Officials cut ribbon in Oregon City for improved bus service, part of TriMet’s major Aug. 25 service update

City and county officials met with TriMet representatives outside the Oregon City Transit Center on Friday morning, August 23, to raise awareness of upcoming improvements to bus service.

Starting this Sunday, August 25, TriMet is adding several new bus routes and adjusting others to better meet rider needs. We were proud to celebrate these improvements with some of our key partners on Friday!

Also in attendance at the grand opening were Clackamas County Commissioner Paul Savas, as well as Mayors Denyse McGriff of Oregon City, Rory Bialostosky of West Linn and Joe Buck of Lake Oswego.

“Regional connections are critical to ensuring that all of our residents can move around our county, regardless of where they live or work,” said Commissioner Savas. “I will continue to work with TriMet and other partners to make mass transit in our area accessible, reliable and convenient.”

“Oregon City is working with our partner Clackamas County to improve transit and bus service in Oregon City,” said Mayor McGriff. “The planned improvements to the Transit Center and the new improved routes 34 and 76 will help improve connectivity for our residents to get where they need to go – to work, appointments and recreational activities.”

“There has never been TriMet service on the hill in West Linn in the past, so this improves access to a whole new section of West Linn and several of our neighborhoods,” Mayor Bialostosky said of the new improvements. “Any time we can improve connections and improve access to mass transit for people, that’s great.”

“We are grateful for the continued collaboration with TriMet and regional partners as we work together on further transit system improvements that better serve our suburban community and provide residents with more connected, accessible, safer and climate-friendly transportation options,” said Mayor Buck. “We move forward together!”

What’s new?

Starting Sunday, August 25, we are adding several new bus routes, adjusting several others to better meet rider needs, and discontinuing some routes that overlap with new and existing routes. For details, visit trimet.org/servicechange.

In Clackamas County, TriMet is:

• Create Route 153-Stafford/Salamoa brand new community connection between Lake Oswego and West Linn.
• Expand Route 34-Linwood/River Rd to serve the growing Clackamas Heights area of ​​Oregon City
• Additional lunchtime care on Route 29-Lake/Webster Rdso that patients can take the bus to their appointments at the new Lake Road Health Center.
• Extension of hourly trips to Route 76-Hall/Greenburg to connect the communities of Washington County with West Linn and Oregon City.
• Provision of a new northbound service on Line 291-Orange Bus to downtown Portland and replaces some nighttime MAX Orange Line service.

Other notable improvements in our service area include:

• The extended MAX Red Line will serve 10 additional stations west of the Beaverton Transit Center and provide direct travel from Hillsboro Airport to Portland Airport.
• The extended Route 25-Glisan/Troutdale Rd will connect the Gateway/NE 99th Ave Transit Center to Troutdale and East Gresham and add stops at Reynolds High School, Mt. Hood Community College and other destinations.
• The new Route 40-Tacoma/Swan Island will connect major job centers like Swan Island and Downtown Portland with residential areas like the South Waterfront and Sellwood neighborhoods and all five MAX lines.

Historical improvements

This service update is massive in scope—it’s one of the largest updates in TriMet’s history. To prepare for it, we’re working on approximately 550 bus stops across the tri-county area. This includes installing new stops, updating signs at existing stops, and removing stops that will be closed.

We are also installing new signage at approximately 100 MAX stations. Some of this signage is for the MAX Red Line extension. Other signage will direct night riders to the buses that will run in place of the last MAX trains of the night. This nighttime service includes the 291-Orange Bus route, as well as new bus routes along the MAX Blue, Red, and Yellow Lines. For more information, visit trimet.org/maxbus.

Plan your trip now on trimet.org. Simply select a date on or after Sunday, August 25th and find the best way to reach your destination using public transportation.

Moving forward together

Partnerships and public engagement are at the heart of TriMet’s Forward Together service concept.

Our goal with Forward Together is to increase ridership and improve service and connections for people, especially those who rely on public transit to get to their destinations, guided by the feedback we receive from community members and leaders.

Our partners have specifically requested some of the improvements that will be included in next week’s service update – for example, lunch service on Route 29 to Lake Road Health Center, which was a top priority for Clackamas County.

We value our partners! We count on their support and commitment as we provide high-quality transit service throughout the tri-county area, and we work closely with them to make that service even better. As Mayor Buck said, we truly move forward together!

We’re excited to roll out the latest enhancements to Forward Together buses next week, including more community connections for Clackamas County and more service for workers, students and more throughout our region. Look for more enhancements later this year, into 2025 and beyond.