See what we've been up to at TriMet!
All TriMet buses serving routes around the region are now running on cleaner-burning renewable diesel. We made the switch on December 2. Renewable diesel is chemically identical to petroleum, but it contains nearly no fossil carbon.
Combined with our switch to renewable electricity last June, we’ve reduced our overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% in just six months! These changes will prevent more than 155 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year. That’s like taking more than 15,000 cars off the road!
We are pleased to welcome Chief Operating Officer Bonnie Todd to TriMet. Bonnie will be our agency’s first woman COO. She is a 30-year industry veteran who joins us from Jacksonville Transportation Authority, where she oversaw multi-modal transit operations and maintenance.
This will be a return to the Pacific Northwest, as Bonnie previously directed the operation and maintenance of the light rail, commuter rail, commuter bus and streetcar system at Sound Transit in the Seattle area.
TriMet must temporarily reduce service as we face the most severe staffing shortage in our agency’s history. Starting Sunday, Jan. 9, we will reduce weekday service on 20 bus lines.
Like most organizations, we’ve been struggling to hire enough workers. Right now, we have more service than we have operators to run it. Making the decision to temporarily reduce service while we try to bring on more staff was a hard one, but we will be better able to deliver on the service we have scheduled, and riders will experience fewer canceled or late buses. See the service reductions.
TriMet is adding to the many benefits of joining our team. Newly hired bus operators now get a $2,500 bonus just for coming aboard. That’s on top of the $4 increase in starting pay ($21.36 per hr.) that we announced a few months ago.
Our new bus operators get seven weeks of paid training before heading out on the road. TriMet also provides health, dental, vision, disability and life insurance plans and contributes up to 95% of monthly health insurance premiums. That’s along with other benefits like pension and retirement plans and paid time off. After three years, full time bus operators make more than $68,000 annually. Find more information at trimet.org/driveforus.
‘Tis the season! TriMet can get you to holiday events without the inconvenience of traffic or parking. Many of our stops and stations are just a short walk from the most popular holiday events around.
Please remember to wear a mask when you’re riding TriMet.
We’ve teamed up with the Oregon Department of Transportation to bring back free rides this New Year’s Eve. All TriMet buses and MAX trains, as well as the Portland Streetcar, will be free after 8 p.m. MAX service also will be extended with Blue, Green, Orange and Yellow lines running until about 3 a.m. MAX Red Line service will end earlier, with the last train departing Pioneer Square for Portland International Airport at 12:48 a.m.
TriMet and ODOT encourage people to ring in 2022 responsibly and avoid driving while impaired. Find out more about our free service at trimet.org/nye and tell a friend.
Some 25 years from now, people will be able to look back and reflect on what our lives were like in 2021 when they open a time capsule that we just buried at our Elmonica Operating Facility. It replaces a 1990s-era collection that was unearthed over the summer.
The time capsule is stocked with masks, hand sanitizer and transit-related items suggested by our riders and staff. Take a look at some of what’s inside.
Everyone who rides WES enjoys free wifi! WES is our commuter rail service, with trains running on weekday mornings and afternoons between Wilsonville and Beaverton Transit Center. Wifi comes complimentary, and you can ride WES for the same low-cost fare as TriMet’s buses and MAX trains.
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Made possible with support from Metro and the Federal Transit Administration
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