pudgym29 Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 I spent a week in Portland, OR. I was anticipating being credentialled into the CONCACAF Gold Cup Soccer tournament {when I bought my airline tickets}, but that didn't occur. That was only one night out of the seven. I did not rent a car. A TriMet 7-day pass cost only $26; you can buy it from an automatic machine at most MAX train stations (including the PDX Airport station); and the machine accepts a credit card. So I grabbed a bunch of photographs of TriMet vehicles. TriMet's new buses are Gilligs. But I figure these are what you people on this forum want to view: TriMet still has high-floor Flxibles in regular service on routes. These were taken at the Beaverton Transit Center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westing Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Great photos, thanks for sharing! I visited Portland a few years ago and was really impressed with their system. For such a small city they have incredible infrastructure. In just about 25 years they built four light rail lines (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow), a commuter rail line, and two streetcar lines. In fact they are still building more with the Orange Line set to open in a few years. I enjoyed Pioneer Square, the plaza that spans an entire city block. Three of the four streets that surround it have light rail. It was neat to sit and see so much transit action happening around you. They were running some 30' Flixibles when I was there and I rode on one in the mountains by the Rose Garden. The hair-pin turns and large hills made for a interesting ride, I can only imagine how challenging it is to drive! No system is perfect, I found intervals drop off dramatically outside of rush hour and on weekends. Several lines run in pedestrian hostile corridors by expressways which is disappointing, and large areas of the inner city are only served by bus. If the streetcar is ever expanded that might be remedied but it seems that won't be happening for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotjohns Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 I'm especially surprised to see some of what looks like Flxibles still kicking. Probably won't be for too long though. Looks like no a/c, but I'm not guessing Portland gets really hot in the summer. EDIT: Looking at Wikipedia anyway, looks like there are about 150 active Flxibles in their fleet, some of them 21 years old! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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