Two peak-direction trips link PDX directly with Forest Grove
Weekday-only TriMet Line 291 runs between Portland International Airport (T) and Forest Grove Transit Center with a small number of commuter trips timed for Intel, Nike, and TV Highway workers. Regular TriMet fare applies, so you pay the standard $2.80 for up to 2½ hours of travel, just like on MAX or other buses.
The schedule is tight: expect only a handful of runs in each direction, with morning buses aimed at getting people to PDX for early flights and afternoon/evening buses bringing arriving passengers back out toward Forest Grove. There is no weekend service and no late‑night or mid‑day coverage, so treat this as a shift‑worker shuttle, not a general airport bus.
At the airport, Line 291 boards at the regular TriMet bus stops outside the main terminal at PDX (look for the posted "291 PDX/Forest Grove" signs near the other numbered routes). You stay outside security the entire time, so factor in TSA wait when picking a run; give yourself at least 60–90 minutes before departure from Concourse B–E if you’re on a morning flight.
On the west side, the bus starts and ends at Forest Grove Transit Center, which connects to other TriMet routes on TV Highway such as Lines 57 and 52. That makes the $2.80 fare a solid deal for anyone living along the OR‑8 corridor, since a single ticket can cover both the 291 leg and your local bus within the 2½‑hour transfer window on weekdays.
Because runs are sparse and aimed at commuting patterns, treat the online schedule at trimet.org/r291 as gospel for specific trip times on any given weekday. There’s no backup MAX line from PDX that continues to Forest Grove, so if you miss your 291, you’re looking at a MAX Red Line plus at least one TV Highway bus, which can easily add 30–45 minutes.
Step-by-step: using TriMet Line 291 at PDX
- 1. Check the current 291 timetable on trimet.org and pick a weekday trip that arrives at PDX at least 60–90 minutes before your flight time.
- 2. Buy a $2.80 Hop fare (card, app, or contactless bank card) before boarding, which covers up to 2½ hours on TriMet that day.
- 3. From Forest Grove Transit Center, board the bus signed “291 PDX/Forest Grove” at the posted bay a few minutes before the listed departure time.
- 4. Ride directly to Portland International Airport; typical travel time runs about an hour, depending on traffic along OR‑8 and US‑26.
- 5. At PDX, get off at the terminal bus stop outside T, then walk into the building and head to your airline’s check‑in counters on the departures level.
- 6. After landing at PDX on a weekday afternoon or evening, follow signs to “Public Transit,” find the signed 291 stop, and verify the destination and time with the driver before tapping your $2.80 Hop fare.
Practical move: set a calendar alert 24 hours before travel to re-check Line 291’s schedule, since TriMet can tweak commuter runs by a few minutes from one signup to the next.