TriMet
TriMet recently announced that it is in the process of completing a round of organizational changes as part of the agency’s ongoing effort to address a significant structural budget gap and bring staffing levels in line with revenue.
In total, the agency eliminated 68 positions—more than half of which were vacant. Twenty-six employees were laid off. No union employees were laid off this round, but some were transferred to other jobs under the Working and Wage Agreement, as their positions were among those being eliminated.
These staff reductions, TriMet says, “come after months of difficult decisions and careful planning as part of a thorough workforce analysis. They were based on operational streamlining and are not a reflection of the contributions of individuals who held the positions. Where possible, reductions were made through attrition to reduce the need for involuntary separations.” For those employees who were laid off, TriMet is offering severance and reemployment assistance to support them. The staffing reductions follow earlier cost-cutting measures such as a hiring freeze, discretionary spending cuts and extensive efforts to identify internal efficiencies—work that continues today, the agency noted.
TriMet faces a $300 million shortfall between projected revenues and expenditures over the next several years, a challenge that, the agency says, “cannot be solved through short-term measures alone.” The internal budget cuts so far have decreased spending by $17.7 million. Those cuts include the reduction of staff, as well as internal reorganization of some work groups and reducing discretionary spending.
“These administrative cuts are part of a broader recovery plan to stabilize TriMet’s finances and ensure long-term sustainability so we can continue providing the public transit service our region needs for decades to come,” TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. said.
That plan, TriMet says, includes pursuing new funding sources, as well as exploring a fare increase and new revenue opportunities. The goal is to balance the agency’s budget by July 1, 2028.
“Layoffs are always a last resort,” Desue said. “We’ve worked hard to limit them as much as possible, but the financial realities we face made some layoffs unavoidable.”
Service changes being planned for Nov. 30, 2025, and March 2026 will mean fewer buses on some bus lines during times when ridership is lower, TriMet noted. “More extensive service cuts later in 2026 and 2027 will help bring service levels in line with our funding. As we scale back our transit service, staffing needs will naturally shrink. Again, any necessary employee reductions will first be made through attrition to limit the need for involuntary separations.”
“With rising costs and challenges around sustainable funding, our expenses have outpaced our revenue, despite our efforts to increase ridership and make riding easier and safer,” Desue added. “We remain committed to taking the action needed to protect the core transit services our community depends on.”
For service reductions, the agency says it has recently wrapped up an initial round of community engagement during which people shared feedback on the priorities they would like TriMet to consider in its service decisions. In January, TriMet will be releasing proposals for the broader service cuts to be implemented in the latter part of 2026 and will open up another round of community engagement to gather rider and public sentiment.
More information is available here.
Maryland Purple Line
All 28 of Maryland’s Purple Line Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) have arrived in New Carrollton, marking a major milestone for the project, which, officials say, “will knit communities, ease commutes, promote public transit, and link riders to 21 stations—from New Carrollton to Bethesda—and key destinations across the corridor.”
