Changes for TriMet buses, MAX lines, as MAX Red Line expansion to Hillsboro Airport completed
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – TriMet is celebrating the end of its ambitious years-long effort to expand the MAX Red Line between Beaverton and Hillsboro while also marking major changes to various bus lines and using buses to run in place of MAX trains during the late night hours across the region.
The 10 new stations for the MAX Red Line extend the transit lines west from the Beaverton Transit Center all the way to the Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station. The project, dubbed A Better Red, will allow trains to run continuously from the Hillsboro Airport to the Portland International Airport.
TriMet soft-launched the expansion on Sunday, but expects to fully launch it on Wednesday, Aug. 28 with festivities at the Beaverton Transit Center, Beaverton Central, and Orenco MAX stations. Giveaways will include luggage tags, small travel flight bags, squishy trains, sunglasses, and sweet treats, officials say.
The soft launch over the weekend also coincided with several other upgrades, including new bus lines, more frequent service and changes to the late-night routes for the Red, Orange and Blue MAX lines.
“We’re excited to continue rolling out our Forward Together Revised Service Concept, with service improvements designed to increase ridership and create better connections to jobs and services for people with low and limited incomes,” TriMet said on its web page for the project. “Forward Together was developed with the community in response to travel changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The new Line 40 to Tacoma/Swan Island connects job centers with residential neighborhoods in Northeast, downtown and Southeast Portland and Line 153 to Stafford/Salamo connects Lake Oswego and West Linn.
Line 76 to Greenburg/Hall, a Frequent Service line, took on an extended route between Beaverton and Oregon City, “providing hourly service that links Washington County communities with the Clackamas County seat,” according to TriMet.
More buses are also running along Lines 25, 29, and 34 in Clackamas County.
Late-night service improvements include four new bus lines along with overnight maintenance and cleaning on the MAX to “reduce MAX service disruptions, both planned and unplanned, and create a better experience for riders.”
The new overnight bus lines include Line 287 Blue Eastside Bus between the Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson and Cleveland Ave MAX stations; Line 288 Blue Westside Bus between the Rose Quarter Transit Center and Hatfield Government Center MAX Station; Line 292 Red Bus between the Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson and Portland Airport MAX stations; and Line 293 Yellow Bus between the SW Montgomery/Mill and Expo Center/Delta Park MAX stations.
Additionally, the Line 291 Orange Bus will provide northbound service in addition to its pre-existing southbound service.
More information about public transit upgrades are available on TriMet’s website.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow the A Better Red project.