Ride Connection

Last updated
Ride Connection
Ride Connection minibus at Hillsboro TC in 2014.jpg
A Ride Connection minibus at Hillsboro Central Transit Center in 2014
Overview
Locale Portland metropolitan area, Oregon, U.S.
Transit type Public transport bus service, paratransit
Website rideconnection.org
Operation
Began operationMay 26, 1988 (1988-05-26)

Ride Connection is a private, nonprofit organization that provides fixed bus route and paratransit services in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was founded as Volunteer Transport, Inc. on May 26, 1988.

Contents

History

Volunteer Transport, Inc. (VTI) was founded on May 26,1988.Inc. (VTI) on May 26, 1988, was established to provide accessible transportation for older adults and people with disabilities in the Portland metropolitan area. In 1990, it began partnering with TriMet to offer ADA-compliant paratransit services, enhancing accessibility for those unable to use fixed-route transit. [1] [2]

Paratransit services

Ride Connection provides paratransit services to anyone over the age of 60 or with a disability, and people with low income. [3] It complements TriMet's LIFT. [4]

Fixed-route networks

Ride Connection refers to its fixed bus route services as "Community Connectors". As of 2021, it operates five separate Community Connectors in communities mostly within Washington County. Riders may schedule an off-route pick up (within 12 mile of the route) by calling in. Ride Connection also partners with the Tillamook County Transportation District by subsidizing a Wave bus route between Banks, North Plains, and Portland. All services are free to use. In May 2021, Ride Connection expanded its services in Washington County. [5] [6]

GroveLink serves Forest Grove with two routes: West Loop and East Loop. A third, less-frequent route called the Employment Loop operates in the early mornings and early afternoons. GroveLink originated from a study that discovered a need for a more local service than TriMet bus route 57–TV Highway/Forest Grove, which had operated as the only public transit service within Forest Grove with a single route along Pacific Avenue (Oregon Route 8) eastward to Hillsboro and Beaverton. [7] It began operating on August 19, 2013. [8] [9]

The North Hillsboro Link began operating on November 16, 2015. [10]

Tualatin Shuttle

Tualatin Shuttle buses waiting at the Tualatin WES station Tualatin station platform view, showing gauntlet track (2015).jpg
Tualatin Shuttle buses waiting at the Tualatin WES station

The Tualatin Shuttle serves Tualatin with three, color-designated routes, all of which connect at the Tualatin WES station, served by TriMet's WES Commuter Rail. [11] The Tualatin Shuttle began as the "Tualatin Employment Shuttle", established by the Tualatin Chamber of Commerce in 1997. [12] Ride Connection took over its operations on October 1, 2014. [13] [14] The Blue Line operates a loop route west of the WES station within neighborhoods surrounding Herman Road. The Red Line operates another loop route south and east of the WES station with stops at the Tualatin Library and Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center. [15] In September 2021, Ride Connection introduced a third route that runs from Bridgeport Village, the WES station, Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center, and Borland Free Clinic. [16] [17] Service operates from Monday to Friday in coordination with WES train arrivals. [15]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Light Rail</span> Light rail system serving Portland, Oregon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">TriMet</span> Oregon government-owned corporation responsible for public transit in the Portland area

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon legislature, the district replaced five private bus companies that operated in the three counties: Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas. TriMet began operating a light rail system, MAX, in 1986, which has since been expanded to five lines that now cover 59.7 miles (96.1 km). It also operates the WES Commuter Rail line since 2009. It also provides the operators and maintenance personnel for the city of Portland-owned Portland Streetcar system. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 62,055,600, or about 208,900 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C-Tran (Washington)</span> Public transit operator in Clark County, Washington

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Blue Line</span> Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

The MAX Blue Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it connects Hillsboro, Beaverton, Portland, and Gresham. The Blue Line is the longest in the network; it travels approximately 33 miles (53 km) and serves 48 stations from Hatfield Government Center to Cleveland Avenue. It is the busiest of the five MAX lines, having carried an average 55,370 riders each day on weekdays in September 2018. Service runs for 2212 hours per day from Monday to Thursday, with headways of between 30 minutes off-peak and five minutes during rush hour. It runs later in the evening on Fridays and Saturdays and ends earlier on Sundays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Red Line</span> Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Portland, Oregon</span> Overview of movement of goods and passengers in Portland

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Portland is "an international pioneer in transit orientated developments."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaverton Transit Center</span> Transport hub located in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.

Beaverton Transit Center is a multimodal transport hub in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. Owned and operated by TriMet, it is served by bus, commuter rail, and light rail. The transit center is MAX Light Rail's 15th station eastbound on the Blue Line and 11th station eastbound on the Red Line. It is also the northern terminus of WES Commuter Rail and a hub for bus routes mostly serving the westside communities of the Portland metropolitan area. Beaverton Transit Center is situated on Southwest Lombard Avenue, just north of Southwest Canyon Road in central Beaverton, connected by walkway to Canyon Place Shopping Center. It recorded 9,709 average weekday boardings for all modes in fall 2018, making it TriMet's busiest transit center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsboro Central/Southeast 3rd Avenue Transit Center</span> Light rail station in Hillsboro, US

Hillsboro Central/Southeast 3rd Avenue Transit Center, also known as Hillsboro Transit Center, is a light rail station and transit center on the MAX Blue Line in Hillsboro, Oregon. Opened in 1998, the red-brick station is the 19th stop westbound on the Westside MAX, one stop from the western terminus of the line. Physically the largest station on the line, it is located at a former stop of the Oregon Electric Railway and includes artwork honoring the history of the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orenco station (TriMet)</span> Light rail station in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States

Orenco is a light rail station in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States, served by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system. It is the seventh station eastbound on the Blue Line and the third station eastbound on the Red Line, situated between the Quatama and Hawthorn Farm stations. The two-track, island platform station serves the Orenco Station neighborhood, which is considered a model for smart growth and transit-oriented development. It features a 125-space park and ride, a bike and ride, and connections to TriMet bus route 47–Baseline/Evergreen and Ride Connection's North Hillsboro Link.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Metro Area Regional Transit</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WES Commuter Rail</span> Commuter rail line in Oregon, United States

The Westside Express Service (WES) is a commuter rail line in the U.S. state of Oregon serving parts of Washington and Clackamas counties in the Portland metropolitan area. Owned by TriMet and operated by Portland & Western Railroad (P&W), the line is 14.7 miles (23.7 km) long and travels north–south from Beaverton to Wilsonville along a route just west of Oregon Highway 217 and Interstate 5 (I-5). WES consists of five stations and connects with MAX Light Rail at Beaverton Transit Center. Service operates on a 45-minute headway on weekdays during the morning and evening rush hours. In Spring 2022, WES saw a daily ridership of 420 passengers or about 109,000 riders annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Rosa CityBus</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tualatin station</span> Train station in Tualatin, Oregon, US

Tualatin is a train station in Tualatin, Oregon, United States, served by TriMet as part of WES Commuter Rail. Situated next to Hedges Green Shopping Center on Southwest Boones Ferry Road, it is the fourth station southbound on the commuter rail line, which operates between Beaverton and Wilsonville in the Portland metropolitan area's Washington County. The station includes a 129-space park and ride and connections to the Tualatin Shuttle and TriMet bus routes 76–Hall/Greenburg and 97–Tualatin–Sherwood Rd. WES connects with the Blue and Red lines of MAX Light Rail at Beaverton Transit Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bus lines</span>

The Blue Bus lines were a group of four affiliated privately owned companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial – no company using this or similar name existed in the Portland area – but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus lines", "Blue Lines", "blue bus" lines and "blue buses". The Blue Bus companies provided service only between Portland and suburbs outside the city, or within such suburbs, as transit service within the city of Portland was the exclusive franchise of the Portland Traction Company or, after 1956, the Rose City Transit Company (RCT). The "blue buses" were prohibited from making stops inside the city except to pick up passengers destined for points outside RCT's service area. The "blue" name was a reference to the paint scheme worn by most buses of the consortium. By contrast, city transit operator Rose City's buses wore a primarily red paint scheme.

The transportation system of Oregon is a cooperation of complex systems of infrastructure.

References

  1. "Ride Connection: The Early Years". Ride Connection. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. Burkhardt, Jon E.; Koffman, David; Murray, Gail (2003). Economic Benefits of Coordinating Human Service Transportation and Transit Services (Report). Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board. pp. 62–66. ISBN   0309087651 . Retrieved February 4, 2022 via Google Books.
  3. Doubleday, Russ (November 16, 2017). "Smaller transit agencies are a lifeline for many older adults and people with disabilities". Metro . Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  4. Selinger, Philip (October 2019). "Making History: 50 Years of Transit in the Portland Region" (PDF). TriMet. p. 53. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  5. Evanson, Wade (September 30, 2020). "Ride Connection plans expansion in Washington County". Hillsboro News-Times . Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  6. Evanson, Wade (May 6, 2021). "New Ride Connection routes up and running". Forest Grove News-Times . Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  7. Miller, Mark; Singer, Olivia (August 21, 2018). "'A success story all around' celebrates five years". Forest Grove News-Times. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  8. Smith, Jill Rehkopf (July 31, 2013). "GroveLink starts Aug. 19 in Forest Grove". Forest Grove News-Times. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  9. "2013: Forest Grove linked by GroveLink shuttle service". Forest Grove News-Times. December 26, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  10. Ryan, Jim (November 16, 2015). "No fare necessary: New bus service connects Orenco Station and North Hillsboro". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  11. Miller, Mark (July 18, 2016). "Tualatin Shuttle modifies route to align with new bus line". The Times (Tualatin) . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  12. "Transportation". Tualatin Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  13. Feldman, Caitlin (November 13, 2014). "Ride Connection assesses Tualatin Shuttle". The Times (Tualatin). Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  14. Pursinger, Geoff (June 24, 2015). "First-ever TriMet bus line planned between Sherwood and Tualatin". Sherwood Gazette . Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Connect with Tualatin Shuttle" (PDF). Ride Connection. May 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  16. "Ride Connection is expanding its Tualatin free shuttle service!" (PDF). Ride Connection. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  17. Kulla, Josh (October 6, 2021). "Ride Connection expands Tualatin free shuttle service". Tualatin Life. Retrieved February 3, 2022.