By Hadley Cress ‘27

In July 2025, TriMet announced they were planning extreme budget cuts due to several factors, the main one being the $300 million gap between revenue and expenses.

Whether impacting underclassmen taking the bus to Cedar Hills or school trips using public transportation, a change in the bus system would cause a ripple effect throughout the community because of how many students rely on it.

TriMet’s budget deficit has grown significantly due to a lack of riders, inflation, and increased maintenance. After the pandemic, a large number of the employed switched to working remotely, decreasing the population of frequent TriMet users.

A rise in security due to “ongoing safety challenges,” according to TriMet, has also increased its spending. While security can be costly, it is difficult to encourage riders to take the bus if the system feels unsafe or unsanitary.

As a result of the budget cuts, many of the frequent bus lines will be shortened or run less often. While TriMet has collected data to minimize the impact of the budget cuts, there are still significant changes that will affect the greater Portland area, as well as Catlin Gabel School (CGS) students.

One of the most impactful changes to our community will be the budget cuts to Line 20. This is the only bus line that runs directly to CGS, making it vital for students who rely on public transit and those wanting to go off campus to Cedar Hills.

Currently, Line 20 runs from the Beaverton Transit Center, through the Sunset Transit Center, to the Gresham Transit Center every 15 minutes along Burnside/Barnes. The updated route would have the line run from Sunset Transit Center to Gresham Transit Center, cutting off access to Cedar Hills from Line 20. To accommodate people wishing to travel to the Beaverton Transit Center, TriMet is expanding Line 76 to encompass transportation from Beaverton Transit Center to Sunset Transit Center.

Another major change to Line 20 is that it will now only arrive every 30 minutes, making it more difficult for students who rely on the transit system to be on time to school. Max Blanksby, a junior at CGS, noted that the change in frequency of the bus line could make him late for school, saying “If I miss a bus, I’ll probably be late to school, versus now [prior to the budget cuts], if I miss a bus, I’ll probably be just scraping by.”

The bus arriving less frequently is not the only change to Line 20; the route of the bus is being updated as well. As mentioned previously, the updated route would no longer run through the Beaverton Transit Center, which would require students to transfer to the 76 if they wanted to take the bus to Cedar Hills.

With these new budget cuts, freshman Leo Bartlo is concerned about having enough time to go to Cedar Hills if students need to transfer buses. “That might just add the amount of time to make it not possible to go during breaks,” he said.

For students who are concerned about this impact on their school transportation, TriMet has scheduled a first read/public hearing on the subject for March 25, 2026, which will offer more insight into their decision. Additionally, a more in-depth look at all of the lines being affected by the budget cuts is available on their website here. These changes are expected to go into effect on August 23, 2026.

Changes to Bus Line 20 due to budget cuts