Predecessors

In the early 20th century, privately funded interurbans and streetcars gave Portland one of the largest urban rail systems in the American West, with lines that once extended as far north as Vancouver, Washington, south as Eugene, east as Troutdale, and west as Forest Grove.^{[5]: 7–8 [6]: 7–8} Ben Holladay brought Portland's first trolleys from San Francisco in 1872; drawn by horses and mules, they were operated by the Portland Street Railway Company. In 1890, the first electric streetcar opened in Albina while the first cable car began serving 5th Avenue; these marked the start of an era of major rail expansion.^[7] In 1892, the East Side Railway Company opened the first long-distance interurban line—a 16-mile (25.7 km) route from Portland to Oregon City.^[8] The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company had taken over all local streetcars by 1906,^[9] and interurbans by 1908.^[10]: 93 In 1912, as Portland's population exceeded 250,000, transit ridership stood at 70 million passengers annually.^[5]: 8 Passenger rail services had started to decline by the 1920s with the rise of the automobile and suburban and freeway development.^{[5]: 9 [11]} Portland's original streetcar lines had ceased operating by 1950,^[6]: 33 replaced by buses until 2001,^[12] when the modern Portland Streetcar opened in downtown Portland.^[13][14] The region's last two interurban lines, which traveled to Oregon City and Bellrose (Southeast 136th Avenue), permanently closed in 1958.^{[10]: 61, 93 [15]}

Early beginnings

At the height of local freeway revolts in the 1970s, studies for public transit began using funds made available by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973.^[5]: 20 These funds had been intended for the Mount Hood Freeway and Interstate 505 (I-505) projects,^[5]: 30 which were abandoned amid strong opposition from the Portland city government and neighborhood associations.^[16][17] In 1973, Governor Tom McCall assembled a task force that helped determine several alternative options, including a busway and light rail.^[18][19] Local jurisdictions originally favored the busway alternative, but support for light rail prevailed following the mode's inclusion in a 1977 environmental impact statement.^[20][21] The proposal became known as the Banfield light rail project, named for the Banfield Freeway, a segment of I-84 that part of the alignment followed. TriMet approved the project in September 1978.^[22] Construction of the 15.3-mile (24.6 km), 27-station line between 11th Avenue in downtown Portland and Cleveland Avenue in Gresham began in March 1982.^[23] Inaugural service commenced on September 5, 1986.^[24] Less than two months before opening, TriMet adopted the name "Metropolitan Area Express", or "MAX", following an employee contest.^[25][26]

As the planning of a light rail line to the west side gained momentum in the mid-1980s, the original MAX line came to be referred to as the Eastside MAX to distinguish it from what would become the Westside MAX extension.^[27] Early proposals called for the extension to terminate just west of the Beaverton–Hillsboro boundary on 185th Avenue in Washington County.^[28] A dispute between TriMet and the Urban Mass Transportation Administration over a financing plan suspended the project for several years but planning resumed in 1988 and studies were completed in 1991.^[28][29] Staunch lobbying by local and state officials led by Hillsboro Mayor Shirley Huffman forced an extension of the line further west to downtown Hillsboro in 1993.^[30] Construction of the 20-station, 18-mile (29 km) line began that August with the excavation of the Robertson Tunnel.^[31] The Westside MAX opened in two stages following delays in tunneling: the section from 11th Avenue to Kings Hill/Southwest Salmon Street was opened in 1997 and the section to Hatfield Government Center—the segment's current western terminus—was opened in 1998.^[32] The resulting 33-mile (53 km) MAX line began operating as a single, through service on September 12, 1998.^[33]

South/North plan

At the same time TriMet was planning the Westside MAX in the mid-1980s, Metro regional government announced new light rail proposals for Clackamas County. Its planning committee—the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT)—proposed two separate routes that would have run between downtown Portland and Oregon City via Milwaukie and between Portland International Airport and Clackamas Town Center via I-205.^[34] Further planning led JPACT to favor the I-205 corridor due to an existing right-of-way along the I-205 Transitway, an unfinished mass transit component of the freeway that had been built to accommodate a busway.^[35][36] TriMet, however, prioritized the Westside MAX during its bid for federal matching funds and the I-205 plans were put on hold.^[37] In 1989, studies for both I-205 and Milwaukie proposals received funding from the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations under the condition that they included potential route extensions to Clark County, Washington.^[38][39] Metro completed the studies in 1993, ultimately abandoning I-205 in favor of a route along the I-5 and Willamette River corridors.^[40][41] It finalized a single 25-mile (40 km) line from Hazel Dell, Washington south to Clackamas Town Center via Milwaukie,^[42][43] which Metro and TriMet formally named the South–North Line.^[5]: 80 Metro said it adopted the name "South/North" instead of the more conventional "North/South" word order, at the request of representatives in the southern part of the corridor after the southern leg, which had long been planned to be the next-priority MAX corridor after the Westside line, was merged with the northern leg as a single proposed project.^[44]

In November 1994, 63% of Portland area voters passed a $475 million ballot measure to fund Oregon's portion of the project.^[5]: 80 The following February, however, Clark County residents defeated a tax measure that would have funded Washington's share.^[45] To move the project forward, TriMet downsized the plan and abandoned the line's Clark County and North Portland segments up to the Rose Quarter.^[46] That July, the Oregon House of Representatives approved a $750 million transportation package, which included $375 million for the scaled-back line.^[47] The funding was annulled by the Oregon Supreme Court due to the inclusion of unrelated measures that violated the state's constitution.^[48][49] The legislature met again in February 1996 and passed a revised $375 million package,^[48] but light rail opponents forced a statewide vote and defeated it the following November.^[50] A third proposal between Lombard Street in North Portland and Clackamas Town Center followed.^[51] This time, Metro and TriMet pursued the project without seeking contributions from either Clark County or the state, instead sourcing funds from Clackamas County and Portland. In 1998, TriMet placed a new ballot measure to reaffirm voter support for the $475 million originally approved in 1994.^[5]: 80 The measure failed by 52% in November of that year, effectively canceling the proposed line.^[52]

Airport and Interstate lines

Driven by the rapid expansion of Portland International Airport in the 1990s, the Port of Portland explored ways to ease growing traffic congestion, including introducing MAX service decades earlier than regional planners had anticipated.^[53] In 1997, engineering firm Bechtel accelerated the effort with an unsolicited proposal to design and build the airport rail link in exchange for 120 acres (49 ha) of Port property.^[54][55] A public–private partnership was formed, and construction of the Airport MAX began in June 1999.^[56] With right-of-way already secured and no federal funding requested,^[57] the project was completed in under two years.^[58] The four-station, 5.5-mile (8.9 km) branch line between Gateway Transit Center and the airport opened on September 10, 2001.^[59][60] Celebrations planned for that weekend were cancelled in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.^[61] To service the new route, TriMet enacted a color-coded route naming scheme: the Blue Line ran between Hillsboro and Gresham, while the Red Line ran between the airport and downtown Portland, using the loop tracks on 11th Avenue to reverse direction.^[62][63] On September 1, 2003, the Red Line was extended west to Beaverton Transit Center to relieve Blue Line overcrowding and provide a one-seat airport connection for the west side.^[64]

In 1999, Portland business leaders and residents opposed to the cancellation of the South/North Line urged TriMet to revive the project.^[65][66] TriMet responded with a scaled-back proposal extending MAX only to North Portland via North Interstate Avenue.^[67] Construction on the Interstate MAX began in February 2001.^[68] To reduce taxpayer costs, the city created an urban renewal district, while federal matching funds from the locally funded Airport MAX and Central City Streetcar projects were redirected to the line.^[69][70] The 10-station, 5.8-mile (9.3 km) extension from Rose Quarter Transit Center to the Portland Expo Center opened on May 1, 2004, as part of the Yellow Line.^[71] From 2004 to 2009, the Yellow Line ran from Expo Center station to 11th Avenue in downtown Portland, sharing tracks with the Blue and Red lines across the Steel Bridge. On August 30, 2009, it was rerouted to the PSU Urban Center stations following the addition of light rail to the Portland Transit Mall.^[72] In September 2012, service was extended farther south to the PSU South stations, which had been delayed by nearby transit-oriented development.^[73][74] Since 2015, the Yellow Line has interlined with the Orange Line and now operates only the northbound segment of the transit mall.^[75]

South Corridor extensions

In 2001, Metro revisited its former light rail plans for Clackamas County and reconsidered proposals similar to those of the canceled south–north project, with two routes extending to Clackamas and Milwaukie.^[76] This resulted in a new study, which Metro referred to as the South Corridor transportation project,^[77] that evaluated light rail among other alternatives.^[78] The study's task force recommend both light rail options in 2003 and suggested splitting the project into two phases.^[79][80] The first phase planned for the addition of light rail to I-205, between Gateway Transit Center and Clackamas Town Center. In October of that year, the first phase plans were amended to include adding light rail to the Portland Transit Mall following a petition from Portland business leaders.^[81] The combined project was approved for federal funding in 2006 and work began in January 2007.^[82][83] Light rail commenced service along the 14-station, 1.8-mile (2.9 km) Portland Transit Mall on August 30, 2009, first served by the Yellow Line.^[72] The opening of the eight-station, 6.5-mile (10.5 km) I-205 MAX and Green Line service followed on September 12.^[84]

The South Corridor project's second phase initially proposed the extension of MAX between downtown Portland and Milwaukie via the Hawthorne Bridge.^[85] Studies showed that this alignment would cause severe traffic bottlenecks in downtown.^[81] As a result, Portland businesses pushed for the construction of a new bridge further upstream that led to the southern end of the Portland Transit Mall.^[78] The locally preferred alignment was finalized in mid-2008; a new bridge would carry light rail across the Willamette River from the South Waterfront to just south of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).^[86] TriMet designed this bridge, which was eventually inaugurated as Tilikum Crossing, to be "car-free" and to accommodate only transit vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians.^[87] Construction of the line began in June 2011.^[88] In September 2012, opponents passed a ballot initiative—with 60% of the vote—requiring all Clackamas County spending on light rail to be approved by voters.^[89][90] Following the county's attempt to end its involvement and a suit filed by TriMet, a circuit court upheld the project's continuation.^[91] The 17-station, 7.3-mile (11.7 km) Portland–Milwaukie segment and Orange Line service opened on September 12, 2015.^[92] The Orange Line, operating along the Portland Transit Mall's southbound segment, became the third service to serve this corridor.^[75]

Red Line track improvements and extension to Hillsboro

In October 2017,^[93] TriMet, citing system-wide delays caused by two single-track segments along the Airport MAX, announced the MAX Red Line Improvements Project,^[94] later renamed "A Better Red".^[95] A Better Red sought double-tracking a 2,800-foot-long (850 m) section of track north of Gateway Transit Center and another 3,800-foot-long (1,200 m) section alongside Northeast Airport Way just before the airport terminal.^[96] To qualify the project for federal funding, TriMet included extending Red Line service farther west to Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station in Hillsboro;^[93] this extension would use existing Westside MAX tracks and create a one-seat option from 10 additional stations to Portland International Airport. Additionally, TriMet had announced it would procure up to eight new light rail vehicles to accommodate the improvements,^[94] but later purchased 30 new trains overall; four were part of A Better Red, while the remaining 26 were replacements for the original MAX fleet, which are gradually being retired.^[97]

Preliminary design work began in February 2018.^[98] TriMet adopted a locally preferred alternative in April 2019,^[99] and the FTA announced $99.99 million for the project through the Capital Investment Grants program in May 2020.^[100][101] Final design was completed by engineering firm Parametrix in early 2021.^[102][103] The design includes two new bridges north of Gateway Transit Center to accommodate the second track and a new MAX platform called "Gateway North".^[95] TriMet broke ground on September 28, 2021.^[104]

From April 2–9, 2022,^[105][106] Red Line service was suspended to make way for construction, and shuttle buses operated between Gateway Transit Center and Portland International Airport.^[107][108] The project was completed in March 2024.^[109][110]

From June 18 to October 21, 2023, TriMet suspended MAX service between Gateway Transit Center and the airport to allow for construction of the second track between the airport and Mount Hood Avenue.^[111][112]

From January 14 to March 3, 2024, TriMet suspended MAX Red, Blue and Green Line service between NE 7th and Gateway Transit Center.^[113] Inbound Red Line trains from PDX began serving Gateway North on March 4, 2024.^[114] These projects eliminated the last bidirectional single-track sections on the MAX system.^[115]

The Red Line extension to Hillsboro began service on August 25, 2024, with a soft launch, with the full launch beginning on August 28. Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station was also renamed to Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station.^[116][117]

Yellow Line extension to Vancouver

The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program includes a northward extension of the Yellow Line to serve Vancouver, Washington. The project would add 1.9 miles (3.1 km) of track and three new stations at Hayden Island, the Vancouver Waterfront, and Evergreen Boulevard.^[125] An earlier proposal for the extension was a part of the Columbia River Crossing project in the early 2010s. That project would have extended light rail 2.9 miles (4.7 km) to Clark College and added seven stations.^[126][127] The CRC project was cancelled in July 2013 after the Washington State Senate failed to approve $450 million in funding,^[128] with the inclusion of light rail cited as a common objection from opponents.^[129]

Southwest Corridor

The Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project is a planned extension of MAX from PSU in downtown Portland to Bridgeport Village in Tualatin via Southwest Portland and Tigard.^[130] It would add 11 miles (18 km) of track and 13 new stations.^{[131][132]: 191} Initially scheduled to open in 2027, the project was indefinitely suspended on November 3, 2020, after voters rejected a tax ballot measure that would have funded the local-area share.^{[133][134][135]}

Central City Tunnel

Constructs a tunnel beneath downtown Portland from Goose Hollow to the Lloyd Center.^{[136]: 7 [137][138]} In 2025, Metro completed a Regional Rail Futures Study where it concluded that the proposed tunnel or a replacement of the Steel Bridge should be the highest priority for cross-regional transit mobility.^[139]

Other proposals

Metro's Regional Rail Futures Study identifies two additional corridors presenting "immediate" opportunities for light rail.^[139]

• Forest Grove–Hillsboro
• Milwaukie–Oregon City (McLoughlin Boulevard)
• Supplemental "Teal Line" service from the Airport to Clackamas, avoiding the congested Banfield Line.^[140]

Segments

The MAX rail network is 59.7 miles (96.1 km) long. It was built in a series of six projects starting with the 15.1-mile (24.3 km) Banfield—now called Eastside—segment between downtown Portland and Gresham. Each successive project has either been an extension or a branch of an existing segment. TriMet has typically paired each project with the opening of a new line, often making the line and segment synonymous (e.g. "Airport MAX Red Line").^[151][152]

A geographic map of the MAX Light Rail network.

Right-of-way

MAX operates on a mixture of shared and exclusive transit rights-of-way.^[164] Within downtown Portland, trains run on surface streets in dedicated lanes restricted to private vehicles, and operators follow the city's traffic control system.^[165][166] On the Morrison–Yamhill couplet, MAX travels in the left lanes.^[167] On the Portland Transit Mall (the 5th and 6th avenue couplet), MAX shares dedicated lanes with buses, and both travel in the center or right lanes and stop at their respective curbside platforms on the right.^[4] Lanes may be separated by turtleback delineators or double solid white lines and are marked with white diamonds or white “T” symbols.^[164][166]

Outside downtown Portland, MAX runs along street medians and viaducts, alongside freeways and freight rail lines, and underground. Where tracks run within a street median, intersections are controlled by traffic signals that grant trains preemption. Where tracks occupy a separate right-of-way, trains are protected by automated grade crossing gates at level crossings.^[4] Some segments are elevated to carry trains over busy thoroughfares and difficult terrain.^[168][169] A three-mile (4.8 km) section runs beneath Washington Park in Portland's West Hills through the Robertson Tunnel, the system's longest underground segment.^[170]

MAX crosses the Willamette River via the Steel Bridge and Tilikum Crossing. In studies for the Banfield Light Rail Project, planners recommended using the Steel Bridge because of its earlier role as a river crossing for the city's historic streetcars. When MAX entered service in 1986, trains shared the bridge's center lanes with vehicular traffic.^[167] In 2008, the bridge's upper deck was closed to construct a junction between the Eastside MAX tracks and the newer Portland Transit Mall tracks. After reopening, the two inner lanes were reserved exclusively for MAX trains, while cars, buses, and other motorized traffic were restricted to the outer lanes.^[171] The newer Tilikum Crossing prohibits private vehicles and allows transit vehicles (MAX, streetcar, and buses), cyclists, pedestrians, and emergency responders only.^[172] As a result, Tilikum Crossing is widely recognized as the first major “car-free” bridge in the United States.^[87]

Power and signaling

MAX is powered by a conventional 750-volt direct current (DC) overhead wire system. Most of the network uses a dual-wire catenary, in which a contact wire is supported by a messenger wire. In urban areas such as downtown Portland, however, a single contact wire is used to reduce the amount of overhead wiring. To further minimize visual impact, ornamental streetlight poles, buildings, and bridge structures support the wiring. Substations, spaced about one mile (1.6 km) apart, convert the high-voltage public supply to the voltage used by trains. The power system is designed to bridge any single substation, allowing trains to continue operating if a substation or its supply fails.^[4]

Approximately 70 percent of the MAX system uses automatic block signaling (ABS),^[4] which supports relatively high operating speeds—up to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h)—and short headways.^{[157][173][174]} For example, along the Banfield Freeway between Lloyd Center/NE 11th Ave station and Gateway Transit Center, ABS can accommodate operating headways as short as two minutes. In these sections, automatic train stops (ATS) enforce speed limits and apply the brakes if an operator fails to do so. The remaining 30 percent of the system relies on traffic signals and line-of-sight operation, where speeds are limited to 35 mph (56 km/h).^[4]

Operations and maintenance facilities

TriMet's vehicle-maintenance complexes for the MAX system are the Ruby Junction facility in Gresham and the smaller Elmonica facility in Beaverton.^[175][176] The Ruby Junction facility is located near Ruby Junction/E 197th Ave station while the Elmonica facility is adjacent to Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station; both are on the Blue Line.^[177]

Ruby Junction began with one building that TriMet built as part of the Banfield Light Rail Project in 1982. It had expanded to three multi-story buildings totaling 143,000 square feet (13,300 m²) occupying 17 acres (6.9 ha) by 2010,^[175] and to four buildings totalling 149,000 square feet (13,800 m²) occupying 23 acres (9.3 ha) by 2016. It contains 13 maintenance bays and its yard tracks have the capacity to store 87 light rail cars. In 2016, around 200 employees worked at Ruby Junction and almost 200 MAX operators operated trains that were based there. In addition to vehicle maintenance, crews who maintain the MAX system's tracks and signals are also based at Ruby Junction.^[176] In 2015, some maintenance-of-way personnel moved into the Portland Vintage Trolley carbarn next to Rose Quarter Transit Center after Vintage Trolley service was discontinued.^[178] Ruby Junction originally housed light-rail operations, communications, and administrative workers.^[179]

The Elmonica facility was built as part of the Westside MAX extension in the mid-1990s and was completed in 1996. It was built as a satellite facility to reduce dead mileage and improve system reliability in the event of a service disruption on the Eastside MAX. Its building has 78,000 square feet (7,200 m²) of space.^[180]

Accessibility

Stations built as part of the Banfield Light Rail Project were originally equipped with electric wheelchair lifts to allow riders using mobility devices to board the system’s high-floor, first-generation vehicles. Due to mechanical and operational issues, only a dozen of the planned 54 lifts serving all 25 stations had been installed by the time the line opened; the final one was installed in May 1987.^[206][207] Each station had two lifts, one for each direction of travel.^[208] They were installed on platforms rather than on trains to prevent malfunctions from delaying service,^[27] but as ridership increased, the lifts themselves became a source of delays. Many users also felt stigmatized by their "boxy" design and time-consuming operation.^[209][210]

After the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, TriMet developed a paratransit plan in January 1992.^[211] Shortly before the start of the Westside MAX project, MAX became the first light rail system in North America to procure low-floor vehicles, following a TriMet study of European systems.^[209] The low-floor cars, jointly developed by TriMet and Siemens,^[212] entered service in August 1997.^[210]

MAX achieved full accessibility in April 1999.^[5]: 53 Ticket vending machines provide information and instructions in audio, braille, and raised lettering. Station platforms also have signs with braille and raised lettering to indicate which lines provide service and where they go. The edge of platforms have tactile paving to warn riders from standing too close to the edge.^[213] Non-street-level platforms may be accessed with elevators.^[192] Most light rail cars, with the exception of Type 1, are low-floor and have ramps that extend onto platforms to allow mobility devices to board.^[213] High-floor Type 1 cars are paired with low-floor Type 2 or 3 cars to maintain accessibility.^[214] In each train, an audio system and LED signs announce the name of each upcoming station. All trains have spaces and priority seating areas reserved for seniors and people with disabilities, and service animals are permitted on board.^[213]

In 2011, TriMet began upgrading the oldest sections of MAX to improve pedestrian safety and compliance with updated ADA standards.^[215] TriMet installed pipe barriers at Gateway Transit Center platform crossings to force pedestrians to slow down and face oncoming trains before crossing the tracks and realigned sidewalks and crosswalks at four at-grade crossings in Gresham. Other improvements made throughout the line include the installation of pedestrian warning signals and tactile paving upgrades.^[216]

Parking

Based on a report published in 2019, TriMet provides a total of 12,614 park-and-ride spaces, of which 10,219 directly serve 25 MAX stations. The agency's parking facilities are either surface lots or multi-level garages,^{[217]: 2–3} and they are free to use. TriMet allows vehicles to park at most stalls overnight as long as they do not exceed 24 hours.^[218] At some locations, TriMet negotiates with nearby establishments for additional parking spaces.^[219] Westside MAX stations contain 3,643 parking spaces, the most number of spaces in a corridor.^[217]: 3 Clackamas Town Center Transit Center on the I-205 MAX segment includes a 750-space parking garage, the largest capacity of any single MAX station. Southeast Holgate Boulevard station, also on the I-205 MAX, provides the fewest parking spaces with 125 stalls.^[218]

In the 2019 report, passengers originating from TriMet park and rides accounted for five percent of TriMet's total weekday ridership. In 2017, the Portland–Milwaukie segment had a 100-percent usage rate of its available spaces while the Westside MAX segment had 85 percent. The corridor with the lowest use of available parking spaces was the I-205 MAX at 30 percent; TriMet attributes this to factors such as inconvenient lot access and the Green Line's indirect route to downtown Portland compared with the availability of more direct bus routes. The cost-per-space for building park and rides is estimated at $18,000 per surface-lot space and $52,000 per structured space.^{[217]: 3–5}

TriMet additionally offers four different bicycle parking options at its MAX stations, although not all options are available at every station.^[220] Bike and rides are secure, enclosed spaces that are accessible by keycard and are monitored 24 hours per day by security cameras; as of 2020^[update] they are available at eight stations.^[221] Electronic bicycle lockers, or eLockers, are secure lockers that may also be accessed by keycard and are made available on a first-come, first-served basis. TriMet contracts some keycard access to BikeLink and uses its Hop Fastpass on others.^[221][222] Other lockers may be rented by users.^[223] Bicycle racks are the most common form of bicycle parking.^[224]

Ridership

MAX carried over 38.8 million total passengers in 2019, an average of 120,900 riders per day on weekdays. This is slightly lower than the number of riders recorded in 2018 and represents the system's third consecutive year of fallen ridership. MAX ridership peaked in 2012, when the system recorded around 42.2 million annual passengers. 2016 marks the last year ridership increased; this was due to the opening of the Orange Line.^[255] TriMet attributes falling ridership to perceived crime within trains and stations and lower-income riders being forced out of the inner city by rising housing prices.^[256][257] In 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), MAX was the fourth-busiest light rail system in the United States after the light rail services of Metro Rail in Los Angeles, the MBTA in Boston, and Muni Metro in San Francisco.^[258]

Fares

As is standard practice on North American light rail systems,^[259] MAX uses proof-of-payment for fare collection, and stations do not have ticket barriers.^[185] Since 2017, TriMet has employed an automated fare collection system through a stored-value, contactless smart card called Hop Fastpass,^[260] which can be purchased from the TriMet ticket office or participating retail outlets.^[261][262] Smartphone users may download a virtual version of Hop Fastpass,^[263][264] while single-use Hop Fastpass tickets are dispensed by ticket vending machines at every MAX station.^[265][266] Smartphones with a debit or credit card loaded into Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or Apple Pay, and Portland Streetcar 21⁄2-hour tickets and one-day passes can also be used to board MAX.^[267][268] Riders must tap their fare medium onto a card reader with each boarding.^[269] Fares are flat rate and are capped according to use.^[270] Using Hop Fastpass, riders may transfer to the Portland Streetcar and other TriMet and C-Tran services.^[271]

In 2025, TriMet replaced all of its ticket vending machines with new machines that dispense only Hop cards at all of its stations, in a project that began in December 2024.^[272]

Late-night bus service

On August 25, 2024, TriMet introduced four new bus routes to replace late-night MAX services, to expand the length of time available each night for routine overnight maintenance. The new routes replace the last one or two MAX trips of the night on the Blue (two bus routes), Red, and Yellow Lines, but not the Green Line.^{[273][274][275]} This practice had already been in effect on the Orange Line since its opening in 2015.^[276][277]

Discontinued services

From the MAX system's opening until 2012, riding trains within Fareless Square, which was known as the Free Rail Zone from 2010 to 2012, was free of charge. Fareless Square included all of downtown and, starting in 2001, part of the Lloyd District. The 37-year-old fare-free zone was discontinued on September 1, 2012, as part of system-wide cost-cutting measures. As part of the same budget cuts, TriMet discontinued its zonal fares and moved to a flat-fare system. Zones had been in place since 1986; higher fares were charged for longer journeys across four paid zones.^[74][173]

The MAX Mall Shuttle operated on weekday afternoons from when it was introduced on September 14, 2009, until 2011.^[278] It acted as a supplement to the light rail service provided on the Portland Transit Mall by the Green and Yellow lines.^[279] The Mall Shuttle operated between Union Station and Portland State University every 30 minutes from noon until 5:30 p.m.^[279] TriMet discontinued this supplementary shuttle service on June 5, 2011.^[280][281] Along with bus services, the mall continues to be served by two MAX lines in each direction—Green and Yellow lines northbound and Green and Orange lines southbound—which provide a combined average headway of 7.5 minutes in each direction at most times.

The Portland Vintage Trolley operated on the MAX system on most weekends from 1991 until 2014, serving the same stops. This service used 1991-built replicas of 1904 Portland streetcars. Originally, the Vintage Trolley service followed a section of the original MAX line between the Library and Galleria stations and Lloyd Center. In September 2009, the service moved to the newly opened MAX alignment along the transit mall, running between Union Station and Portland State University,^[145][282] and remained on this route in subsequent seasons. In 2011, the service was reduced to seven or eight Sundays per year,^[283] and in July 2014 it was discontinued entirely and the two remaining faux-vintage cars were sold to a group planning a streetcar line in St. Louis.^[284][285]

2017 train stabbing incident

On May 26, 2017, at approximately 4:30 pm, a man fatally stabbed two people and injured a third after he was confronted for shouting anti-Muslim slurs at two teenage girls inside a MAX train.^[288] Two men—a technician and U.S. Army veteran, and a recent university graduate—died from wounds to their necks while a third male victim survived.^[289] The attacker, who described himself as a white nationalist,^[290] was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, and other crimes.^[291] On February 21, 2020, the perpetrator was found guilty on all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder.^[292] This resulted in a mural being painted on the station entrance of the Hollywood Transit Center, where the stabbing occurred.^[293]

2023 Portland Streetcar collision

On November 15, 2023, shortly after 10:00am, a MAX train collided with a Portland Streetcar in the Lloyd District and injured two people on board.^{[294][295][296]}