Portland police respond to reports of a stabbing on a TriMet MAX Light Rail train Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Southeast Portland, Ore.
Photo courtesy of the Portland Police Bureau
The chief safety officer of TriMet said the Portland metro transit agency is beefing up security to reassure riders its buses and trains are safe, after recent violent attacks.
“We’re dedicated to improving our ridership experience, particularly when it comes to safety,” said Andrew Wilson, executive director of safety and security at TriMet. “We’ve now doubled the amount of security officers on the system since 2022 to a total number of 315.”
This came after a Sept. 2 attack in which two Black teenagers were stabbed on a TriMet MAX light rail train in Southeast Portland. On Sept. 8, a grand jury indicted Adrian Cummins on 12 charges, including bias, for the attack.
In addition to the unarmed private security guards, TriMet pays for local police officers who are assigned through the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office to patrol buses, trains and platforms as part of the Transit Police Division. But the agency has struggled to fill those positions, with a reduction from 25 to 15 officers from 2021 to 2022, according to a recent annual report issued by the Transit Police Division.
“We’re slowly going to be building those numbers, … but we are dependent upon local law enforcement agencies to be able to obtain those personnel. And so as a result of that, as they are down officers, it’s very difficult for them to commit officers to transit,” Wilson said.
TriMet recently adopted a nearly $2 billion budget for the current fiscal year, which ends next July. Starting in January, TriMet will impose a 12% increase for some adult fares. Meanwhile, the transit agency is slowly working to increase its ridership, which was down 30% from pre-pandemic levels.
However, Wilson said he thinks the increased security presence on the platforms and on buses and trains is helping bring back passengers.
The Hollywood Transit Center in Southeast Portland with a TriMet vehicle circling around on June 29, 2023.
Caden Perry / OPB
“We hear that, from our riders, when they see a TriMet employee, a TriMet security officer, in close proximity to them, their experience is better. So we’re winning back our ridership related to that,” he said.
In July, the TriMet board of directors approved more than $1 million in additional funding to hire a second deputy district attorney and two investigators in the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. They will be assigned to work on TriMet cases.
Despite the enhanced prosecutorial tools and hiring more security officers, open-air drug use on TriMet vehicles and property continues to be a challenge.
TriMet recently partnered with University of Washington researchers to measure levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine exposure through surface and air sampling on several of its MAX trains. The monitoring took place between March and June and also included Seattle public transit providers.
“It was detected but incredibly, incredibly small amounts, and not enough … to cause fentanyl or methamphetamine toxicity,” said Dr. Robert Hendrickson, a professor of emergency medicine and medical toxicologist at Oregon Health & Science University.
“It doesn’t reflect a risk to TriMet passengers or employees, but it does reflect that people are handling and using drugs in public places,” he added.
Andrew Wilson and Dr. Robert Hendrickson spoke to “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller. Click play to listen to the full conversation: