TRAVEL TIPS
TriMet/MAX Travel
TriMet operates an extensive system of buses, streetcars, and light-rail trains. The Central City streetcar line runs from Nob Hill through the Pearl District, downtown, and Portland State University campus to South Waterfront. From the Pearl District, the Central Loop streetcar line crosses the Willamette River to the East Side, stopping at the Oregon Convention Center and continuing south to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Eventually, the streetcar will cross back to the West Side from just south of OMSI to South Waterfront via the new Tilikum Crossing transit-pedestrian bridge, which is expected to open in September 2015. At first, the bridge will be open only to buses and MAX light rail, but eventual plans call for the streetcar to use the bridge, too.
Metropolitan Area Express, which everybody simply calls MAX, links the eastern and western Portland suburbs with downtown, Washington Park and the Oregon Zoo, the Lloyd Center district, the Convention Center, and the Rose Quarter. Once the new Tilikum Crossing Bridge opens in fall 2015, an extension of downtown’s MAX Green line will bring service to Southeast Division Street, Sellwood, and the suburbs south of the city. From downtown, trains operate daily from about 5 am–1 am, with a fare of $2.50 for up to two hours of travel (transfers to other MAX trains, buses, and streetcars are free within this time period), and $5 for an unlimited all-day ticket, which is also good system-wide. A seven-day visitor pass is also available for $26. The ticket for riding without a fare is stiff.
Upon boarding TriMet buses, the driver will hand you a transfer ticket that’s good for up to two hours, on all buses, MAX trains, and streetcars. Be sure to hold onto it whether you're transferring or not; it also serves as proof that you have paid your fare. The most central bus routes operate every 10 to 15 minutes throughout the day. Bikes are allowed in designated areas of MAX trains, and there are bike racks on the front of all buses that everyone is free to use.
Contact
TriMet/MAX. Ticket Office at Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 S.W. 6th Ave., Downtown, Portland, Oregon, 97204. 503/238–7433; www.trimet.org.
