News

Portland Streetcar was awarded an Alice Award by The Street Trust Saturday evening for its innovative Rider Ambassador program. Shared with community partners at OPAL, the award recognizes the program’s community outreach approach to riders experiencing homelessness or living with mental illness or addiction.

“We’re encouraged that our team is being recognized for taking a different approach,” said Dan Bower, Executive Director of Portland Streetcar, Inc. “Instead of having security guards throwing people off a streetcar, we’ve worked hard to find a way that helps all riders maintain a safe, pleasant experience while serving some of our community’s most vulnerable people.”

Started in early 2022, the Rider Ambassador program provides a non-security presence onboard the streetcar working with more vulnerable riders to provide helpful items and connect them with social services. Rider Ambassadors carry backpacks containing bottled water, snack bars, dry socks, hygiene products, first aid kits, naloxone and other useful gear depending on weather and conditions.

Rider Ambassadors are trained in first aid, mental health first aid and other applicable disciplines as gaps are identified. The program comprises a team of six who work in pairs to ride the streetcar. Funded by a Federal Transit Administration demonstration and research grant for one year, the program is currently being evaluated for ongoing funding and potential expansion.

“We are a completely new approach to community safety on public transit, and approach that focuses on and prioritizes the needs of people first,” Rider Ambassador Josh Laurente told the crowd as he accepted the award. “When we go to work, we’re not armed with anything else than a backpack full of water, snacks, supplies and knowledge of the supportive services and resources available to people in our city, a helping hand and a desire to just be there for other people.”

Portland Streetcar began service in 2001 through Portland’s central city and runs on 100% renewable electricity. The system serves thousands of riders per day with accessible, frequent transit.

The Street Trust is a nonprofit organization that advocates for multimodal transportation options that prioritize safety, accessibility, equity, and climate justice in the Portland Metro Region.

Celebrate the grand opening of TriMet's Frequent Express bus line, connecting Southeast Portland and Gresham along Division Street. Join TriMet in celebrating FX's debut at three festival locations, complete with food, activities, entertainment, and free FX rides!

Portland Streetcar will be free all day Saturday, September 17, to celebrate the new link in our regional transit network. A and B Loop streetcars will connect to the FX at OMSI/SE Water Avenue, where one of the three festivals will take place.

For more information on the new service and Saturday's celebration, visit the TriMet FX website.

Removal of a large construction crane will shut down the southbound Portland Streetcar trackway on S River Parkway for three days beginning Tuesday, September 6. Service between downtown and the South Waterfront neighborhood will be maintained by TriMet shuttle buses throughout the closure.

Additional signage will be provided at affected stops to help riders find their way to their destinations. The closure will affect only NS Line and B Loop travel; A Loop streetcars will run a regular weekday schedule.

Shuttle buses will carry southbound riders beginning at SW 10^th and Clay to the southern NS Line terminus at S Lowell and Bond. Northbound riders can catch a shuttle bus at any northbound South Waterfront stops to get to downtown.

As a record-breaking heat wave scorched Portland in late July, Portland Streetcar's rider ambassadors took to the system to help riders stay cool. Over the prolonged period of extreme heat, teams handed out more than 600 bottles of cold water along with spray bottles, cooling towels and other items.

Rider ambassadors carried lists of cooling shelters and helped riders in need find resources to beat the heat, especially if they would otherwise be sleeping outside or without air conditioning.

The rider ambassador program began in January 2022 as a way to provide a non-security response to riders experiencing homelessness or struggling with mental health or addiction issues that might be using transit as a method of getting inside or off the sidewalk. By taking a community outreach approach, teams work to connect riders to applicable resources, offer supplies that might be useful and otherwise provide a friendly presence on the streetcar.

Portland's recent heat wave was yet another example of an extreme event in which having such personnel proved to be a lifeline for many of the community's most vulnerable and transit-dependent people.

Portland Streetcar's latest Art on Board installation, "The Watchers: Keep One Eye Open" by Habiba Abdul Rahim, is out on the rails around Portland's central city. This fifth vehicle-wrap installation celebrates the strength of a community through the actions of its members.

Art on Board is a program which showcases local artists’ work in public as the vehicles serve riders around Portland’s core. Highlighting Portland's diversity, artists of color have been paid to show their work on the vehicle exterior as a moving canvas celebrating our community.

Habiba Abdul Rahim’s work can be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Artist Biography

When I first learned how to paint it was always with the idea that I wanted to create art that was in the image of people like me; African Americans are absent from historical art collections in some of the largest museums, galleries and major auctions and I knew that I wanted to use my gift to change that in whatever way that I could. As I began to share with people the how and why I began to paint, I soon began to realize the importance of connection and belonging. My art had become the vehicle through which we share life experiences and recognized similarities. It did not matter that the woman in the painting was Black, it was the story behind the painting, or the emotion it invoked, that was most important.

I create each painting with color in mind first; before I even know what the subject matter will be, I know what colors I want to use, and I allow the color choice to dictate the mood. In my most recent work I have been painting women on various shades of grey. The color grey for some can be unemotional and neutral; for me grey represents all the things that I want to be: peaceful, a soothing and nurturing presence, reliable, and wise. Grey for me represents a work in progress; accepting where I am while simultaneously creating who I want to become. Each piece is a search for meaning. They each are a reflection on the ideas of beauty, love, perfection, and growth.

Artwork Statement

"Keep one eye open" is an idiom that I grew up hearing elders say; it was a reminder to always remain vigilant and watchful. This piece is a reflection on the ways in which I can follow in the footsteps of the elders that I learned from; they were wise, nurtured, developed and guided, and anchored their families and community.

‘The Watchers: Keep One Eye Open’ is a series that calls us to reflect on the ways in which we can support, take control of, and build stronger communities. A communities greatness is determined by the actions of its members. My hope with this series is that we question whether or not we are individually creating meaningful change, are we inspiring others to create positive change, are we holding the right people accountable and if not, how do we do better.

May we all be Watchers over our communities.