TriMet to reduce services, workforce amid $300 million budget gap

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — TriMet will begin reducing its services this fall as it faces a $300 million budget gap.

The public transportation agency servicing the greater Portland metro area said the service reduction is the result of “the Oregon Legislature’s failure” to pass a transportation bill.

The reduction in transportation services is expected to ramp up for the next couple of years, as well as a reduction in workforce — including layoffs — if the funding is not secured, TriMet officials said.

The service cuts are anticipated to include the largest reduction in MAX train services in the agency’s history, as well as a substantial reduction in bus services, rolling out within the next couple of years, TriMet said.

“In the wake of the Oregon Legislature’s failure to pass House Bill 2025 — the Oregon Transportation Reinvestment Package (TRIP) — TriMet will make a series of budget reductions beginning this year, including service cuts, to address a significant, growing fiscal challenge,” said Roberta Alstadt, a TriMet spokesperson, in a statement.

TriMet said that despite the fiscally grim outlook, they are encouraged by Governor Tina Kotek’s call for a special session to address funding for many of Oregon’s transit agencies, including the Oregon Department of Transportation and local jurisdictions. Even still, the lack of legislative action before the session closed out last month means TriMet will be forced “to make service cuts this November and in March 2026, with reductions necessary in the years ahead,” Alstadt said.

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. added that they are making these service cuts now to avoid “sudden, catastrophic cuts in the future” by way of falling off “a fiscal cliff in 2030.”

The service cuts beginning on November 30 will focus mainly on reducing the frequency that current bus lines run, including cutting some morning and evening runs of some frequent service lines, reducing nighttime runs for the FX2-Division bus line, with up to eight other bus lines seeing reduced services throughout the day.

Then in March 2026, some bus lines may be eliminated entirely, while others may have their evening service cut, including those with low ridership. Some routes are expected to change to increase efficiency. And the MAX Green Line would be reduced to only serving stations between Clackamas Town Center and the Gateway Transit Center, with some riders needing to transfer at Gateway to complete their normal commutes to the heart of downtown Portland.

Then from May 2026 through August 2027, even more service reductions are expected, affecting at least a dozen other bus lines and eliminating others entirely. The frequency of all MAX lines will also be reduced in some parts of the day. In total, the goal is to reach a 10% reduction across TriMet, including a record-breaking 18% reduction in MAX services and an 8% reduction in bus services, one of the largest seen in the agency’s history.

A reduction in TriMet workforce is also expected to take place. TriMet said that while their budget reductions aim to preserve as many jobs and services as possible, layoffs may be inevitable. However, they will also focus on not refilling empty positions following promotions and retirements. They may also enact a hiring freeze, leaving only the most mission-critical positions available.

Part of TriMet’s plans for raising revenue includes increasing fares and increasing state funding in the coming years. However, if these two actions do not happen, they would face an additional deficit of $48 million, making the total budget shortfall closer to $350 million.

In 2028, TriMet plans to pursue increasing its adult fares by 20 cents and increasing its honored citizen/youth fares by 10 cents. They also plan to work with lawmakers to increase the statewide transportation payroll tax.