TriMet Says No Diesel Buses By 2040, Wants Clean Energy Fleet

PORTLAND, OR – TriMet says that it is committed to moving away from diesel buses and moving to a clean energy fleet. The state's largest transit provider adopted a roadmap to get them to that point by 2040.

"TriMet is taking a significant step toward a greener future for our riders, the Portland metro area and the state," TriMet General Manager Doug Kelsey said. "The transition from buses that run on diesel to those powered by clean energy sources – a move the transit industry itself has yet to take – will come with challenges, but we are putting a stake in the ground today and moving ahead."

The agnecy's more than 80 bus lines provide service to more than 533-square-miles of Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington Counties. Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts.

The agency will purchase 80 electric buses and the infrastructure needed to keep them operating during a two-stage process. Sixty buses will be purchased in the first phase and 20 in the second.

The $53 million needed to make the purchases will come from the payroll tax created by the Keep Oregon Moving Act.

TriMet, which has the 11th largest bus fleet in the United States, currently operates 658 buses, more than 90 percent of which are diesel.

By 2040, they anticipate operating 1,037 buses with all being electric.

Photo via TriMet.