Big, bending buses coming to Portland

(APRIL 15, 2019) You can't ride them until 2022, but don't worry. They are coming. What are coming? Those big buses that bend in the middle.

The city of Portland recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. A grant is like a scholarship -- free money for a special project. Portland will receive $87.4 million to put new buses on Line 2, which extends from downtown Portland to Gresham. The buses will travel mostly on Division Street. They are 60 feet long, and they have 3 doors. They can carry 60% more passengers.

According to The Oregonian newspaper, "the bus route will include expanded bus stations and covered areas to accommodate the longer buses and additional riders, and signal priority for buses to speed up routes and ideally get passenger where they want to go more quickly."

The city hopes the buses will cut travel time by 20%.

“These significant investments will strengthen our country’s transit infrastructure and improve mobility for those who depend upon public transit every day,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in a statement.