✔️ New Frequent Service lines
✔️ Better reliability
✔️ Weekend service
Thanks to new funding for transportation throughout Oregon, we’re continuing an expansion of bus service across the Portland region. Here’s what we’re proposing for fall 2019 and spring 2020.
Service changes
Better reliability
19 Woodstock/Glisan
We’re shifting this route to SW Lincoln between 1st and 5th avenues to help keep buses running on time. We’re also removing the Union Manor loop from two afternoon trips in order to improve reliability.
Frequent Service
20 Burnside/Stark
We’re upgrading this line to Frequent Service, with buses arriving every 15 minutes or better most of the day, every day.
Weekend service
30 Estacada
We’re supplementing existing Monday–Saturday service with Sunday service between Clackamas Town Center and Estacada.
Weekend service
32 Oatfield
We’re supplementing existing Monday–Saturday service with Sunday service between Oregon City and Clackamas Community College.
Weekend service
74 162nd Ave
We’re adding Saturday and Sunday service, plus more buses during weekday commute times and later service on weeknights.
Frequent Service
76 Beaverton/Tualatin
We’re upgrading this line to Frequent Service, with buses arriving every 15 minutes or better most of the day, every day.
Route change
78 Beaverton/Lake Oswego
We’re having this line take over the Line 42 route between Beaverton and Tigard transit centers. In effect, this adds weekend service, along with earlier mornings and later evenings, on Denney Road in Beaverton and Hall Boulevard in Metzger and Tigard.
Frequent service on this line’s current route between Beaverton and Tigard will be provided by Line 76. Service on Line 78 between Tigard and Lake Oswego would remain the same.
What else is in the works?
New bus stop features
We’re upgrading some of our busiest bus stops with new amenities like shelters, accessibility features and digital arrival displays.
Speeding up MAX through Downtown
We’re closing four MAX stations in Downtown Portland in order to speed up trips across town:
- Kings Hill/SW Salmon
- Mall/SW 4th Ave
- Mall/SW 5th Ave
By removing these stations, we expect to cut travel times by 14% between Old Town/Chinatown and Goose Hollow (about two minutes in each direction).
Speeding up buses
We’re introducing new bus lanes and more transit priority signals over the next several years. These help reduce travel times by keeping buses moving — even when traffic is stuck.
Safety improvements
We’re making trips safer by improving the lighting and increasing the number of cameras at stops and stations.
Testing all-electric buses
We are committed to having a 100 percent clean-energy bus fleet by 2040. The benefits of a green fleet include cleaner air, quieter rides and reduced maintenance costs. Our first all-electric buses will begin service this year, and we will continue testing different types of alternative-fuel buses in the years to come.
Division Transit Project
The Division Transit Project will bring a new type of bus service to Division Street starting in 2022. Travel times along the 15-mile route between Gresham and Downtown Portland will improve up to 20 percent thanks to longer buses, a new station design, faster boarding, transit-priority signals and dedicated bus lanes.
Southwest Corridor Light Rail
We are working to bring a new MAX line to the congested corridor between Downtown Portland, Tigard and Bridgeport Village in Tualatin, with service beginning as soon as 2027. The line is expected to carry 43,000 riders on an average weekday by 2035, and the trip between Downtown Portland and Tualatin would take an estimated 30 minutes. The project also includes walking, biking, roadway and bus service improvements.
More MAX improvements
We’re planning to replace and upgrade heavily used elements of our MAX system, including track, switch machines and parts of the signal system. This will help trains stay on time and improve the quality of the ride. We’re also looking to add service between Beaverton and Hillsboro by extending the Red Line to the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station.
New bus operations base
As we continue to add more buses to our fleet, our current facilities are running out of space. Our 2019–20 budget provides funds to start building a new bus garage where we can store, maintain and dispatch our buses.
Blue Line station rehabilitation
We’re improving some of the oldest MAX Blue Line stations by renovating shelters, installing larger windscreens and new roofs, updating lighting and security cameras, and adding new signs and digital arrival displays. Work on E 148th Ave will begin in spring/summer 2019.
Elevator improvements
We have 19 elevators on or near our MAX system, and some have been in continuous service for over 30 years. In 2018, we began a multi-year, $22 million project to replace and upgrade these elevators, starting at the NE 60th Ave, NE 82nd Ave and Hollywood/NE 42nd Ave MAX stations. Next, we’ll upgrade the elevators at Washington Park and the platform elevators at Sunset Transit Center.
