Portland Streetcar VS. The MAX Train

Portland Streetcar VS. The MAX Train

Hello, and welcome back to TriMet Insider! This blog post won't be entirely about TriMet, though. This post covers my opinion (and others' opinions) about this question: Which is better? The Portland Streetcar or The MAX Train? Anyway, before I dive in, you can comment on this blog post about your opinion on the matter.

So, my main two sources for this topic were Yelp and Reddit, because I figured there were lots of real people on there giving real opinions. 

Anyway, here are some quotes that I thought were substantial.

MAX Train

  1. Karri L. - 5 Star - MAX Red Line - From Yelp: When I traveled for business, I went to the airport before and after construction of the Red Line MAX. What a difference it has made.

    First, the price. The cost of a taxi ride or shuttle out to our wonderful airport is horrendous (even though you can expense it out, but still). Parking costs are equally badly priced. $5.00 for the round trip is the best bargain in town.

    Second, convenience. It is such a hassle to drive out there and park, and equally a large hassle to ask a friend or family member drop you off. Just being able to ride out on MAX on your own and not involve another person allows you the luxury to remain focused and do what you need to do to get on the plane.

    Mark B. makes a good point about scheduling your flight(s) around the Red Line MAX schedule. Of course, one is not always able to do that, but it's still worth a try.

    I've watched each MAX line currently in operation as they were built and brought on line. They've all been a good thing overall, but in my personal opinion the Red Line MAX is the topper and probably the best part of the MAX system overall.

    Whenever I travel again, you will be on my schedule Red Line MAX.
  2. Nathan B. - 5 Star - MAX Red Line - From Yelp: Extremely convenient airport location, right outside the baggage claim. Very easy ride to and from the airport. Can't beat the price for the ride, cost a fraction of what an Uber or Lyft would have charged. The stop downtown was a block away from our hotel and many other hotels were closer than ours to the drop off. Would use it again on my next trip to Portland.
  3. ruiluth - (Stars Not Applicable) - MAX Train In General - From Reddit:

    The MAX system gets a lot of mixed reviews but I personally find it extremely useful and important. If the MAX didn't exist, I wouldn't use public transit nearly as often because buses just aren't that fun to ride. I always plan my trips around trying to take a MAX segment, because it's just so much of a better experience to ride. Plus it's fast, smooth, quiet, and the route is planned very well. (No wonder--it follows one (of the seven) original rail corridors that the West Side grew up around.) It runs frequently (15 minute headways, and interlining in my area lowers that even more) and now that there are enough lines, you can get to (almost) all parts of the Portland metro area on it. It may not be perfect, but for what it is, and where it is, it's a very fine system that makes me feel proud of my city.

  4. B C. - 1 Star - MAX Red Line - From Yelp: Used Red Line to airport. What a public transportation disaster. Between "congestion", non-fare paying riders with "issues", transit authorities chasing who knows who through the cars, a rickety route through downtown that feels like some amusement ride in a B-grade movie.....I don't how anyone would choose this option over any other option when the job needs to get done.

Portland Streetcar
  1. Tina L. - 5 Stars - Portland Streetcar - From Yelp: I love to use Portland streetcar for roaming around locally, it's very convenient and quick!
  2. Monique N. - 5 Stars- Portland Streetcar -From Yelp: One of the best ways to get around the pearl.
    I can't wait for the new line to open up near the llyod center
  3. paulcole710 - (Stars Not Applicable) - Portland Streetcar - From Reddit: 

    It’s excellent. Convenient to use. Very predictable arrivals (all the stops have countdown displays). Relatively clean. I don’t understand the advantages of it compared to busses on the same route, but I’m glad Portland has it.

  4. Nick C. - (Excerpt) - 1 Star - Portland Streetcar - From Yelp: I'm kind of baffled by all the positive reviews for this. Before I moved to Portland, I lived in Chicago and Seattle, so I'm used to dealing with the negatives of public transportation. This streetcar, however, is easily the worst form of public transportation I've ever had to deal with. I think I should mention right off the bat that I live in an area that has virtually no public transportation except the streetcar, so I've had to ride this thing almost every day for 12 months now. Most people writing positive reviews seem to be people who own a car or have access to other forms of public transportation, so they see the streetcar as a quaint little alternative. Trust me, it's not so quaint when it's the only form of transportation you have and you're forced to rely on it to get you everywhere.
So, from all of these comments/reviews, I think that generally people like the MAX Train more than the Portland Streetcar. To be fair, I did include the same amount of positive and negative feedback in both sections, but it seemed that the Streetcar had more negative reviews. I actually agree with my findings, I like the MAX Train better, but the streetcar is a close second place. Anyway, I'll be back soon with more TriMet Insider.

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