Ridership Numbers Below Target on Portland's One-Year-Old Orange Line

Eliot Njus reports on underwhelming ridership figures for the MAX Orange Line light rail service between Portland and Milwaukie. "Forecasts used to help justify federal funding for the project called for 17,000 average weekday trips in 2016. The

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October 15, 2016, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Tilikum Crossing

Christopher Boswell / Shutterstock

Eliot Njus reports on underwhelming ridership figures for the MAX Orange Line light rail service between Portland and Milwaukie.

"Forecasts used to help justify federal funding for the project called for 17,000 average weekday trips in 2016. The Orange Line has so far averaged less than 11,000," according to Njus.

The Orange Line opened to fanfare in September 2015, making picturesque use of the Tilikum Crossing.

Njus notes that auspicious timing of the ridership numbers: "A proposal for light-rail to Tigard faces a vote in that city that could torpedo the whole project. If it moves forward, the entire region will likely vote on a funding measure that includes the MAX expansion."

Thursday, October 13, 2016 in The Oregonian

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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

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