Portland's Division Street Express Likely Delayed to 2022

To close a $14 million budget shortfall, TriMet may scale back aspects of the planned bus line.

1 minute read

February 8, 2018, 7:00 AM PST

By Elana Eden


Portland, Oregon

Division Transit Project / TriMet

"A proposal to run a high-capacity express line bus along Southeast Division Street between Gresham and Portland faces a $14 million shortfall, and resolving it could delay the project by a year," reports Elliot Njus for Oregon Live. The line's new opening date would be in 2022. 

The Division Transit Project—described by transit writer Jarrett Walker as not-quite-a-BRT—would run between Downtown Portland and the Cleveland Park & Ride in Gresham, a route that sees more than 10,000 rides every day. The new line is expected to cut travel times by 20 percent. 

The cost of new, larger buses, as well as infrastructure improvements along the route, have brought the project's budget from $175 million to $189 million, potentially making it ineligible for federal funding this year. The project has already been scaled down to cut costs, and further reductions are on the table:

Some possible cost-cutting options include redesigning certain intersections to minimize the need to buy roadside real-estate and reducing the height of boarding platforms at stops, which would require riders to step up to the bus. The rapid line buses would have ramps.

Friday, January 19, 2018 in Oregon Live

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

6 hours ago - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

7 hours ago - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder