Getting Around Portland

The city of Portland has made transportation options a priority and provides several effective ways to get around town. It starts with a freeway system thoughtfully designed to carry volumes of traffic in cars, trucks and busses. A well-planned bus system committed to being on time is supported by light rail, trolleys and trams.

Portland Freeway System

Bus Service

TriMet buses serve Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. Many bus lines connect with MAX Light Rail and 16 lines provide Frequent Service (every 15 minutes or better, every day).

Trip planner for bus, streetcars and light rail.

Streetcars

The Portland Streetcar serves as an inner-city circulator and provides access to Good Samaritan Hospital, the Pearl District, the Central Library, the Arts and Cultural District, Portland State University, River Place, and South Waterfront.  Clearly-marked stops can be found every 2-3 blocks along the alignment.

About the Portland streetcar service.

Light Rail Train System

TriMet's MAX Light Rail system connects Portland, Gresham, Beaverton, Hillsboro and the Portland Airport. Trains run every 5-15 minutes roughly between 4:30 a.m. and midnight. Opening in 2009, a new MAX light rail line to Clackamas County—dubbed the "Green Line"—will run the length of the Mall, connecting Union Station and Portland State University.

Portland Light Rail website.

Aerial Tram

The Tram cabins travel 3,300 linear feet between the South Waterfront terminal adjacent to the OHSU Center for Health & Healing, and the upper terminal at the Kohler Pavilion on OHSU's main campus. Traveling at 22 miles per hour, the Tram cabins rise 500 feet for the three-minute trip over I-5, the Lair Hill neighborhood and the Southwest Terwilliger Parkway.

Portland Aerial Tram website.

Bicycle

The busses, streetcars and light rail are bike accessible so you can combine biking with your trip for more flexibility. Additionally some stop locations offer bike storage in completely enclosed lockers.

For the convenience of our users, we've included common misspellings and
abbreviations such as oragon, oregan, origon, or, ore, oreg, oregon and oregone.