Tualatin residents who ride the bus to the Tualatin Food Pantry or Borland Free Clinic will lose their transit connection Sunday, Aug. 23, when TriMet eliminates Line 76-Hall/Greenburg Rd service between Legacy Meridian Park Hospital and Oregon City Transit Center.
The cut removes the only bus route serving the SW Borland Road corridor, where both the food pantry and the free clinic are located. No replacement has been announced.
The food pantry serves more than 1,100 households monthly, according to Executive Director Danielle Schneider. Borland Free Clinic, at 3550 SW Borland Road, provided free medical, dental, and mental health care to 448 patients across 1,065 visits in 2024, according to the Access to Care Fund. The clinic is open Mondays and Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
As we reported July 14, the Aug. 23 overhaul touches 33 bus lines and the MAX Green Line regionwide. The Valley Times reported Thursday, July 30 the specific route details for Tualatin, including the Line 76 elimination.
What replaces what
Not all Tualatin service disappears. Line 97-Tualatin-Sherwood Rd will merge with Line 38-Boones Ferry Rd into a new route called Line 97-Tualatin-Sherwood/Kruse Way, running between Sherwood and Barbur Transit Center with a stop at the Tualatin Park & Ride. The route will travel SW Kruse Way, SW Boones Ferry Road, SW Monroe Parkway, and McNary Parkway.
Separately, Line 37-Lake Grove will combine with Line 96-Tualatin/I-5 to form a new Line 96-Boones Ferry Rd, serving Barbur Transit Center and PCC Sylvania Campus via Kerr Parkway.
That route will run only during morning and afternoon commute hours with limited stops.
Neither new route appears to serve the SW Borland Road corridor. Ride Connection operates a Tualatin Shuttle between the Park & Ride and WES station, but that service does not reach Borland Road either.
Budget pressure driving cuts
TriMet reported a $158 million budget gap as of July 1, according to the Valley Times, and is trying to close it within two years. The agency's broader structural deficit stands at $300 million, according to a TriMet press release in May.
Weekly bus service hours will drop about 3.1% and MAX hours will fall nearly 9%.
General Manager Sam Desue Jr. said in a May 27 press release that the agency must take drastic action now to ensure core transit service continues for generations, acknowledging that no leader wants to lay off employees during a regional economic downturn and high unemployment.
By the end of summer 2026, the agency will have eliminated about 570 positions, including 170 layoffs. TriMet expects to make another $44.4 million in internal spending cuts before next summer.
The Aug. 23 changes are the third round of cuts since November 2025. TriMet plans to begin community engagement in September on yet another round of reductions scheduled for summer 2027.
