One of the Portland region's most dangerous and busiest streets is 82nd Avenue, which runs for miles from Northeast Portland into Clackamas County.
Sloan Chambers / OPB
TriMet plans to buy 14 new electric buses to serve riders traveling along one of the Portland metro region’s most dangerous and historically neglected roads.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the metro-area transit agency a $39 million grant to buy the fuel-cell electric buses, improve facilities to house them and train staff who will maintain them, according to a press release. TriMet is currently operating 10 battery-powered electric buses.
Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation praised the effort Tuesday as a step toward addressing long-standing disparities in transportation service along 82nd Avenue, an especially diverse and low-income area. Line 72, TriMet’s most-used bus line, travels along Killingsworth Street and 82nd Avenue and runs every 15 minutes or less.
“Last year, Secretary Buttigieg saw first-hand the case for investment on 82nd Avenue. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration delivered,” Congressman Earl Blumenauer said in a news release. “The community has united behind a shared vision: transforming a once neglected area into a thriving corridor in a low-carbon, equitable fashion. This funding will make that a reality.”
A TriMet bus drives through downtown Portland, Ore., June 29, 2024. TriMet plans to add 10 electric buses to the fleet, as a step toward addressing long-standing disparities in transportation service along 82nd Avenue, an especially diverse and low-income area.
Anna Lueck / OPB
The funds add to a $25 million federal grant for a facility that would house electric buses on Columbia Boulevard, which the agency announced on July 1. TriMet in 2018 charted a path toward a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040.
“I’m more encouraged than ever by the progress we are making together toward a better future, as this funding will expand our zero-emissions bus fleet with what are expected to be TriMet’s first fuel-cell electric buses,” TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. said in a statement.
TriMet also plans to use the funds to help lay the foundation for the agency’s second high-capacity transit line. In 2022 TriMet opened its first high-capacity line, which travels between Gresham and inner Portland, along Division Street.
Roberta Altstadt, a TriMet spokeswoman, said the agency is only just entering project development for the high-capacity transit line along 82nd Avenue. She said construction is expected to begin in 2027 and service will roll out in 2029. C-Tran, which serves Vancouver and Clark County, has two high-capacity bus lines.
Altstadt said the agency has not yet determined where the new electric buses will stop, nor how frequently they will run, but added that the goal is to speed up transit service and provide higher-quality buses in an area with particularly high ridership. Altstadt said the latest grant would cover about 80% of the cost for the buses, improvements and training.
Altstadt said the agency plans to use part of the grant funds to accommodate buses in its garage on SE Powell Boulevard, with areas for charging and fuel delivery and storage.
TriMet will soon be operating 24 additional long-range electric buses, Altstadt said.
In 2021, the Oregon Transportation Commission unanimously approved a state plan to fund $185 million in safety projects like pedestrian crossings, more street trees and millions set aside to repave 82nd Avenue.
UPDATE: TriMet can purchase 14 electric buses with the grant money. The transit agency originally stated to OPB it could buy 10 buses with the federal money.