TriMet can receive upwards of 80% or more in federal funding for new buses.

There are 200 buses in TriMet’s fleet that are well beyond eligibility for federal funded replacement. Yet Blumenauer is only requesting 45 buses. Why is that?

Newer buses use less fuel, pollute less, have less maintenance, than older buses. It’s simple and it’s proven. Yet TriMet would rather waste money on old, inefficient buses – while freely spending money like a kid in a candy store on new rail projects, even if it means cutting bus routes (because they’re more expensive to operate, because the buses break down more, require maintenance, and also discourage ridership because the bus system is perceived as unreliable and untrustworthy). We can’t afford new services yet TriMet keeps building new services. It is cost-effective to maintain existing bus service with new, improved vehicles, and bus stop improvements.