PORTLAND TRANSIT ROUTES

CONCISE HISTORY

In 1969, the publicly owned Tri-Met acquired the privately owned Rose City Transit Co., and subsequently acquired a few suburban bus operators. This page lists Tri-Met routes which can trace their histories back to the privately owned transit companies. Some routes were eventually discontinued by Tri-Met. Other routes were restructured going into the 21st Century, and are identified using the more recent numbers and names. And since its formation Tri-Met added many new bus routes, which are not listed.

The Portland area has grown tremendously since the streetcar era. And through innovative marketing and other programs, Tri-Met has emerged as one of the best run transit systems in the country, successfully keeping up with the growth. The result is a bus system which has expanded upon the hub and spoke former streetcar system, to include new crosstown routes. Among the first new bus routes created by Tri-Met were crosstown routes on 82nd Ave., 102nd Ave., and 122nd Ave. Also added were various circulator routes making convenient connections through transit centers strategically located throughout the area. With the 1986 opening of the MAX light rail line, and subsequent extensions, the bus system further evolved, with many bus routes emerging as feeder routes, connecting with the rail line.

The Tri-Met bus system has evolved so much, that a full route history cannot be concisely included for this page. Included are dates for bus routes which evolved from streetcar and trolleybus routes, along with dates for the earliest bus routes originally created as bus routes.

Recent route numbers are indicated, along with route numbers in use in 1983. By 1983, Tri-Met had evolved into an excellent all bus system, prior to the opening of the MAX light rail line. As various extensions of the MAX line were opened, several routes serving downtown Portland were modified into feeder routes connecting with the MAX line. Some routes were split at the MAX terminals. While other lines where downtown bus service was redundant to other bus lines, downtown service was discontinued. "Feeder with MAX" indicates such routes which were modified into feeder routes. Some of those routes had originally operated within the city of Portland, later to be extended into the suburbs.

In addition, many additional new feeder routes were created as the MAX line was extended, serving the growing areas further from downtown Portland.

Some bus routes were acquired by Tri-Met in 1970 from the four companies making up the Blue Bus Lines, operating in the suburbs. Such information is not available for all of the suburban routes. Because some suburbs are now served by the MAX light rail line, some routes presumably evolved to where there is now little similarity to the old routes.

Some bus routes are indicated as having evolved from steam dummy lines. The first street railways were operated with horse cars, and a few lines were operated with cable cars. But those are not indicated, because the streetcar networks evolved to where there was little resemblance to the original street railway systems. Those lines are described at the STREET RAILWAY COMPANIES page of this Web site.



Recent/1983   Route                    Steam  Electric   Trolley  Motor
Route Number  Name                     Dummy  Streetcar  Bus      Bus

  1   1  Vermont                       ----   ----  Bus-Rose City
  4   4  Division                      ----   1890       8/30/36   1/ 2/57
  4   4  Fessenden (Mississippi)       ----   1899      11/15/49   2/25/58
  6   5  Interstate                    ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
  6   6  ML King Blvd (Union Ave)      1888   1892       3/ 5/40   2/25/58
  8   8  Jackson Park                  ----   ----  New Bus       1927
  8   8  NE 15th Avenue                ----   1889      --------  1949
  9   9  Powell                        ----   ----  New Bus       1927
 10  27  Harold                        ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 12  44  Barbur Blvd                   ----   ----  Bus-Tualatin Valley
 12  14  Sandy Blvd                    ----   1907      11/30/36   2/25/58
 14  14  Hawthorne                     1889   1903       9/27/36   6/12/55
 15  21  Belmont                       1888   1896      --------  1949
 15  53  NW 23rd Avenue                ----   1890       5/23/37   8/10/53
 16  92  Front Avenue                  1890   1903       4/11/37   2/25/58
 16  27  St. Helens Road               ----   ----  New Bus       1922
 17  26  Holgate                       ----   ----  Bus-Rose City
 17   9  Broadway                      ----   1906      --------  1949
 18  66  Hillside (Kings Hts)          ----   1911      --------  1941
 18  66  Hillside (Westover)           ----   1913      --------  1941
 19  19  Woodstock (Eastmoreland)      ----   1890       8/30/36   1/ 2/57
 19  19  Glisan                        ----   1892      --------  1949

Recent/1983   Route                    Steam  Electric   Trolley  Motor
Route Number  Name                     Dummy  Streetcar  Bus      Bus

 20  20  Burnside-Stark                ----   ----  Bus-Rose City
 21  71  Sandy-223rd                   ----   ----  Bus-Rose City
 22  41  Parkrose                      ----   ----  Feeder with MAX
 23  40  San Rafael                    ----   ----  Feeder with MAX
 24  41  Fremont                       ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 25  19  Glisan-Rockwood               ----   ----  Feeder with MAX
 27  21  Market-Main  (disc. 2010)     ----   ----  Feeder with MAX
 29  31  Lake-Webster                  ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 30  31  Estacada                      ----   ----  Bus-Estacada-Molalla
 32  32  Oatfield                      ----   ----  Bus-Intercity Buses
 33  33  McLoughlin                    ----   ----  Bus-Intercity Buses
 33  76  King Rd.                      ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 34  34  River Road                    ----   ----  Bus-Intercity Buses
 34  78  Linwood                       ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 35  35  Macadam                       ----   ----  Bus-Intercity Buses
 35   1  Greeley                       1890   1903       4/11/37   2/25/58
 36  36  South Shore                   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 37  37  Lake Grove                    ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 38  38  Boones Ferry Road             ----   ----  Bus-Tualatin Valley
 39  40  Lewis & Clark                 ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 43  40  Tacoma (Capitol Hill)         ----   1890       5/23/37   8/10/53
 43  43  Taylors Ferry Road            ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 44  44  Capitol Hwy                   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 44  85  Mocks Crest (Williams)        ----   1891       2/21/37   2/17/52
 44   8  Mocks Crest (Willamette)      ----   ----  New Bus       1927
 45  45  Garden Home (Greenburg)       ----   ----  Bus-Tualatin Valley
 47  57  Baseline/Evergreen            ----   ----  Feeder with MAX
 48  89  Tanasbourne                   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet/Feeder with MAX

Recent/1983   Route                    Steam  Electric   Trolley  Motor
Route Number  Name                     Dummy  Streetcar  Bus      Bus

 50  60  Cedar Mill                    ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 51  51  Vista (Council Crest)         ----   1906      --------   2/25/50
 52  52  Farmington-185th              ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 54  54  Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy       ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 55  55  Hamilton (Raleigh Hills)      ----   ----  Bus-Rose City
 56  56  Scholls Ferry Road            ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 57  57  TV Hwy/Forest Grove           ----   ----  Bus-Tualatin V./Feeder with MAX
 58  57  Canyon Road                   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 59  59  Walker-Park Way (Cedar Hills) ----   ----  Bus-Tualatin V./Feeder with MAX
 62  87  Murray Blvd                   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 63  63  Washington Park               ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 67  65  Bethany-158th                 ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 70   6  12th Avenue (Sellwood)        ----   1892       3/24/40   6/12/55
 70  26  NE 33rd Avenue                ----   ----  Bus-Rose City
 71  84  60th Ave                      ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 71  71  Prescott                      ----   ----  Bus-Rose City
 72  71  Killingsworth                 ----   1892      --------  1949
 72  72  82nd Avenue                   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 75  75  Cesar Chavez (39th)-Lombard   ----   ----  New Bus  10/ 5/24
 76  43  Beaverton-Tualatin            ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 77  27  NW 21st                       ----   ----  New Bus       1922
 77  77  Broadway-Halsey               ----   ----  New Bus       1927
 78  77  Beaverton-Lake Oswego         ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 79  79  Canby-Clackamas Town Center   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX

Recent/1983   Route                    Steam  Electric   Trolley  Motor
Route Number  Name                     Dummy  Streetcar  Bus      Bus

 80  80  Kane Road-Troutdale Road      ----   ----  Bus-Portl. St./Feeder with MAX
 84   4  Powell Valley-Orient Dr.      ----   ----  Feeder with MAX
 85  71  Swan Island                   ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 88  88  Hart-198th Avenue             ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
 92  87  South Beaverton Express       ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX
154  33  Willamette                    ----   ----  Bus-TriMet-before MAX

Recent/1983   Route                    Steam  Electric   Trolley  Motor
Route Number  Name                     Dummy  Streetcar  Bus      Bus

The Eastmoreland and Sandy trolleybus routes were originally converted to motor buses on 6/12/55, but reverted to trolleybuses on 10/29/56, and back to motor buses on 1/2/57. The Sandy route returned to trolleybuses on 9/29/57, but permanently went to motor buses on 2/25/58.


SUBURBAN TRANSIT COMPANIES

In 1970, one year after Tri-Met acquired Rose City Transit serving the city of Portland, Tri-Met acquired the four companies making up the Blue Bus Lines, operating in the suburbs.


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