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    1. Management

    Restoring workforce, improving service, adding electric buses priority in TriMet’s adopted budget

    May 26, 2022
    The TriMet Board voted to finalize the approval of the $1.93 billion budget ahead of the July 1 start to TriMet’s new fiscal year.
    Related To: TriMet
    TriMet
    Fx Bus Copy1 Trimet 628f9cb1ed102

    The TriMet Board of Directors unanimously granted formal approval to the budget for the next fiscal year, setting the agency’s priorities in motion for the second half of 2022 and first six months of 2023.  

    The $1.93 billion budget includes $748.9 million in day-to-day operating requirements and $304.1 million in capital improvements. For the tenth straight year, the budget does not include a base fare increase. 

    Budget priorities 

    Restoring the workforce 

    TriMet says it is rebuilding a frontline workforce that continues to be impacted by what’s been dubbed the Great Resignation of the COVID-19 pandemic. TriMet would need to increase current operator ranks by more than 300 to return service to pre-pandemic levels. In January, the agency reduced service by nine percent to better-match staffing levels; however, resignations, retirements, promotions and departures of operators for other reasons have continued to outpace hiring, leading to canceled buses and trains and system delays for riders. Now, if TriMet is to restore and expand service later in 2022 or beyond, it’s critical to restore the ranks. 

    TriMet has increased the starting pay for new bus operators to $25.24 per hour, and with regular, guaranteed pay raises, all operators earn $68,000 per year or more, after three years on the job full time.  

    In addition, TriMet bus operators receive a package of employment benefits, which includes no- to low-cost health insurance, life insurance, paid vacation and sick time, and a retirement plan with an eight percent employer contribution. In addition, TriMet is offering all newly hired operators a $7,500 hiring bonus.  

    Improving transit service 

    One of the big improvements riders will see in the coming months is the launch of the first TriMet FX™ – or Frequent Express – bus service, coming this fall to the 15-mile Division Street corridor between Gresham and downtown Portland. FX 2-Division will bring more people on board using longer, articulated buses that will allow for faster, all-door boarding and special signal and lane markings to help keep buses moving past traffic congestion. 

    Building for the future 

    During the upcoming year, TriMet will also focus on capital investments, including work on major initiatives that improve the rider experience and community, including: 

    • “A Better Red” MAX Red Line Extension and Reliability Improvements Project that will extend the Red Line 10 stations into Hillsboro and add sections of track in northeast Portland to keep trains throughout the MAX system moving and reduce delays. 
    • Replacement of TriMet’s original light-rail vehicle fleet with new MAX trains arriving later this year. 
    • Funding to increase capacity at the MAX Orange Line’s SE Park Ave Parking Garage, adding two floors onto the garage as had been in original plans. 
    • Completing renovation of the Powell Operating Facility to support TriMet’s growing fleet of electric buses.  

    Moving toward zero emissions  

    With an agency goal to fully transition to a non-diesel, zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040, TriMet will expand its electrification program over the next year, with continued exploration and testing of electric technologies. 

    In April, TriMet announced the purchase of 24 long-range battery electric, zero-emissions buses from GILLIG. They will begin arriving in fall 2023 and more than double the size of TriMet’s fleet of 100 percent battery-electric buses to include some 35 vehicles. 

    Ensuring system-wide equity  

    Since 2018, TriMet has offered the Honored Citizen reduced fare to riders based on income level, in addition to seniors and people with disabilities. The budget seeks to expand participation in the program, which offers unlimited rides on TriMet buses and trains for just $28 per month. 

    Funding resources 

    Resources that support the $1.93 billion budget include $78.8 million in operating revenue, $470.1 million in tax revenues and $164.5 million in federal funding. TriMet has been awarded federal funding from recent relief packages including: $184.9 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act; $195.4 million from Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA); and $289.1 million from American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. 

    TriMet utilized CARES Act funds through fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and expects the CRRSAA federal award to be fully drawn down by the end of the current fiscal year, on June 30. ARP funding is projected to last through early 2027. 

    These federal funds are a one-time resource to be used to prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID-19. The funding has and will continue to be used for operations and maintenance, as well as TriMet’s coronavirus response and safety efforts. It has provided critical support that allowed TriMet to avoid deeper service cuts and layoffs.