TriMet eyes service, budget cuts to address future funding shortfall

TriMet, the transit agency serving the Portland, Oregon, area, this week announced service cuts and other reductions to address the Oregon Legislature's failure to pass the Oregon Transportation Reinvestment Package.

The service cuts and other budget reductions are necessary as TriMet seeks to avoid "drastic cuts" in the future and continue to provide transit service, according to a report by Roberta Alstadt on TriMet's website.

The failure to pass HB2025 leaves many of Oregon’s transit agencies, including TriMet, without the sufficient funding needed to sustain service levels in the years ahead, the report states. Agency officials are "encouraged" by Gov. Tina Kotek's call for a special session to address future transportation funding.

“We are facing a fiscal cliff in 2030, so we must act now to balance our budget for the long term,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. “As Oregon’s largest public transit provider, we have a tremendous responsibility to keep people in our region moving. Cutting service now means avoiding sudden, catastrophic cuts in the future.”

TriMet’s budget for fiscal-year 2026, adopted by TriMet’s board in late May, did not assume an increase in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF) that helps fund public transit, which had been included in HB2025.

TriMet began taking steps during the budget's development to reduce the deficit for the year, identifying $24.2 million in savings via cuts to discretionary spending.