Kevin McConnell stepped off the MAX Green Line with his bicycle amid the morning rush of commuters finding their trains and buses at the Gateway Transit Center platform in east Portland.

In the past, McConnell relied on the Green Line to get all the way from his home in Portland’s Lents neighborhood to his job downtown. But on this morning, he was among the dozens of people hastily making their transfers to other trains and buses.

That’s because the Green Line was cut short, his commute time shot up, and taking his bike went from optional to necessary. He said he now rides it almost every day, just to save a little time.

“My typical commute time I believe was 38 minutes, and now I think it’s about 53, and that extra few minutes really matters when I’m traveling to work in the morning and coming home at night,” he said

McConnell is one of several riders OPB spoke with about the first week of service cuts and changes that TriMet enacted Aug. 22 to help reduce a $300 million budget gap. TriMet spokesperson Tia York said those efforts reduced the agency’s deficit by about half, to $158 million.

TriMet’s budget woes come amid rising costs for fuel, labor and materials due to inflation.

The agency also previously hired more staff in anticipation of ridership returning to pre-pandemic levels. But ridership has plateaued at 70% of those levels, and in July, TriMet announced it also would begin cutting nearly 400 positions.

In addition, efforts to secure more state funding fell through when a large transportation bill that had money earmarked for public transit failed.

The single biggest change has been to the MAX Green Line. Before the cuts, riders could take the Green Line all the way from Clackamas Town Center to Portland State University in downtown. To make the same trip now, they have to stop at the Gateway Transit Center and transfer to a different line.

Greg Peterson is one of many who once frequently rode the Green Line into downtown.

“The main thing I’ve been affected by is I have to change trains [at] Gateway now, but that’s not a big deal,” Peterson said. “It’s something TriMet needed to do, you know? You can’t lose money forever.”

The service cuts include changes to 34 bus lines, two of which have been eliminated due to low ridership. The remaining routes will either be altered, shortened or consolidated with nearby bus lines, and some buses will also run less frequently during certain times of the day.

Portland resident Mary Ambriz plans to work from home more now because the changes will increase her commute time.

“I could be delayed getting to work… or I have to leave an hour early because that’s an hourly bus,” she said. “It’s gonna cost time.”

Portland Community College student Kaitlyn Lewis lives right by the MAX station near Portland State University, an apartment she chose for its access to public transit. Now without the Green Line passing through, she has to wait longer.

“Because of my heart condition, I don’t drive. I really like, struggle to even walk to transportation,” Lewis said. “It was like anytime I walked out, I would see that a MAX would be coming in 5 to 10 minutes. And now I really struggle to have to wait in the sun, especially in the heat.”

York said she encourages riders to plan their trips using the TriMet website, where they might find alternate routes or transfers to save time.

She said as TriMet looks to the future, the agency can’t cut its way out of its financial crisis and needs to seek more revenue. TriMet’s goal is to balance its budget by July 2028.

TriMet has tried to increase public transit use by partnering with local organizations. For example, to get to Portland Timbers or Thorns games, riders’ event tickets also serve as their ticket to ride TriMet three hours before and after the game.

Until then, York said, both riders and the agency will have to adjust to the changes.

“If we can just get through this together, these first couple of weeks of transition,” she said, “I guess we’ll get comfortable with our new normal.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/08/28/trimet-cuts-portland-riders-adjust-green-line/