November 13, 2006

Holiday travelers ride Red Line to PDX

Thanksgiving busiest travel time for Airport MAX

Thanksgiving season is the Airport MAX Red Line's busiest time of year as holiday travelers find the trains an easy way to get to and from Portland International Airport.

The Red Line runs between PDX and Beaverton Transit Center every 15 minutes, every day from 5 a.m. until midnight. The Red Line is an easy transfer for Blue and Yellow line riders. It costs $2.

Thanksgiving ridership records

People riding the Red Line to and from the airport station reached record levels during previous Thanksgiving holidays:

• 2005 – a record 4,220 rode to and from the airport on two separate days: the Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving. That's 15 percent higher than the previous record set in 2004.
• 2004 – 3,670 people rode to and from the airport on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. That's a 5 percent increase from 2003.

Annual airport rides top a million

For the first time, more than 1 million people rode MAX to or from the airport in the last fiscal year (ending June 30, 2006). Airport MAX opened September 10, 2001.