How We Roll – A Blog for TriMet Fans

Want to help us keep things moving? These simple time-saving tips can really add up—and help us get you to your destination on time:

• Be ready to board with exact change or a valid ticket, transfer receipt or pass.
• Let other riders exit the vehicle before you board.
• Don’t block the aisles or doorways. If you have a bag, bike or stroller, make sure it’s not in the way.
• Use only one seat at a time.
• Go with the flow. If standing, move as far as you can to the back of the vehicle so others can board faster. On the bus, exit through the rear door whenever possible.
• Don’t hold the door open on MAX.

Thanks for your help, and thanks for riding!

May 22, 2012 – Federal Transit Administrator Peter M. Rogoff signs the ceremonial Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) at a community celebration in southeast Portland. The actual document was signed earlier in the day.

Today, the Federal Transit Administration authorized the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project.

The FFGA commits the federal government to providing 50 percent of the cost of the project, which will expand the MAX rail system to 60 miles.

The new light rail line will connect downtown Portland and Portland State University with South Waterfront, inner southeast Portland, Milwaukie and north Clackamas County.

Construction is under way, and the FFGA means the project can move forward toward completion and service in 2015.

Updates on the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project

Learn more

Riding TriMet is “active transportation” because you’re actively walking, riding or rolling to and from the bus stop or rail station.

Lake McTighe is a senior transportation planner at Metro, our regional government.

Have you heard of active transportation?

It’s something really simple: getting to where you need to go actively. Walking and riding a bike are active transportation. So are rollerblading, using wheelchairs and strollers, and skateboards–let’s call it “walking and rolling.”

Taking TriMet is also active transportation because most trips made by bus, MAX, WES or streetcar include walking or rolling. Public transit helps people to make longer trips than they could by just walking or rolling. That makes transit an important part of the regional active transportation network—the regional network of streets, paths, trails and bridges that connect the cities and communities of Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties.

I’m a transportation planner at Metro, and right now I am working on a project that I am really excited about. It is an action plan to prioritize and complete the regional active transportation network, making it easier, safer and more comfortable to get around without a car.

Why is this important? When we use active transportation we are healthier, experience less stress, save money and time, and keep our air and water clean.

Imagine the Portland area knitted together by a seamless and continuous network of bicycle and walking pathways and districts integrated with public transit. If you had the time and inclination, you would be able to walk or bike comfortably and safely from one end of the region to the other!

When we use active transportation we are healthier, experience less stress, save money and time, and keep our air and water clean.

While we generally think of walking and rolling as local activities (going to the grocery store, school or a friend’s house), many active trips are also made between cities and towns in the region, and many more could be made with a complete and seamless regional network.

The region’s long term vision for transportation, the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan, has a target to triple the number of people walking, biking and taking transit by the year 2035. The regional Active Transportation Plan we’re working on will provide a strategy to get us there and beyond. One important objective of the plan is to identify priorities for future investments. With limited funding it is important that we invest wisely and carefully.

To learn more about the Regional Active Transportation Plan and to get involved visit www.oregonmetro.gov/activetransport or contact Lake Strongheart McTighe at lake.mctighe@oregonmetro.gov.

Older-style TriMet tickets don't have a foil strip. These are no longer accepted as valid fare.

As of April 30, 2012, we are no longer accepting non-foil tickets (those without a shiny strip) as valid fare.

In 2009, we added a foil strip to our tickets for better security and to help speed up the fare inspection process. Now, we’ve phased out all of the older-style tickets. If you haven’t managed to use up your old tickets, you can still exchange them.

Exchanging your old tickets

If you want, you can trade in your old tickets through December 31, 2012, at the TriMet Ticket Office at Pioneer Courthouse Square, located at 701 SW 6th Ave. in Downtown Portland.

Since 2009, tickets are printed with a wavy foil security strip with holograms that change colors.

7-Day Pass scratch-off discontinued

As part of this transition, we’ve also discontinued the scratch-off version of the 7-Day Pass. (You’ll still be able to purchase a 7-Day Pass from a ticket machine or the TriMet Ticket Office at Pioneer Courthouse Square, pre-validated for immediate use.)