TriMet


TriMet, formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created in 1969 by the Oregon legislature, the district replaced five private bus companies that operated in the three counties; Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas. TriMet started operating a light rail system named MAX in 1986, which has since been expanded to 5 lines that now cover, as well as a commuter rail line in 2009. It also provides the operators and maintenance personnel for the City of Portland-owned Portland Streetcar system.
In addition to rail lines, TriMet provides the region's bus system, as well as LIFT paratransit service. There are 688 buses in TriMet's fleet that operate on 85 lines. 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-wide payroll tax and 10% from fares. The district is overseen by a seven-person board of directors appointed by the state's governor. In 2014, the agency has around 2,500 employees.

General information

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 the Governor of Oregon. It has its own boundary, which currently encompasses an area of about. The TriMet district serves portions of the counties of Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas; it extends from Troutdale to Forest Grove east to west, and from Sauvie Island to Oregon City and Estacada north to south.
For more than 30 years the agency called itself Tri-Met, but it formally dropped the hyphen from its name in 2002, as part of a new corporate identity strategy involving a redesigned logo and new color scheme for its vehicles and other media.
TriMet was formed in 1969 after disputes between the Portland city council and Rose City Transit Company, the private company that previously operated the bus system serving the city. The new public agency was created by an ordinance of the Portland city council, under provisions of a law enacted by the 1969 Oregon Legislature, and took over all of Rose City Transit's service and fleet effective December 1, 1969. 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. Eighty-eight buses owned by the four suburban companies were transferred to TriMet, but many were found to be in poor condition and the TriMet board soon took action to replace them with new buses.
, TriMet operates a total of 688 buses on 85 routes, 145 MAX light rail cars on five lines, and 253 LIFT paratransit vehicles. Each of the five MAX and 12 of the bus lines are designated as "Frequent Service" lines, scheduled to operate at headways of 15 minutes or less for most of the service day.
TriMet connects to several other mass transit systems:
TriMet also links to various local shuttle services operated by the following: Ride Connection, which serves Banks, Gaston, King City and North Plains; the Swan Island Transportation Management Association; the Tualatin Transportation Management Association; Intel; Nike; and Oregon Health & Science University, including the Portland Aerial Tram.
Long-range transportation planning for the metropolitan area is provided by Metro, 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.

Rail lines

TriMet runs the MAX Light Rail system, and contracts with Portland and Western Railroad to operate the WES Commuter Rail line. Fares on MAX are the same as TriMet bus fares, and fare collection uses a proof-of-payment system with ticket vending machines at each station. Fare inspectors patrol the system randomly. Incidents of violence on the system have led to calls for more security, 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. Additionally, TriMet is partnering with Google Maps to install Bluetooth low energy beacons on MAX platforms, allowing nearby Android device users to directly receive schedule and alert information.
TriMet trains operate using reporting mark TMTC.
TriMet's rail lines include:
;Light rail
;Commuter rail
From 1991 until 2014, TriMet also operated the Portland Vintage Trolley service, which ran on a portion of the MAX system on most weekends. It was reduced to only seven dates per year in 2011 and was discontinued entirely in July 2014.
Additionally, the Portland 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. TriMet also provides a portion of the funding for the streetcar lines.

Bus service

, TriMet operates 85 bus routes. Each route is identified by both a number and a name. The numbers are mostly in the range 1–99, but there are currently six routes with three-digit numbers. From 1969 until 1973, TriMet bus routes were named but not numbered, a practice inherited from Rose City Transit and the "Blue Bus" lines, but route numbers were assigned to all routes in August 1973.
Twelve bus routes are designated as "Frequent Service Lines", which the agency defines as having a headway of 15 minutes or less most of the service day. Fifty-eight percent of all bus trips are on the frequent service lines. Bus stops that are served by a frequent service line are identified with additional green sign.
The bus system includes 17 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; the experiment was judged a success and within three years the entire bus fleet had been fitted with bike racks. Each rack can hold two bikes.
TriMet added a temporary free shuttle service connecting between Rose 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 the Oregon Bottle Bill during the COVID-19 pandemic. This service was created at the request of Governor Kate Brown and it went into service on April 29, 2020.

Fares

TriMet uses a flat fare system, with a single price regardless of the distance of the trip. However, the 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. On the MAX Light Rail system, in common with most other North American light rail systems, and on the WES Commuter Rail line, TriMet uses a proof-of-payment fare system, requiring riders not already in possession of a valid fare to purchase or validate one before boarding. Ticket vending machines at MAX and WES stations accept cash as well as credit and debit cards. 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 the Portland Streetcar, which is owned by the City of Portland but operated mostly by TriMet personnel under a contract with the city.
TriMet also has a mobile ticketing app, allowing riders to purchase and use tickets for buses, light rail, and commuter rail on their smartphones. The app, called TriMet Tickets, was developed by Portland startup GlobeSherpa and released in September 2013 at no cost to TriMet. Instead, Moovel Transit will take a commission on every ticket sale through the app.
An e-fare system named "Hop Fastpass" was introduced in July 2017. Developed by INIT for TriMet, the City of Portland, and C-Tran, at a cost estimated to be about $30 million, the new Hop Fastpass system enables riders to pay with a fare card, using card readers on buses and train platforms, and, as of August 2017, using a smartphone equipped with NFC via a digital wallet. The name is said to evoke both the speed of the rabbit and the hop plant used as an ingredient in the craft beer brewed in Portland.

Fleet

Buses

, TriMet's fleet included 688 buses, in lengths of either 40 or 30 feet for use on traditional fixed-route services. TriMet also owns a fleet of 253 minibuses and 15 vans for use on LIFT Paratransit service.
By March 2017, the entire active fleet of regular buses were low-floor models and equipped with air-conditioning. 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. The decision was for a gradual phase-out of high-floor, non-air-conditioned buses as they reached the ends of their normal lifespan and in 2013 TriMet was anticipating that by 2017 all buses would have low floors without steps. TriMet retired its last non-air-conditioned buses in late December 2015. The last series of high-floor buses in service were taken out of regular use in June 2016, but with some kept serviceable through the summer for use on temporary shuttles during construction-related disruptions to MAX service that took place between August 21 and September 3, 2016.
TriMet does not currently operate any 60-foot articulated buses. However, the Division Transit Project, a high-capacity line currently under development and projected to open in 2022 if it receives final approval and the needed funding, would add 60-foot articulated buses to the TriMet fleet.
While most of TriMet's fleet uses diesel motors for propulsion, the agency has also experimented with hybrid electric buses. The first two hybrid buses entered service in 2002, 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. These first two hybrid buses were retired in 2012. 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, a long, mostly level north–south route. TriMet acquired four more hybrid buses in 2015 with even greater electronic technology on board.
Since October 30, 2006, all TriMet buses and paratransit minibuses have been fueled by a B5 biodiesel blend. 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.
The agency delayed new bus purchases for four years due to the recession of 2008 and the resulting decrease in income from taxes. In 2012 TriMet began to replace buses on an accelerated schedule. 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-foot Gillig buses began to enter service in fall 2012, followed by 70 buses in 2013, 60 in the summer of 2014, followed by another 30 in October 2014. In early 2015, TriMet received its first new 30-foot buses in more than 20 years. 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.
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.
TriMet's buses operate out of three garages:
Year builtMakeModelLengthFleet number series
2000–01New FlyerD40LF40'2501–2560
2002New FlyerD40LF40'2601–2655
2003New FlyerD40LF40'2701–2725
2005New FlyerD40LF40'2801–2839
2008–09New FlyerD40LFR40'2901–2940
2012GilligLow Floor BRT40'3001–3051
2012GilligLow Floor BRT Hybrid40'3052–3055
2013GilligLow Floor BRT40'3101–3170
2014GilligLow Floor BRT40'3201–3260
2014GilligLow Floor BRT40'3301–3330
2015GilligLow Floor BRT29'3401–3422
2015GilligLow Floor BRT Hybrid40'3056–3059
2015GilligLow Floor BRT40'3261–3268
2015GilligLow Floor BRT40'3501–3577
2016GilligLow Floor BRT40'3601–3650
2017GilligLow Floor BRT40'3701–3757
2018–19New FlyerXcelsior CHARGE40'3801–3805
2018–19GilligLow Floor BRT40'3901–3964
2019–20GilligLow Floor BRT40'4001–4071

Light rail (MAX)

TriMet's fleet includes 145 light rail vehicles, of four general types: TriMet Type 1, Type 2/Type 3, Type 4 and Type 5. The first two cars of Type 5 entered service in April 2015.
TriMet
designation		Fleet numbersManufacturerModel no.First usedNo. of seats/
overall capacity		Quantity
Type 1101–126Bombardiernone198676/16626
Type 2201–252SiemensSD660199764/16652
Type 3301–327SiemensSD660200364/16627
Type 4401–422SiemensS70200968/17222
Type 5521–538SiemensS70201572/18618

Note on capacities:
The commuter rail line between Beaverton and Wilsonville is operated primarily with trains made up from a fleet of four Colorado Railcar Aero diesel multiple unit railcars. TriMet also owns a pair of Budd RDC diesel multiple unit railcars that are used as a backup.

Paint schemes

TriMet has had four main paint schemes during its five-decade history. The agency's first paint scheme, adopted in April 1970, featured a tangerine base with silver along the middle portion of the lower half and a white stripe below and above the windows. 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 and was the agency's standard paint scheme from 1980–2002, features a white base with a three-color stripe below the windows. The stripe colors are burgundy, red and orange, and near the front on each side the stripe makes a sharp bend and angles upward to the roof. The logo of TriMetwhich at that time was still using the hyphenated spelling Tri-Metwas shown on the front end.
TriMet's third paint scheme, of white with blue and "buttery" yellow, was adopted in August 2002. It features a white base with a large blue semi-circle at the top, curving downward, and a smaller pale yellow 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.

Timeline

1960s

es, in service 1982–99.
, an example of which is the 1992 Flxible Metro shown in this 2013 photo.

1990s

, built as part of the MAX Orange Line project, opened in 2015.

2010s

Under the Division Transit Project, formerly known as the Powell–Division Transit and Development Project, a new bus rapid transit line is planned to be created between Downtown Portland and Gresham, along SE Division Street. The line would roughly parallel the existing MAX Blue Line, partially replacing the existing Line 2 – Division and becoming the first BRT line operated by TriMet.
Initial plans had the line traveling on the Tilikum Crossing, Powell Boulevard and then Division Street to the Gresham Transit Center, terminating at Mt. Hood Community College. Crossing over between Powell and Division would have taken place on either 50th, 52nd, or 82nd Avenue. However, after analysis showed that this routing would increase travel times from Gresham to Portland, the route was redesigned to solely travel along Division Street, dropping the Powell Boulevard portion. Improvements along the segment of Division Street between 82nd Avenue and 8th Avenue would include stop consolidation and traffic signal prioritization. The service would use higher-capacity, articulated buses.
The route was originally planned to extend beyond line 4's terminus at the Gresham Transit Center to Mt. Hood Community College, but this section was dropped in September 2016 due to concerns over competitiveness for federal transportation funds.

Communities served

The following cities and unincorporated communities are in the TriMet service area:
TriMet buses and commuter rail also serve Wilsonville, Oregon, which is outside the TriMet district, in order to provide connections to transit services operated by SMART in that city.
The Boring area has been removed from the TriMet District effective January 1, 2013.

Criticism and controversies

Operator fatigue

An investigation by The 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. In response, the agency adopted a new policy restricting the number of hours a driver is permitted to work within a 24-hour period.

Failure rate of MAX ticket vending machines

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 and pay for a ticket there and wait for the next train. This 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.