TriMet May Suspend Its Downtown Service During Friday's Anti-Trump Protests

MAX and bus lines in downtown may not operate during protests.

Anti-Trump protest in November 2016. (William Gagan)
By Rachel Monahan

Beginning at noon on Friday, TriMet may suspend bus and MAX service in Downtown Portland as the Inauguration Day protests kick off.

In November, after Republican Donald Trump's victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Portland protesters blocked streets as well as highways.

At a news conference, TriMet retreated from an earlier statement that the agency would suspend public transit service starting at noon on Friday, KATU reported.

In a series of tweets, Mayor Ted Wheeler said he had nothing to do with the transit agency's decision.

"TriMet, an independent entity, makes their own decisions regarding their operations," Wheeler tweeted. "I have spoken to Neil McFarlane, TriMet's general manager. I told him we are well-prepared to minimize disruptions and protect riders."

Wheeler announced yesterday he planned to crack down on protesters who block public transit routes and highways.

The Portland Police Bureau advised transit riders to seek alternative routes during the protests:

TriMet spokeswoman Angela Murphy, issued an apology for sending out information on a plan to suspend the bus and MAX lines.
She says the agency “sent out the wrong information originally,” owing to “miscommunication internally, that got communicated externally.”
“It was just an option,” Murphy says. “That wasn’t the finalized plan. We jumped the gun. This was an option that we looked at—we looked at the downtown core and how things had escalated. This was the worst case scenario option. We apologize for sending it out.”

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