TriMet board of directors votes aye on widespread service cuts

SHERWOOD, Ore. — Facing a budget deficit, TriMet approved changes to Line 97 that include combining it with Line 38, giving the bus a new route and a new name. This comes after TriMet originally proposed to entirely cut Line 97.

The new route, named 97-Tualatin-Sherwood/Kruse Way, runs from Sherwood to the Tualatin Park & Ride, through Lake Oswego, and ends at the Barbur Transit Center.

TriMet released the updated proposal packages on March 11, and the board voted 5-1 to approve it on April 22. Director JT Flowers of the North/Northeast Portland district was the lone nay vote.

At the April 22 meeting, TriMet Board of Directors Vice President and Washington County representative Thomas Kim said he’s looking forward to working on TriMet’s revenue and budget in May, “and other things that we can do better so that our riders wouldn’t have to have this life-changing circumstance.”

“I do look forward to a day when we are at a better, sustainable financial health and where we can add back services that are even better,” Kim said. “Those folks who are affected by this cut are in my heart.”

Changes to 34 bus routes, including Sherwood’s Line 97,  are slated to take effect August 23.

“My assertion from a strategic perspective, and from a perspective as someone who grew up riding on and relying on this system, is that we would be better served politically and otherwise by holding off on making these cuts to our system at this moment, and for that reason I (am) a no vote today,” Flowers said.

Flowers said it would be easier for him to come to a yes vote on this if he felt like staff had truly exhausted every conceivable option for the exploration of new revenue, although he understands the tremendous amount of effort and work the staff has put into preparing scenarios, hosting workshops, and figuring out ways to reconfigure systems and services.

"We need to think bigger about the way that we’re having this conversation about revenue. I also know that our failure to adopt this ordinance today would put us in a potentially graver situation in 2027 and 2028 if we were unable to turn some new stone and figure out a way to fill this gap," Flowers said. "However, I also know that we are going to be in that situation regardless. If we vote to approve this ordinance today, cutting our service across our system and reconfiguring a number of lines, we are going to be right back here a year from now voting to approve additional cuts to our system next year. The cuts are going to be severe and extensive regardless of what we do."

Director Tyler Frisbee, the board's secretary/treasurer and representative of Southeast Portland, said she shared some of Director Flowers' concerns around the long-term approach.

"These sorts of cuts are brutal and devastating," Frisbee said. "Respectfully, there are things we have not considered. Those will not solve our problem today, but they are long-term things we need to be looking at and thinking about more aggressively and more holistically."

She said she wanted to echo the sentiment from Flowers and push for more creative problem-solving from all angles, including the service approach, transit policy approach, and revenue approach.

"I think that we struggle in that we have a timing challenge right now: We need to make these cuts now. Possibly, we need to make the cuts that we are considering next year, so that we can rebuild and have the stability from which to build a stronger newer system," Frisbee said. "The way that we're thinking about the bigger system right now is not sufficient ... it's not because we don't care, it's because we've all been plugging holes."

Director Robert Kellogg, representing Southwest Portland and Washington County, apologized to riders affected by an express route cut.

"I did all I could to keep the service that you've had for 30-plus years," Kellogg said. "On the flip side of that, the cost of that service change is going to improve our financials by over $1 million."

Kellogg said he's voting on how things are today, not on how things ought to be, and that if the board did not approve the cuts today, the fiscal cliff just gets closer.

"The absolute worst part of this is that if the trend doesn’t change, the cuts that we’re going to be coming back to next year — you ain’t seen nothing yet," Kellogg said. "I suggest we all put our heads together and figure out a way to avoid having to do those draconian cuts next year."

TriMet's general manager Sam Desue, Jr. said that it goes without saying that making changes like these are never easy.

"I do not want to do this.  I didn’t come here to cut service at TriMet, and not a single person in this room from the staff wants to do this as we move forward, but I do want to say that we are all in agreement that something must be done to restore TriMet’s financial footing," Desue said. "We’ve got to do something to be able to move our footing so we’re able to provide transit services today, tomorrow, and for generations to come."

Desue said after the board's approval, TriMet's next step is to incorporate the service cuts plan and the savings it affords into the budget coming to the board for adoption in May.

In May, TriMet is expected to release its proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, July 2026-June 2027.

Learn more about the service cuts here.