Portland Streetcar, Inc. - Overview

Portland Streetcar is owned and operated by the City of Portland in partnership with TriMet, which contributes a portion of operating funding.

Portland Streetcar is managed by the Portland Office of Transportation, under the direction of the Commissioner-in-charge of Transportation. The City of Portland contracts with Portland Streetcar, Inc. to construct and operate the Streetcar system. Portland Streetcar, Inc. is a private non-profit corporation.

The Streetcar system is staffed by a combination of City of Portland employees, TriMet employees and consulting staff from Portland Streetcar, Inc.

Citizen Advisory Committee

The Commissioner-in-charge of Transportation has appointed a Citizen Advisory Committee to advise the Commissioner, City Council, and Streetcar management on matters involving planning, design and operation of the system.

Extension Under Construction

The Portland Streetcar Loop, which will extend Streetcar service across the Willamette to OMSI, broke ground August 2009 with substantial completion of construction projected for the end of 2011. This project was the first Streetcar project ever to be awarded a Small Starts grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

Planned Extension

The Willamette Shoreline project, which would extend service to Lake Oswego, is in the planning phase. Since this project is seeking Federal funding, the planning efforts are conducted under the auspices of Metro, governed by a steering committee composed of officials from local governments in the areas served by the potential extensions. The project has a Project Advisory Committee composed of citizens and stakeholders in the affected areas.

Streetcar System Concept Plan

The City of Portland is in the process of developing a City-wide Streetcar System Concept Plan which will identify corridors for consideration for future expansions of the Streetcar system. This planning effort is being managed by the Portland Office of Transportation in coordination with both the Metro/TriMet regional High Capacity Transit System Plan and the Portland Plan.

The Streetcar System Concept Plan effort is governed by a System Advisory Committee appointed by the Commissioner-in-charge of Transportation. The Streetcar System Concept Plan was presented to the City Council and adopted on September 9, 2009

Facilities and Staff

The Portland Streetcar maintenance facility, which is located at 1516 NW Northrup (under I-405) houses the staff of Portland Streetcar. Staff includes: 24 Operators, 3 Superintendents and 5 Maintenance Technicians from TriMet, a Manager, Assistant Manager of Maintenance, Manager of Operations and Safety, Assistant Manager of Operations and two stop and car cleaners from the City of Portland.

Completing the staff is a Project Manager from the City and Executive Director, Office Manager, Assistant office personnel and Community Relations Manager from Shiels Obletz Johnsen.

Portland Streetcar has a total of ten (10) Skoda and Inekon Streetcars housed at the maintenance facility, as well as a locally-built prototype streetcar from United Streetcar, LLC., a division of Oregon Iron Works.