Oregon’s largest transit agency, the Portland metro area’s TriMet system, announced on Wednesday that 26 administrative employees were laid off. The agency said it eliminated 68 positions in total, and half of these roles were already vacant.

The staffing cuts are part of a broader strategy to fill TriMet’s $300 million budget gap over the next two years. Tia York, TriMet’s manager of media relations, said the agency is in a challenging financial position with lower ridership and higher expenses due to inflation.

“We’ve really been dealing with this situation since the pandemic and it has an effect on our budget. With fewer people riding, we are bringing in less money from fares,” York said.

The layoffs were the result of a comprehensive staffing analysis.

“We brought in an outside firm to take a look at our staffing levels and determine where we could make efficiencies,” York said.

More layoffs are possible as soon as July 2026, but no decisions have been made.

The agency will also reduce service on some bus routes beginning Nov. 30. Broader service cuts are planned next year.

“Cutting service is something we never want to do, and we understand that every cut really will affect someone,” said York.

The new schedule will reduce frequency on five bus lines in the evenings, when passenger loads are at their lowest.

“We saw opportunities to just reduce the frequency,” said York. “It helps save a little money, and it also provides the level of service that our data shows is required at that time in that area.”

More than 5,000 transit users responded to a recent TriMet rider survey ranking possible service reductions.

“No. 1 was to reduce duplication,” York said. “If there’s an area of town where maybe two or three bus lines serve riders, reduce those to one.”

Other strategies for meeting the budget shortfall include possibly increasing fares and reducing discretionary spending.

This year, many transit agencies in Oregon reduced service and laid off staff amid an ongoing transit funding lawsuit between the federal government and the state of Oregon.

In the summer, Rogue Valley Transportation District in Medford laid off 80 staff members and eliminated more than half their service.

Community Connections of Northeast Oregon, Coos County Area Transit, and Umpqua Public Transportation District also reduced bus services and laid off staff due to federal and state funding uncertainty.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/20/trimet-layoff-budget-gap/