September 7, 2005

Eastside MAX carries 199 million in 19 years

Line's 19th anniversary reached in September

TriMet's Eastside MAX Blue Line has carried 199 million rides since opening in 1986 as the Portland area's first light rail line. The 15-mile line, which turned 19 years old this month, links Gresham to downtown Portland.

Eastside MAX ridership has grown steadily from 19,500 weekday rides in its first year to 41,100 daily trips last year (ending June 30, 2005). The line carried a total of 16.5 million trips for the year.

Since opening, Eastside MAX trains have traveled about 18.5 million miles, equivalent to 2,334 trips around the earth at the equator.

MAX light rail system

With the 2004 addition of the Interstate MAX Yellow Line through North Portland, TriMet's MAX system covers 44 miles, and has 65 light rail stations.

The overall MAX system carried 31.9 million rides last year, and averaged about 97,000 rides each weekday.