WES Works! Celebrating a Year of Service

TriMet TV Episode 38 · February 2, 2010 · 3:07

WES is a year old on Feb. 2, 2010. Riders say WES is fast, comfortable and friendly; plus, they can spend more time doing what they want, instead of fighting traffic. Have you tried WES yet?

Text transcript of this episode

TriMet's Westside Express Service Commuter Rail Line (WES for short) is a year old.

WES gives commuters in Washington and Clackamas counties roughly thirty minutes of "WES Time' to spend however they like, instead of fighting traffic. When WES first opened we asked riders, "What will you do with your WES Time"? Now after a year's worth of traveling, we're checking in to find out what it's been like.

MICHAEL: "Well, the convenience, I get to do what I want in the mornings and evenings, I can read, I can catch up on email. I can watch TV shows that I can download to my PDA. Just a lot of free time that I normally would have spent snarling at the traffic."

KATHY: "It was really easy, the place where I work - the front of door of the building is about a hundred feet from the Hall Nimbus stop. So obviously I'd be very dumb not to try it once. And I tried it the first day it was open to the general public and I really loved it."

HOLLIS: "You know it's always going to be on time. You don't have to worry about traffic."

CRAIG: "I was employed by Sterling Savings Bank and they offered a subsidy for the transit, and I'd been reading about WES for awhile, thought I'd give it a try to see if it would work out. Worked out fine."

SUN: "Get on the WES. Find out how comfortable, how awesome the service they provide and very very low cost. And it only takes 18 minutes (17-18 min) from Beaverton to Tualatin."

MICHAEL: "I've tried to encourage riders like my wife to get on WES, by just getting on it and riding it and finding out about the convenience factor."

HOLLIS: "It's real comfortable and quiet on the inside. If you have a laptop, they have free Wi-Fi."

KATHY: "Well the reduced stress level. The fact that you do something productive. I've done one knit hoody and three green shopping bags in transit going and coming."

CRAIG: "The advantage of commuting via WES over car, number one, there's less stress. You know that you're going to get to work on time and not be stuck on 1-5 waiting or listenting to a great deal of frustration. And I'm making a little bit of a contribution to reducing pollution and traffic congestion."

SUN: "I met more than several different conductors, they're all awesome. Ride WES! If you work from Beaverton to Wilsonville, please ride WES and you're gonna love it. They're absolutely awesome."

WES runs every 30 minutes, on weekdays, from 5:20 to 10am and 3:30 to 8pm connecting Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, and Wilsonville. Come aboard and gain a hassle-free hour a day. To learn more about WES, visit trimet.org/WES.