Roll out the green carpet

TriMet’s new Frequent Express bus service

An extra-long, bright green bus with an articulated mid-section waits at a bus stop on Division Street in Southeast Portland.

TriMet’s new “bendy” buses are bright green and easy to spot along Division Street. | Photo via TriMet

Have you seen the bright green “bendy” buses traveling along Division Street between Portland + Gresham? They’re part of TriMet’s new Frequent Express (FX) service, which officially launches on Sun., Sept. 18. Drivers have been training with the vehicles to be sure the service is a smooth, well-oiled machine by the time it opens to the public.

The FX service will replace the standard bus service for Division Street’s Line 2, with buses arriving every 12 minutes for most of every day. The route — renamed “FX2-Division” — opens the same day TriMet will cancel or reduce 10 different bus lines as it grapples with a driver shortage.

“FX will speed up transit service, creating a more convenient transportation option to reach jobs, education, community services and recreational opportunities,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr.

🚌 Bendy buses
Thirty-one articulated buses (we also dig the term “wiggle wagons”) — are joining TriMet’s fleet, though this isn’t the first time such vehicles have been used in Portland. Here’s what to know about the new 60-ft-long FX buses built by Nova Bus:

115 person capacity
Three doors with Hop readers
Priority seating for seniors + people with disabilities
Two internal bike racks, accessible via the rear door
Fueled by renewable “green” diesel made from natural fats, vegetable oils + greases

You can take a 360° virtual tour of an FX bus, or ride one for free during a community-wide celebration hosted by TriMet on Sat., Sept. 17.

A TriMet Frequent Express bus stop in Southeast Portland, with bright green and blue coloring, customized glass panels, and a transit tracker display. — The new FX stations feature large boarding platforms, weather protection + nighttime lighting.

🚦 Signals + stations
Transit Signal Priority technology gives the new buses the green light first at 58 intersections on Division Street, so travelers can get where they need to go quickly — even during rush hour.

The FX bus shelters were designed with each unique neighborhood in mind. They feature glass panels made by Moon Shadow Glass in Sandy, TransitTracker displays, seating + trash cans. See all the new stops on the FX2-Division route, as well as the old stops that are being phased out.

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Today

“Godzilla” (1954) | Fri., Sept. 9 | 7 p.m. | Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St. | $8 | Catch a screening of the black-and-white mother of all monster movies.

Saturday

Hooking for Hunger Sturgeon Derby | Sat., Sept. 10 | 5 a.m.-10 p.m. | 1421 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens | $25+ | Register by Friday to join this family-friendly fishing derby along the Columbia River, with cash prizes, a silent auction, dinner + an after party; proceeds support efforts to end local food insecurity. 🎣
Ridgefield Oktoberfest | Sat., Sept. 10 | 3-11 p.m. | 113-131 S. Main Ave., Ridgefield | $15+ | All ages are welcome at this celebration of German food, beer + music, with axe throwing, archery, a corn hole tournament, wiener dog races, and more.

Sunday

Buckman Makers Market & Bar Hop | Sun., Sept. 11 | 1-6 p.m. | Various locations in the Buckman neighborhood | Free | Forty-five makers will be selling handmade goods, from jewelry, knits, home decor + more. 🛒

Monday

Rice Paper Batik 1 with Carolyn Macpherson | Mon., Sept. 12 | 6-8 p.m. | Vancouver Art Space, 8700 NE Vancouver Mall Dr. #283, Vancouver | $65 | Paint an unusual + visually dynamic piece of art using rice paper and watercolors. 🎨

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

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100+ MORE EVENTS

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reAlpha is inviting Portlanders to become shareholders in their entire short-term rental portfolio. Read: potential profit from short-term rental properties without the stress of managing, owning or maintaining. No changing the sheets or dealing with bookings? Sounds good.*

INVEST

Weather

92º | Red flag warning | 1% chance of rain

Sunrise + Sunset

Rise: 6:42 a.m.
Set: 7:32 p.m.

Sports

NBA superstar LeBron James visited Nike’s world headquarters in Beaverton this week to celebrate the grand opening of the LeBron James Innovation Center. The 84,000-sqft building houses a basketball court, endurance track, 100-meter straightaway + artificial turf training pitch — all for sports science research. 🏀 (KOIN)

Film

The first trailer for “Wendell & Wild” — a dark fantasy comedy horror film made by Netflix’s Portland-based stop-motion animation studio — dropped this week. If you liked “The Nightmare Before Christmas” + “Coraline,” then this one’s for you; they share the same director (Henry Selick). Watch it in theaters and on Netflix starting Fri., Oct. 28. 🎬 (Portland Monthly)

Cause

Registration is now open for Strut Your Kidney — an annual dash to raise funds for Portland-based Northwest Kidney Kids, which supports children with chronic kidney disease + their families. Create a team for the 10k, 5k, or one-mile fun run on Sun., Sept. 18 at Sellwood Riverfront Park (or join virtually). 👟

Biz

World, you’re about to get 26 more reasons to love Oregon wine. Newberg’s A to Z Wineworks + its subsidiary brand Rex Hill have been purchased by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates — the largest winery in the PNW with a distribution reach of 100+ countries. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

Development

Notice anything new lately? Our newsletter is currently “under construction” (you can read more on that here), so please bear with us as we fix some of these pesky formatting issues. If you see anything amiss over the next few weeks, please don’t be shy and pass it along. 🚧

Learn

Guten morgen, Portland. If you’re ready to brush up on that high school German, do it the effective (and fun) way with Babbel. Its speech recognition technology will even help you nail your pronunciation + accent from the get-go. Bonus: Get 55% off your subscription — for a limited time only.*

Correction

Yesterday, we mistakenly wrote that the boats used in this weekend’s Portland Dragon Boat Festival are Taiwan-style, when in fact they are the more sleek Hong Kong-style. Thanks to reader Angie C. for pointing that out. (Wikimotors)

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Travel and Outdoors

Introducing: Tumwata Village

The Willamette Falls plunge into a bowl-shaped depression in the middle of the Willamette River, surrounded by former paper mill infrastruture.

The old Blue Heron paper mill buildings surrounding Willamette Falls will be torn down. | Photo by PDXtoday

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has chosen a new name for its 23-acre site near Willamette Falls in Oregon City: Tumwata Village. The name honors the native name for the falls, tumwata, as well as the tribe’s ancestral ties to the area.

The site was once home to the Clowewalla village of the Willamette band of Tumwaters and the Kosh-huk-shix village of the Clackamas people, who were forcibly relocated by the federal government in response to the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855.

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s acquisition of the former Blue Heron paper mill in 2019 paved the way for the tribe’s return to their role as caretakers of the land and falls. Demolition work at the site began a year ago as part of the tribe’s vision to restore the area, both culturally + environmentally.

Learn more about the tribe’s long-term goals for the area at Tumwata Village’s new website.

THE WRAP

Today’s edition was written by Cambrie.

Editor’s pick: Vaux’s swifts aren’t the only birds coming home to roost in Portland right now — the crows seem to be back in large numbers. I had dinner at The Hoxton hotel’s rooftop restaurant this week during sunset + watched countless murders wheel across the sky. Kind of a cool thing to see — as long as you don’t look up at the wrong time.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Portland is home to an incredible avian phenomenon that happens every September.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Cambrie Juarez, Ben McBee, Trevor Peters, Britt Thorson, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea, Eva Limmer | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

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