The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is Portland's aboveground light-rail system that connects downtown Portland with the airport (as of Sept 2001), the eastern suburb of Gresham, and the western suburbs of Beaverton and Hillsboro. MAX is basically a modern trolley, but there are also reproductions of vintage trolley cars (tel. 503/323-7363) operating between downtown Portland and the Lloyd Center on Sundays between noon and 6pm. One of the most convenient places to catch the MAX is at Pioneer Courthouse Square. The MAX light-rail system crosses the Transit Mall on SW Morrison Street and SW Yamhill Street. Transfers to the bus are free.
As with the bus, MAX is free within the Fareless Square, which includes all the downtown area. A Fareless Square extension now also makes it possible to ride the MAX between downtown Portland and both the Rose Quarter (site of the Oregon Convention Center) and the Lloyd District (site of the Lloyd Center Mall), which are both across the Willamette River in northeast Portland. If you are traveling outside of the Fareless Square, be sure to buy your ticket and stamp it in the time-punch machine on the platform before you board MAX. There are ticket-vending machines at all MAX stops that tell you how much to pay for your destination; these machines also give change. The MAX driver cannot sell tickets. Fares are the same as on buses. There are ticket inspectors who randomly check tickets, so be sure you get one, and also stamp it before boarding.
In July 2001, the new Portland Streetcar (tel. 503/238-RIDE; www.portlandstreetcar.org) began operating between the Portland State University neighborhood of downtown through the Pearl District to the Nob Hill neighborhood. This streetcar route takes in not only the attractions of the Cultural District, but also all the restaurants and great shopping in the Pearl District and along Northwest 21st and 23rd avenues, which makes this streetcar a great way for visitors to get from the downtown (where most of the hotels are located) and the neighborhoods with the greatest concentrations of restaurants. On Saturdays and Sundays, vintage streetcars operate free of charge (though donations are encouraged to help maintain these old streetcars). Streetcar fares for trips outside the Fareless Square are $1.25 for adults, 95¢ for youths, and 60¢ for seniors.
