Portland Council Votes Transit Pass Pilot | Portland News

Portland’s city council is set to vote on a bold new plan to ease traffic chaos ahead of a major Interstate 5 closure: all 9,000 city employees will get free TriMet transit passes for a full year. With southbound lanes shut down for five weeks starting September 2026 for critical seismic upgrades, the city hopes to slash car use by tapping into a survey showing 80% of non-transit users would switch if it were free. The program, costing up to $245K in one-time rate hikes, would double the city’s annual transit budget to $495K — fully covered by existing department budgets. If approved, it kicks off immediately and could become a model for future urban mobility challenges. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/181c3aee1a8c8ea0