; a two-car train has double the capacity.
The Type 2 cars originally had 72 seats, but eight seats were later removed, to make space for bicycles.[93]
All of these capacity figures are based on "normal" loading conditions (defined as 4 standing passengers per square meter by industry standards[94]); under so-called "crush" loading conditions (6-8 standees per m2), all of these cars are capable of carrying many more passengers than stated here.
The commuter rail line between Beaverton and Wilsonville is operated primarily with trains made up from a fleet of fourColorado Railcar Aerodiesel multiple unit railcars. TriMet also owns fourBuddRDC diesel multiple-unit railcars, of which two have entered service and are used as a backup.
TriMet's pre-2002 (right) and post-2002 paint schemes illustrated on 1991Gillig Phantom buses (a type of bus now retired in TriMet's fleet)
TriMet has had four main paint schemes during its five-decade history. The agency's first paint scheme, adopted in April 1970,[95] featured atangerine (ororange) base with silver (unpainted metal) along the middle portion of the lower half and awhite stripe below and above the windows.[95] The windshield also had a white outline around it. The white above the windows curved upward to the roof at the first door, leaving the bus's front section all orange at the roof.
TriMet's second paint scheme, which was adopted in August 1980[96] and was the agency's standard paint scheme from 1980 to 2002 (but remains in use on most of the Type 2 MAX cars in 2021), features a white base with a three-color stripe below the windows. The stripe colors are (in order from top to bottom)burgundy, red and orange,[96][97] and near the front on each side the stripe makes a sharp bend and angles upward to the roof (except on MAX cars). The logo of TriMet – which at that time was still using the hyphenated spellingTri-Met – was shown on the front end.
TriMet's third paint scheme, of white with blue and "buttery" yellow, was adopted in August 2002.[10][98] It features a white base with a largeblue semi-circle at the top, curving downward, and a smaller paleyellow semi-circle at the bottom, curving upward. This was the first paint scheme to use the current logo.
TriMet's current standard paint scheme was introduced in early 2019. It is all-over blue with three orange vertical, and slightly angled, lines in the rear portion on each side, with the middle line being thicker than the two outer lines.[72][99] TriMet's Frequent Express (FX) buses have a similar paint scheme, but with green and blue colors.[100]
There have also been other paint scheme variations. TriMet's 3800-series battery-electric buses use an all-blue paint scheme with several blue stripes and wind turbine graphics to call attention to their being all-electric buses.[101] The WESRDCs use a paint scheme of mostly bare metal with a large white stripe along the windows, and a smaller blue stripe above the white stripe. The front of the train has a blue and yellow stripe pattern.[102]
1970 Tri-Met takes over the"Blue Bus" companies, the four companies which had been providing bus service to and within Portland's suburbs,[14] adding another 88 buses to the agency's fleet.
1973 Route numbers (or Line numbers) are adopted for the first time; previously, routes had been designated only by names.[32][33]
1974 The first shelters atbus stops are installed.
1975 The "Fareless Square" is created in downtown Portland, with the goal of reducing short automobile trips within the city core and attracting more riders. Fares outside the Square are 35 cents.[103] The zone-based fare system was discontinued at that time,[103] but was reinstated less than four years later[104] and remained in use until 2012.
1977/78 The 22-blockPortland Transit Mall opens on downtown's Fifth and Sixth Avenues.[105][106] The mall includes bus-only lanes and provides a hub to make it easier for riders to make connections. Tri-Met also introduces the seven "sector symbols", for different areas of the transit district, used at stops on the new mall: Brown Beaver (SE), Green Leaf (S), Yellow Rose (SW), Orange Deer (W), Red Fish (N), Purple Raindrops (NE) and Blue Snowflake (E)
1978 After 3½ years using a"flat" fare system, a zonal fare structure is reinstated, with three fare zones.[104] Zone 1 consisted ofdowntown Portland and extending about one to two miles (3 km) out. Zone 2 was a ring around Zone 1 out two to three more miles. Zone 3 wrapped around Zone 2 and consisted of the rest of the system within the suburbs of Portland.
1981 24-hour recorded schedule information becomes available over the phone.
One of TriMet's first series ofarticulated buses, in service 1982–99.
1982 Tri-Met introducesarticulated buses for the first time.[107] The buses were manufactured byCrown-Ikarus, a now-defunct partnership betweenIkarus, of Hungary, andCrown Coach, of California, but they proved to be sufficiently trouble-plagued that the agency later sues the manufacturer to recover expenses tied to excessive repairs;[108][109] a settlement was reached in 1987. The last bus was retired in 1999 and TriMet did not purchase articulated buses again until 2019 (for the Division Transit Project, to enter service in 2022).
1982 In September, Tri-Met introduces aproof-of-payment (or "self-service") fare system for all service,[110] but discontinues it in June 1984, due to fare evasion, high equipment repair costs and other problems.[111]
1983 Completion of the installation oftwo-way radios on the entire fleet; 100 buses already had radios by 1980, and all others were equipped in 1982–83.[112][78]
1986 As part of a package of budget cuts,[113] Tri-Met discontinues its all-night"Owl" service,[114] making Portland the second largest U.S. city without all-night transit service. Seven regular (daytime) bus routes also were eliminated.[114]
1986 The 15-mile (24 km) longMAX Light Rail line between Portland andGresham opens. It reintroduces rail transit service to the Portland area, missing since the 1950s.
For more than 40 years, until 2015, TriMet's fleet included buses built byFlxible, an example of which is the 1992Flxible Metro shown in this 2013 photo.
1992 The first bike racks are installed on the fronts of some Tri-Met buses, as part of a one-year trial project.[34]
1995 Tri-Met's website goes online, hosted by localInternet service provider Teleport (which eventually becomes acquired by OneMain.com, later to become part ofEarthlink). At the time when Internet access was less ubiquitous, Tri-Met also offered a dial-up information service through Teleport using aUnix shell andLynx.
1996 Tri-Met begins to equip its bus fleet withvehicle tracking system equipment, to enable monitoring of buses in service, usingGPS technology.[116]
1997 The firstlow-floor buses and light-rail cars go into service.[117][118]
1998 Westside MAX (now known as the Blue Line between Portland andHillsboro) opens. Tri-Met also establishes bus lines that come every 15 minutes or sooner everyday, lessening the need to consult a schedule when using them.
1999Satellite-assisted bus arrival time displays (later to be namedTransit Tracker) are installed at select major bus stops in North Portland and downtown.
2001 Fareless Square is expanded to a small portion of Northeast Portland betweenLloyd Center and theSteel Bridge. Airport MAX (theRed Line) begins service on September 10 after a public/private partnership, prompted by a proposal fromBechtel Corporation, enables its construction years ahead of TriMet's plans for the use of public funds. Bechtel received exclusive development rights to 120 acres (486,000 m2) near the entrance toPortland International Airport. The original MAX line began to be referred to as the MAX Blue Line upon the opening of the Red Line. Bus sector symbols began to be phased out from maps and publications.
2002 With the September schedule change, Tri-Met launches a newcorporate identity strategy. It is renamedTriMet (without a hyphen) and a newlogo and blue, white and yellow livery are introduced.[10] An improved automated phone service is introduced.
2004 Interstate MAX (theYellow Line) opens along Interstate Avenue. The fleet has grown to 638 buses, 208 paratransit vehicles, and 105 trains with a daily ridership of over 300,000.
2005 TriMet introducesbiodiesel fuel into its fleet, using a B5 blend (5 percent pure biodiesel, 95 percent petroleum diesel), initially on LIFT (paratransit) minibuses only. Use of B5 biodiesel was expanded to the entire bus fleet in late 2006.[63]
2007 ThePortland Mall, on 5th and 6th Avenues, is shut down for rebuilding and southward extension (toPSU), including adding a second light-rail alignment through downtown. The rebuilding, to take over 2 years, is part of theMAX Green Line project, but will also replace all infrastructure for buses on the already 29-year-old transit mall.[119] Most bus routes serving downtown are detoured to other streets until 2009.
2009 The 14.7-mile (23.7 km)WES Commuter Rail opens on February 2. WES (Westside Express Service) provides service between Beaverton and Wilsonville with stations in Tigard and Tualatin in between.[5]
2009 In May, the Portland Mall reopens for buses, and testing and training runs for the new Mall MAX tracks begin, for opening August 30.[120]
2009 Due to theGreat Recession's effect on the agency's finances, the board approves a series of service reductions, to take effect in September.[121] The board votes on August 12 to discontinueFareless Square for bus service beginning in January 2010, while retainingfare-free rides in the downtown area on MAX and the Portland Streetcar.[122]
2009 On August 30, MAX service on the transit mall is introduced, with the shifting of the Yellow Line to the new alignment.[123] September 12 brings the opening of theGreen Line, also using the new transit-mall tracks, running from downtown (PSU) toClackamas Town Center.[124] It is TriMet's first light rail line serving Clackamas County.[125]
2012 TriMet purchases 55 new Gillig diesel buses to begin replacing buses dating back to 1990. The last four of the new buses arehybrid-electrics estimated to be 20-50% more fuel-efficient[61] and produce 95% fewer emissions; they replaced hybrid buses that were in service since 2002.[59]
2012 TriMet discontinues "Free Rail Zone" (formerly known as the "Fareless Square") in Downtown Portland and ends use of three-zone, distance-based fare system.[126] Until this time, the TriMet district was divided into three fare zones, with fares based on the number of zones in which a passenger traveled.[127]
2018 After 32 years without any all-night transit service, TriMet extends service hours on lines 20-Burnside/Stark and 57-TV Highway to run 24 hours a day. The agency also establishes Line 272-PDX Night Bus to provide early-morning service between NE 82nd Avenue and thePortland International Airport.[129] (This service was discontinued April 5, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has not returned.)[130]
2019 TriMet introduces a new paint scheme,[72] the first such change since 2002.
TriMet works with local jurisdictions and agencies to identify and recommend priority transit projects to include in Metro'sRegional Transportation Plan (RTP). The 2018 RTP is Metro's latest iteration, and it lists three funding scenarios that divide the region's proposals into three priority levels. The highest priority projects, which are referred to as "2027 Constrained", are proposals the region expects to have funding for by 2027. The "2040 Constrained" lists projects that fit within the region's planned budget through 2040, while the "2040 Strategic" are projects that may be built if additional funding becomes available. TriMet also has a page on theirwebsite discussing the future plans for their rail and bus lines.
Extends MAX southwest from PSU in downtown Portland toBridgeport Village inTualatin via Southwest Portland andTigard.[138] It would be served by the Green Line.[139]: 191 Voters rejected Measure 26-218, a tax ballot measure that would have funded the local-area share of the project, on November 3, 2020.[140][141]
To best meet the needs of people in TriMet’s service district, the Revised Service Concept would bring bus service to 50,000 more people, weekend service to 100,000 more and significant increases to frequent buses service to connect people and jobs. Additionally, it would discontinue some lines due to low ridership.[146]
TriMet has indicated that other extensions and improvements have been studied or discussed with Metro and cities in the region.[147]: 17 [148] These proposals include the following, with light rail and alternatives being considered:
Extension to Forest Grove via Cornelius and Tualatin Valley Highway (OR 8)
Extension to Oregon City via McLoughlin Boulevard (OR 99E)
TriMet buses and commuter rail also serveWilsonville, Oregon, which is outside the TriMet district, in order to provide connections to transit services operated bySMART in that city.
A state law that went into effect on October 1, 1987, enabled communities with a population of less than 10,000 to petition to leave the TriMet district. A petition, which needed to be signed by at least 15 percent of registered voters in the affected area, must demonstrate that a community is not receiving adequate service and that TriMet's payroll tax is adversely affecting business activity for the withdrawal from the transit district to be approved.[149] The first three areas to make use of the law and withdraw from the TriMet district, effective January 1, 1989, wereDamascus,Molalla, andWilsonville.[150] TheBoring area was removed from the TriMet District on January 1, 2013.[151]
TriMet employs atransit police division to patrol its services. Officers in this division normally serve with locallaw enforcement agencies and are assigned terms with the transit police; this partnership with local police enables the closest available unit to respond to incidents. TriMet also partners with theTransportation Security Administration, which provides acanine unit to detect explosives and deter acts of terrorism. Riders are encouraged to alert TriMet employees using on-boardintercoms or to dial9-1-1 when witnessing crime or suspicious activity.[152] TriMet operates over 4,000 security cameras. All TriMet vehicles became fully equipped with cameras in 2014.[153]
In the aftermath of the 2020George Floyd protests, TriMet reallocated $1.8 million in police contracts and established a transit public safety committee to reevaluate safety and security.[154] In June 2020, an audit by Portland's Independent Police Review concluded that accountability for the transit police, which thePortland Police Bureau (PPB) oversaw, "fell short of the community's expectations". According to the audit, PPB's management "led to some adverse outcomes with community members when they have a negative encounter with a transit officer and learn that accountability is elusive."[155] The following March, TriMet reassigned control of the transit police to theMultnomah County Sheriff's Office. In fall 2021, TriMet deployed a Safety Response Team on MAX. The 24-member team is unarmed and aims to "connect riders in need with social services, reduce 911 calls for non-emergencies, and provide emergency supplies to those who need them."[156]
In August 2023, TriMet driver crashed a bus into a tree causing traumatic injuries to himself and one passenger and minor injuries to four passengers.[157][158][159]
In November 2023, a MAX train collided with a Portland Streetcar in theLloyd District and injured two people on board.[160][161][162] Investigation concluded the MAX operator was at fault for the crash.[163] The MAX operator was required to go through retraining following the crash, and was subsequently fired in July 2024 for continuing to violate safety protocols.[164]
An investigation byThe Oregonian in 2013 led to the revelation that some TriMet drivers were working as many as 22 hours in a 24-hour period. There have also been 22 reported cases of drivers falling asleep at the wheel.[165][166][167] In response, the agency adopted a new policy restricting the number of hours a driver is permitted to work within a 24-hour period.[168]
A broken TriMet ticket machine at the Beaverton Transit Center WES platform, old design
An investigation by several local Portland news outlets found that several of the MAX Light Rail ticket machines have extremely high failure rates. Many riders have claimed that they have received a fare evasion citation after boarding the MAX train without a fare after they have attempted to pay for a ticket. The official statement from TriMet is to ride to the next MAX station, de-board the train, pay for a ticket there, and wait for the next train. That response has been deemed unacceptable both by riders and bus/rail operators. TriMet has begun replacing all of its older machines with newer machines and cites a 50% drop in complaints.[169]
^"Tri-Met Takes Bus Control; Strike Averted" (December 1, 1969).The Oregonian, p. 1.
^"Federman, Stan (September 2, 1970). "Tri-Met Action Averts Strike Of Bus Drivers; Agency To Assume Operation Of Four Suburban Blue Lines".The Oregonian, p. 1.
^"Tri-Met To Get Blue Buses Sunday; New Suburban Runs To Start Tuesday" (September 5, 1970).The Oregonian, Section 1, p. 15.
^ab"Tri-Met Takes Over Operation Of Blue Buses, Finds Rolling Stock In Bad Condition" (September 9, 1970).The Oregonian, p. 9.
^"Tri-Met Purchases 75 New Buses".The Oregonian. October 6, 1970. Section 1, p. 10.
^McKinney, Kevin (February 2023). "Rush Hour [transit news section]".Passenger Train Journal. Vol. 47, no. 1 – First quarter 2023. White River Productions, Inc. p. 69.ISSN0160-6913.
^ab"Meet the New MAX".trimet.org. December 2022. Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 16, 2023.
^"'Roomy, good-looking' light-rail cars please Tri-Met official".The Sunday Oregonian. November 27, 1983. p. B5.
^"Siemens rebadges North American low-floor cars".Tramways & Urban Transit. No. 993. UK: Mainspring Enterprises Ltd. September 2020. p. 336.ISSN1460-8324.
^abColby, Richard (January 12, 1975). "Tri-Met eliminates fare zones, offers free rides downtown".The Sunday Oregonian, p. A38.
^abHortsch, Dan (August 27, 1978). "Tri-Met riders will start paying higher fares on Sept. 3".The Sunday Oregonian, p. B7.
^"Mall makes it". (December 12, 1977).The Oregonian, p. A1.
^"Mall enters future – and it works!" (March 19, 1978).The Sunday Oregonian, p. M11. Excerpt: "Although the Portland Mall has [now] been officially dedicated, it has been in full operation since December."
^Federman, Stan (January 24, 1982). "Introduction of articulated buses kicks off Tri-Met expansion".The Oregonian, p. B1.
^Federman, Stan (March 4, 1984). "No wonder the sour look: Tri-Met bendable buses 'lemons'".The Sunday Oregonian, p. 1.
^Federman, Stan (November 5, 1985). "Tri-Met sues over articulated bus defects".The Oregonian.
^Federman, Stan (August 29, 1982). "All eyes will be on Tri-Met's new self-service plan".The Sunday Oregonian, p. C2.
^Federman, Stan (June 16, 1984). "Inspectors bid goodbye to Tri-Met test".The Oregonian, p. C5.
^"$1.7 million grant awarded Tri-Met [for two-way radios]".The Oregonian, May 20, 1980, p. B3.
^Federman, Stan (May 23, 1986). "Tri-Met plans to lay off 81, cut bus lines".The Oregonian, p. A1.
^abHayakawa, Alan R. (July 1, 1986). "Tri-Met approves $71.9 million budget".The Oregonian, p.B1.
^"Transit professionals single out Tri-Met" (September 27, 1989).The Oregonian.
^Oliver, Gordon (August 18, 1996). "Tri-Met adopts global technology to track bus fleet".The Oregonian, p. D1.
^O'Keefe, Mark (September 1, 1997). "New MAX cars smooth the way for wheelchairs".The Oregonian, p. B12.
^"Easy-access buses hit the streets in Portland" (December 15, 1997).The Oregonian.
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