Line 51 Still Climbs SW Vista. It Now Runs on a School Bell Schedule.

The last weekday bus up the hill from SW Vista & Broadway leaves at 4:04 p.m. The one before it leaves at 3:59. Before those two there is a single morning trip at 8:03, and that is the whole day.

That is TriMet's Line 51-Vista/Sunset Blvd, the route that serves SW Vista, SW Patton and Council Crest, under the schedule that took effect Nov. 1, 2026. The buses are the same and so is the route. What changed in August is who the route is for. TriMet's approved plan says Line 51 now runs only "trips intended to transport students to Lincoln High School and Ida B. Wells High School," and it has no Saturday or Sunday service. Line 63 at Washington Park is scheduled to follow it in August 2027.

A Day on Line 51, as Printed

These are TriMet's key stops on the current weekday schedule toward Bertha & Barbur or Council Crest, effective Nov. 1, 2026:

Downhill toward the city is just as compressed. On TriMet's schedule toward SW Columbia & 18th, the bus reaches SW Patton & Greenway at 7:58 and 8:00 a.m. and at 3:59 and 4:18 p.m., and it arrives at SW Columbia & 18th at 8:13, 8:15, 4:11 and 4:30. SW Council Crest & Tualatin gets one trip a day going toward Bertha & Barbur, at 4:09 p.m., and two going toward downtown, at 7:51 a.m. and 4:11 p.m.

If you are getting home from downtown at 5:30 on a weekday, or heading to Council Crest on a Saturday, Line 51 no longer has a trip for you.

Eleven Trips, Before August

The schedule TriMet had posted in May 2026 tells you what the route used to be. Toward SW Columbia & 18th it listed 11 weekday trips. The first left at 5:55 a.m. and the last reached SW Columbia & 18th at 6:46 p.m. Five morning trips were spread over about two hours, and the afternoon trips ran from 3:36 p.m. into the evening commute.

Set the two timetables side by side and the cut looks less like a thinning and more like a sort. The trips that reach SW Columbia & 18th at 8:13 and 8:15 a.m. are on both schedules. So is the trip that arrives at 4:30 p.m. The trips that went away are the ones that fit an office day: the 6:24, 6:58 and 7:39 a.m. arrivals, the 4:48, 5:27 and 6:04 p.m. arrivals, and the 6:46 p.m. arrival that closed out the day. TriMet kept the trips that line up with a school bell and cut the trips that line up with a workday.

Line 51 was already a weekday rush-hour route before August, with no weekend service listed on TriMet's route page at the time. The August change took a commuter route on the hill and turned it into a student route.

Why TriMet Picked This Route

TriMet opened this round of cuts with a January 2026 news release that described a $300 million annual budget gap and said service would be cut where fewer people ride.

TriMet's own numbers show where Line 51 stood. In the agency's Winter 2024/2025 ridership and productivity table, Line 51 averaged 110 weekday boardings and 6.7 boardings per vehicle hour, which ranked 68th in that table.

In the March 25 presentation to TriMet's board, cuts were grouped into categories. One was called "Only Serve School Trips." TriMet rated it low on existing rides, low on cost savings and low on degree of impact, and survey respondents had placed that kind of cut in the "Cut first" group. The presentation named two lines for it: 51 and 63.

That category is the most useful thing to know about this cut. A school-trip-only line saves TriMet relatively little money, and TriMet judged that it costs riders relatively little, so it is one of the first tools the agency reaches for on low-ridership routes. Both of the lines it was applied to serve the West Hills.

The Portland Tribune's preview the week the changes took effect listed Line 51's reduction to high school commute times among the changes for that weekend. The weekday schedule now posted is the one in the table above.

Line 63 Gets the Same Treatment in August 2027

Line 63 runs on weekdays from the Washington Park MAX Station. It takes SW Knights Boulevard, SW Fairview Boulevard and SW Park Place down toward Providence Park and downtown. TriMet describes it as the bus between the International Rose Test Garden and Japanese Garden, Pioneer Square and Providence Park.

TriMet's service changes page says Line 63 continues as it runs today until August 2027. After that it will operate only at high school commute times, only between Lincoln High School and Washington Park, under a new name: 63-SW Fairview Blvd.

So this holiday season is the last one with weekday Line 63 service on its current route. Two Washington Park events fall inside it:

• ZooLights runs Nov. 20, 2026 through Jan. 3, 2027 and opens at 4:30 p.m. It is closed Nov. 17–19, Nov. 24–26 and Dec. 25. A ZooLights ticket works as TriMet fare on bus, MAX and Portland Streetcar on the date of admission, through Jan. 3, 2027. The Oregon Zoo suggests parking free at Sunset Transit Center and riding MAX one stop east.
• Holiday Weekends at the Portland Japanese Garden run Nov. 27–29, Dec. 4–6 and Dec. 11–13. They include winter decorations, furoshiki gift wrapping and an origami ornament, all with regular admission.

Parking in Washington Park costs $2.52 an hour, up to $15.12 a day. Paid hours are 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., so a ZooLights evening that starts at 4:30 falls mostly inside them. The park's parking page notes that rates and hours may change during special events.

Where the Other Routes Run

With Line 51 cut back, the all-day, every-day buses near Portland Heights run along the edges of the hill. Lines 6, 8 and 15 are frequent. Line 55 runs only at weekday rush hours, and MAX is a train line:

• Line 6 runs through Goose Hollow on SW Jefferson and Columbia every 15 minutes or less for most of the day, every day. Its stop at SW Jefferson & 17th is Stop ID 14408.
• Line 8 runs between the city center and Marquam Hill by way of SW 5th, Caruthers, 6th and Terwilliger, also every 15 minutes or less for most of the day, every day.
• Line 15 links the city center and Nob Hill along Washington and Alder, Burnside and NW 23rd at the same frequency.
• Line 55-Hamilton covers SW Scholls Ferry, Hamilton, Dosch and Sunset, but only at weekday rush hours.
• MAX Red and Blue lines stop at the underground Washington Park station, with elevators close to the zoo entrance.

None of these climbs SW Vista. Since August, the only bus on Vista itself is Line 51's few school-hour trips. The everyday paths through the neighborhood have shifted before; our summer post on the hill's reroutes followed a trail closure and a playground rebuild that changed how people move through Portland Heights.

What Comes Next on TriMet's Calendar

The next round of cuts is already moving. At an Oct. 28 board strategy session, TriMet said its leadership team had committed to a $22 million reduction in the FY2028 proposed budget. Even with that reduction, the agency would still draw $54 million from its fund balance. The reduction will combine targeted cost cuts, targeted service reductions and a possible revenue source within TriMet's control.

That session laid out this timeline:

1. Nov. 11: board retreat with a high-level review of service reduction proposals
2. Dec. 9: board meeting with a budget process update
3. Early January: board education sessions to review the service cut proposals in detail
4. Jan. 6: public outreach on service reductions begins
5. Jan. 27: board meeting with a budget process update
6. March: proposed budget released at the board meeting

Last winter's round shows that comments can change the outcome. TriMet's service cuts page reports that its January 2026 survey and 16 virtual and in-person open houses drew 8,138 responses. The agency then revised its proposals for 12 bus lines, including keeping Line 19 service along NE Glisan. Public outreach for the next round is set to begin Jan. 6, and the service cuts page is where TriMet has posted its proposals, survey links and timelines.

Getting around without a car has always been part of daily life in Portland Heights, and changes like the Line 51 cut belong in any honest picture of the neighborhood. If you're thinking about how a move on or off the hill fits your routine, Erika Wrenn knows these blocks and is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.