Last week, Portland’s transit agency issued its latest financial warning — TriMet faces a “fiscal cliff” in 2031. The agency needs a huge financial bailout or they will have to cut service by 15 percent in July 2027, and then 5 percent every two years thereafter. Last year, the Portland transit agency had an $850 million operating loss.
Over the past decade, Portland’s TriMet has had $6 billion in operating losses. Its 10-year financial projection in last year’s annual report was to burn through another $1.1 billion in cash.
TriMet is currently demanding Clark County taxpayers pay over $7 million each year for light rail operations and maintenance of the 1.8-mile extension of their MAX Yellow Line into Vancouver as part of the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) proposal. The 4,350-foot-long extension will have two stops — one 80-90 feet above the ground at the Waterfront, and the other at Evergreen near the library…