Bus, max, streetcar or taxi?

If you’re reading this, you’re probably in college. That means that this weekend you’re probably going to drink. Hell, if you’re reading this on a Friday morning, you’re probably already three mimosas deep.

Since driving drunk is a crime that can lead to anything from death to your parents getting really, really mad at you, it’s wise to take note of various public transportation services around campus and Portland in general. Most prominent are the MAX train, the Portland streetcar and TriMet buses. Each does a fairly good job at ferrying students around. But keep in mind the pros, cons and general rules of late-night weekend transportation:

The streetcar and MAX both currently offer a free-rail zone, but each zone is basically limited to the downtown area. Anywhere past Lloyd Center or Southwest 10th Avenue, and you’re going to have to pay for the MAX; anywhere past River Place or Northwest Glisan Street and you’re going to have to pay for the streetcar.

“Whatever, I’m not going to get caught,” is an easy assumption, especially after you’ve finished your fourth beer. Just know that a ticket purchase of $2.50 will completely eliminate waking up in the morning with a $250 citation.

If your non-downtown hangout spot of choice is in Southeast or Northeast Portland, Tigard, Beaverton or Milwaukie, don’t run to the car dealership or the bike store just yet. Some bus lines run out to each and every one of those spots, and all can still take you back downtown at a reasonably late hour. Folks in Southeast can catch the Hawthorne-area 14 bus, which goes downtown and east as far as Foster and 94th. Travelers coming from the Milwaukie area should hop on the 33 bus line, which extends from Northwest 6th Avenue and Flanders Street to Oregon City Transit Center.

If Northeast is your party spot, select the Burnside-based 20 bus. It can take you home all the way from Gresham Transit Center. Tigard-area students can take the Southwest Barbur-based 12 bus, which goes all the way to Tigard Transit Center, and the Beaverton Hillsdale Highway-centered 54 bus goes all the way out to Beaverton Transit Center. The final departure times for all of these buses vary, but if it’s a Friday or Saturday, you’ll be fine if you get to your stop by midnight.

The MAX runs later than buses and the streetcar and spreads out across the Portland-metro area. The Blue Line train, running from Willow Creek Transit Center all the way to Cleveland Avenue, runs until 1:20 a.m. on Friday nights and 1:50 a.m. on Saturday nights. The Red Line train runs until 12:45 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and goes from the airport all the way to Beaverton Transit Center.

And hey, if you find yourself drunkenly stumbling up to your stop right as the last bus, train or streetcar is leaving, you could always call a cab. Portland Taxi Cab Company and Broadway Cab both run 24/7, charge $2.50 per mile with an added cost of $1 for each additional passenger, and can be booked 24 hours in advance online. This is obviously not as cheap as TriMet, but it’ll get the job done.

So finish that last mimosa, down a Red Bull and go out and party, because you’re in college for God’s sake. Just make sure you know when and how you’re going to get home safely. For a complete list of schedules and contact information for the public transportation systems, check trimet.org/index.htm for the buses and MAX trains and portlandstreetcar.org for the streetcar.