TriMet to offer increased bus lines around Portland beginning Nov. 30

Beginning Nov. 30, TriMet will add service to 13 bus lines, as well as additional service to the MAX Blue Line. The decision to bring in extra buses and trains is the result of record-level ridership since April, according to TriMet representative Peggy LaPoint.

“We have seen double-digit increases in bus ridership, as well as increases in ridership for MAX,” she said.

Thirty-six buses will be added during peak riding times, she said. The additional buses will run during rush hour, 3:50 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., LaPoint said, and the bus lines with added service will receive anywhere from one to four buses.

Line 72, with service to Northeast Killingsworth and 82nd Avenue, will receive the most, at nine additional buses. In total, 36 buses will be added, LaPoint said.

The additional services are expected to be permanent and come with a cost of approximately $1 million, according to TriMet. Besides the 13 lines receiving additional buses, four lines will have service adjustments to increase reliability, LaPoint said.

The decision of where buses should be added was based in part on where drivers had to pass up riders due to being full, LaPoint said. Even though riders are not surveyed for their final destination, some of the lines having service added, such as the 15 bus line, go through downtown and drop off passengers near Portland State.

“PSU is the highest destination in the region, and the additional buses will help serve PSU students,” LaPoint said.

TriMet will not be printing new schedules for the bus lines that are receiving additional service. Riders can view the schedule changes online at the trip planner on trimet.org.

Bus lines receiving additional service:8-Jackson Park9-Powell Avenue12-Barbur Boulevard15-Belmont Street15-Northwest 23rd Avenue17-Holgate Street33-McLoughlin Avenue35-Macadam Street66-Marquam Hill/Hollywood Transit Center72-Killingsworth/82nd Avenue99-McLoughlin Express

Bus lines with schedule adjustments4-Division Street4-Fessenden31-Estacada71-60th Avenie/122nd Avenue