TriMet ridership still low as fares set to increase
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Public transit ridership in the Portland metro area is at 68% of pre-pandemic levels, new data shows.
- That's based on September 2023 ridership as compared to September 2019, according to American Public Transportation Association (APTA) data.
Why it matters: Public transit — whether MAX, buses, or the WES Commuter Rail — makes cities cleaner and greener, opens up possibilities for people who can't afford a car, and frees up parking lots to be turned into housing, green space and more, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.
By the numbers: Portland's slow transit recovery puts us 62nd out of just over 100 metro areas with more than 500,000 people.
Context: TriMet's own tracking system shows an increase in bus and MAX ridership this year over last — with light rail ridership increasing more slowly.
- That adds up to a steady climb out of a dramatic fall in early 2020, when COVID-19 hit — but average weekly rides are still well below pre-pandemic numbers.
What they're saying: "As venues and offices reopen and people see the situation in the wider community improving when it comes to safety and security, we do expect more people to be coming back on the transit system," TriMet communications director Roberta Altstadt tells Axios.
Meanwhile, TriMet fares are set to increase Jan. 1 — pushing an adult 2 1/2- hour ticket and a LIFT ride up 30 cents to $2.80 and a day pass up 60 cents to $5.60.
- Discounted tickets for youth and seniors increase by half those amounts.
- The cost of monthly passes — $100 per adult — remains the same.
Of note: TriMet gets about 7% of its annual revenue from fares, and 70% from a regional payroll tax, per the agency's budget.
- The rest comes from federal grants to cover operating costs — which budget figures show have dropped by roughly half since pandemic-era highs.
The big picture: Hardly any city is fully back to pre-pandemic ridership rates.
- Among the 103 metro areas researched, September 2023 public transit ridership was at or above 100% of September 2019 levels in just 12 areas.
Zoom out: Nationally, "ridership recovered throughout 2022 and 2023 to stand at 77% of pre-pandemic levels in November 2023," per APTA's latest big-picture data.
Between the lines: In some cities, transit ridership may be getting a boost from employers dragging workers back into the office — something Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has been trying to convince downtown companies to do.
What's happening: Cities have been experimenting with a variety of tactics to bring back riders after usage plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Some reduced fares or made rides entirely free (though funding such efforts can prove difficult). Some are investing in new routes and other infrastructure.
- Some are also rethinking routes based on people's new post-pandemic travel patterns, with remote and hybrid work affecting how, where and when we move about.
The bottom line: TriMet is planning for a 50% increase in ridership by 2026 compared to 2022 numbers, according to its budget, although Altstadt calls that number "aspirational" to help budget projections.