TriMet

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TriMet, more formally 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, Oregon metropolitan area. TriMet provides the region's bus system, the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light rail system, as well as LIFT paratransit service required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. As of April 2004, the system averages over 300,000 rides per weekday [1].

1 General information
2 TriMet rail lines
3 Timeline
4 Criticisms
5 TriMet service district
6 External links

[edit] General information

A TriMet bus parked near MAX tracks.

TriMet serves portions of the counties of Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas; the district extends from Troutdale to Forest Grove east to west, and from Sauvie Island to Oregon City and Estacada north to south.

TriMet was founded in 1969 after disputes between the city and Rose City Transit, the company that previously operated the bus system [2]. It is "a municipal corporation of the State of Oregon", with powers to tax, issue bonds, and enact police ordinances. TriMet is governed by a board of directors appointed by the governor of Oregon [3].

The TriMet district is divided into three fare zones, with fares based on the number of zones in which a passenger travels [4]. Zone 1 consists of the Portland city center out to approximately the 3200 block. Zone 2 is a ring around Zone 1 out to approximately the 9200 block. Zone 3 wraps around Zone 2 and consists of rest of the system within the suburbs of Portland. Vancouver's C-TRAN uses TriMet's zones and adds a Zone 4 that includes the outer reaches of Clark County. Within Zone 1 is Fareless Square, an area in and around downtown Portland within which all rides on the TriMet system are free.

TriMet tickets and passes are also valid on the Portland Streetcar, which is run by the City of Portland.

In 2004, TriMet operated a total of 638 buses on 93 lines, 105 MAX light rail cars on three lines, 6 special shuttles and 208 LIFT paratransit vehicles. MAX and 16 of the bus lines run every 15 minutes or better, all day, every day [5]. TriMet also has a variety of shuttle and special event services.

TriMet connects to several other mass transit systems [6]:

C-TRAN, which provides service to Vancouver, Washington and surrounding Clark County;
four systems providing service to cities which left TriMet: Canby Area Transit (for Canby), Sandy Area Metro (for Sandy), South Metro Area Rapid Transit (for Wilsonville) and South Clackamas Transportation District (for Molalla);
work site shuttles such as Clackamas Link Shuttle (serving Clackamas Town Center) and Swan Island Evening Shuttle
two systems providing service to outlying counties: the Tillamook County Transportation District, and Yamhill County Transportation; and
several shuttles providing specialized services.

Transportation planning for the metropolitan area is provided by Metro, an elected regional government.

[edit] TriMet rail lines

MAX train traveling on the Yellow line to Portland.

TriMet runs MAX, or Metropolitan Area Express, light rail service and has a commuter rail line under development. Lines include:

MAX Blue Line: Hillsboro/City Center/Gresham
MAX Red Line: Beaverton/City Center/Airport
MAX Yellow Line: City Center/Expo Center
MAX Green Line (in final development): Portland State University/Clackamas Town Center
MAX Orange Line (in design): City Center/Milwaukie
Washington County Commuter Rail (under construction): Beaverton/Wilsonville

See also: Portland Streetcar (operated and partially funded by TriMet, but not a TriMet service)

[edit] Timeline

The following timeline is taken mostly from TriMet's November/December 2004 newsletter, the Rider Insider:

1969 Tri-Met takes over for the nearly bankrupt Rose City Transit. The system has 175 buses and a daily ridership of about 65,000.
1974 The first shelters at bus 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 attract more riders. Fares outside the Square are 35 cents.
1976 Bus drivers are allowed to grow facial hair.
1978 The 22 block Portland Transit Mall opens on downtown's Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The mall includes bus-only lanes and provides a hub to make it easier for riders to make connections. As of 2005, there are plans to put light rail tracks on the Transit Mall, which are scheduled to open in September 2009.
1981 Tri-Met introduces articulated buses for the first time. 24-hour recorded schedule information becomes available over the phone.
1986 The 15 mile (24 km) long MAX Blue Line between Portland and Gresham opens. It re-introduces passenger rail service, missing since the 1950s.
1989 Tri-Met is named "America's Best Transit Agency" by the American Public Transportation Association.
1995 Tri-Met's website goes online, hosted by local ISP Teleport (which eventually becomes acquired by OneMain.com, later to become part of Earthlink). At the time when Internet access was less ubiquitous, Tri-Met also offered a dial-up information service through Teleport using UNIX shell and Lynx.
1997 The first low floor buses and trains go into service.
1998 Westside MAX (now known as the Blue line between Portland and Hillsboro) 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.
1999 Satellite-assisted bus arrival time displays (later to be named Transit 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 between Lloyd Center and the Steel Bridge. Airport MAX (the Red line) begins service on September 10 after a public/private partnership, prompted by a proposal from Bechtel Corporation, enables its construction years ahead of TriMet's plans for the use of public funds. Bechtel got development rights to 120 acres (486,000 m²) near the entrance to Portland International Airport; as of December 2004, the development has not yet happened, delayed at least in part by an economic slowdown exacerbated by terrorist attacks which occurred the day after the line opened. 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 new corporate identity strategy; it is now TriMet (without a hyphen). Buses and trains are repainted with the new blue-white-and-yellow design and its new logo. An improved automated phone service is introduced.
2004 Interstate MAX (the Yellow 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.

[edit] Criticisms

TriMet does not operate night owl buses or trains; all bus lines discontinue around 2 AM, and start up again around 5 AM. Owl service was cancelled in 1986.
MAX light rail operates on the honor system with occasional checks by fare inspectors, leading to fare evasion and other problems. There has been very little push to install turnstiles or other means of controlling access.
TriMet had a history of choosing diesel buses over vehicles powered by other means.
There has been criticism as to whether or not TriMet should get any more 60-foot articulated buses. Previous ones, made by Ikarus Bus, had an array of problems. Some citizens believe they are needed to relieve congestion and provide better service.
Some also believe that TriMet should be investing more in express buses, sometimes additionally, and sometimes as opposed to light rail. A point in favor of this is in areas where express buses were replaced by light rail and the bus trips were equal to, if not quicker than, the replacement rail service.