TriMet on Track?
TriMet is the municipal corporation providing public transportation for much of the three counties in the Portland metro area. A national leader in providing transit service, TriMet’s light-rail and bus system carries more people than any other U.S. transit system its size and has won national awards for design, technological innovation and delivery of services. TriMet’s success in boosting ridership is partly indicated by the fact that 70 percent of Portland metro-area riders voluntarily choose public transportation, leaving their cars at home.
And yet TriMet faces considerable challenges – both now and in the future. In addition to public safety concerns on its light-rail lines and stations, TriMet is confronting skyrocketing fuel prices, traffic congestion on shrinking road capacity, a growing population of elderly riders with special needs and increased demand for more lines and more frequent service, particularly in suburban areas. On Friday, December 7, Fred Hansen, general manager of TriMet, will discuss what the agency is doing to confront these challenges.
Prior to becoming general manager of TriMet, Hansen served as Oregon’s deputy state treasurer, director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and deputy administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A Beaverton native, he attended Sunset High School, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and a master’s degree from McMaster University.
