With the Sept. 12 opening of the Max Orange Line, TriMet will expand bus and Max service as part of its new fall schedule. Max schedules change on Aug. 30, to integrate the new Orange Line into the system while bus changes take effect Sept. 13.
“We’re excited to open the Orange Line and improve bus connections along the corridor while fully restoring our Frequent Service bus lines on Sundays and make other bus service better for our riders,” said Neil McFarlane, TriMet general manager. “Our service hours have returned to pre-recession levels and we’re focusing on improving reliability, wait times and reducing crowding on our busiest bus and Max lines.”
In celebration of the Orange Line opening, all TriMet service will be free Sept. 12 along with the Portland Streetcar and Portland Aerial Tram.
Catch the Orange
The Max Orange Line begins service at 11 a.m. Sept. 12. The 7.3-mile line runs between Portland State University, South Waterfront, Southeast Portland, Milwaukie and Oak Grove in north Clackamas County. The Orange Line includes Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People, the first of its kind multi-modal bridge in the U.S. carrying Max light rail, Portland Streetcar, buses, bicycles and pedestrians, but no private vehicles. Most northbound Orange Line trains will continue through Downtown Portland to Expo Center as a Yellow Line.
With 400,000 new residents expected in the region in the next 20 years, the Orange Line will provide an efficient high-capacity transit option to communities in the congested McLoughlin Blvd/Hwy 99E corridor. It includes 10 new Max stations, bringing the systemwide total to 97 and 60 miles of track.
Orange Line to change bus service
To complement the Max Orange Line, Trimet is changing 10 bus routes effective Sept. 13 to add more frequency as well as earlier and later service for better connections. Some of the adjustments include moving two bus routes—Line 9-Powell Blvd and Line 17-Holgate/Broadway—from the Ross Island Bridge to Tilikum Crossing. This will reduce congestion and help people make new connections in Southeast Portland and South Waterfront. Other changes include:
- 9-Powell Blvd
- 17-Holgate/Broadway
- 19-Woodstock/Glisan
- 28-Linwood will combine with Line 34-River Rd to become Line 34-Linwood/River Rd
- 31-King Rd will combine with Line 33-McLoughlin to become
- Line 33-McLoughlin/King Rd
- 32-Oatfield
- 33-McLoughlin/King Rd
- 34-Linwood/River Rd
- 99-Macadam/McLoughlin
- 154-Willamette/Clackamas Heights
Trimet is also adding Line 291-Orange Night Bus to provide late-night service southbound only from Downtown Portland to SE Park Ave station, shadowing Orange Line service. The Orange Night Bus allows rail crews to maintain the current window of access to perform maintenance on the system.
New Max and bus schedules
Max Blue, Green, Red and Yellow line schedules will change Aug. 30 as Trimet integrates the Orange Line into the system. In addition to the service improvements in Southeast Portland and Milwaukie related to the Orange Line, Trimet is changing the following bus lines to improve connections and better match traffic conditions effective Sept. 13:
- 15-Belmont/NW 23rd
- 18-Hillside
- 29-Lake/Webster Rd
- 30-Estacada
- 63-Washington Park/Arlington Hts
- 67-Bethany-158th
- 70-12th/NE 33rd Ave
- 79-Clackamas/Oregon City
- 93-Tigard/Sherwood
- 155-Sunnyside
- 156-Mather Rd
- Line 83-Washington Park Loop also will shift to weekend-only service on Sept. 7 through Oct. 25.
Frequent Service on Sundays
On Sept. 13, Trimet is fully restoring Frequent Service on Sundays. Buses will run every 15 minutes or better most of the day on the following routes:
- 4-Division/Fessenden
- 6-Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
- 8-Jackson Park/NE 15th
- 9-Powell Blvd
- 12-Barbur/Sandy Blvd
- 14-Hawthorne
- 15-Belmont/NW 23rd
- 33-McLoughlin/King Rd
- 54/56-Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy/Scholls Ferry Rd
- 57-TV Hwy/Forest Grove
- 75-Cesar Chavez/Lombard
Honored Citizens fare increase
On Sept. 1, Honored Citizen tickets will increase from $1 to $1.25 and monthly passes from $26 to $28.
It’s the first time Trimet raised Honored Citizen fares since 2010. It will help cover the increasing cost of providing transit service as well as maintain and expand service to meet the transit needs of our growing older-adult population.
To help reduce the impact on Honored Citizen riders, Trimet created the Access Transit program. It provides fares to non-profits and community-based organizations at low or no cost, which they then distribute to their low-income clients.
Plan ahead
Trimet has already integrated our new fall schedule into our Trip Planner which has information on travel and walk times, transfers and cost. Visit trimet.org for complete transit information and to check TransitTracker for the next arrivals.
