OR: TriMet ridership remains down by a third from 2019, and the recovery is slowing

TriMet is providing about 30 million fewer rides each year than it did in 2019, another indication of just how much life has changed in the Portland area since the pandemic.

Declining ridership could be followed by steep declines in service, perhaps beginning as soon as 2027.

The regional transit agency is on track to provide about 66 million rides during its current fiscal year, which ends in June. That’s a decline of about a third compared to 2019, the last full fiscal year before the pandemic hit. TriMet ridership peaked in 2012, when the agency provided more than 103 million rides.

TriMet ridership increased considerably in the first two years after the pandemic, but the comeback slowed last year. Rides are up less than 5% so far this year, suggesting ridership may be leveling off at a number far below pre-pandemic volumes.

“Put simply, not as many people are taking TriMet to work, whether because they’re no longer required to work in person or because their workplace is no longer in the city center,” said TriMet spokesperson Mark Miller.

Rider safety has also been a persistent concern. A TriMet survey last fall found nearly half of respondents said safety concerns deterred them from riding MAX sometimes. More than a third said they had chosen not to ride a bus at times because they were worried about safety.

In 2023, TriMet announced plans to add unarmed security and investigators in an effort to boost rider safety and says it has tripled its security budget over several years.

TriMet made big changes in its routes last year to respond to shifting ridership patterns, eliminating some bus lines and late-night MAX light-rail service while adding other bus lines and increasing frequency on some routes.

Those changes didn’t produce a big uptick in ridership, though. Fewer riders mean less passenger revenue, which means TriMet must subsidize more of its operations from other funding sources – mainly a regional payroll tax.

TriMet’s subsidy per ride has soared from $1.77 in 2014 to $7.88 last year. But the transit agency warns it can’t keep that up indefinitely without more funding.

It says operating costs are up 53% since 2019, primarily because of inflation. TriMet says that plays out in rising fuel prices and higher costs for tires, vehicle parts and track components.

Federal funding could be in flux, too, as the Trump administration reconsiders spending priorities, though so far TriMet says it hasn’t seen any changes in its government support.

The Oregon Legislature established a statewide 0.1% payroll tax in 2017 to fund public transit and other transportation projects. TriMet and other transit agencies are lobbying the Legislature to increase that to 0.5% over eight years to maintain service.

Transportation funding is among the most contentious subjects on the Legislature’s docket this spring. The Legislature is now considering a much smaller increase than the transit agencies had sought, upping the payroll tax to 0.18%.

TriMet says that’s not enough. At that level, the agency says it would eliminate up to 34 of its 78 bus lines in 2027 with much steeper cuts to come in the years ahead.

“By 2031 we would have had to eliminate up to 51 of our bus lines to address our operating deficit,” said TriMet spokesperson Roberta Altstadt.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit oregonlive.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.