Traces of fentanyl and meth found on Seattle and Portland transit: study

Portland's MAX LRT (TriMet)

In a rare move, the public transit authorities in the Portland and Seattle regions have issued a joint statement expressing concern over rising illicit drug use onboard their services.

“The transit agencies share rising concerns about illegal substance use and untreated behavioral health conditions that are common in their communities and throughout the nation,” reads the joint statement by Sound Transit, King County Metro, Community Trannsit, Everett Transit, and TriMet.

This is in response to last week’s release of the findings of their jointly commissioned study conducted by the University of Washington to test the levels of illicit substance residue found onboard transit vehicles. Like other major Canadian and United States urban centres, their jurisdictions are facing a worsening deadly opioids use crisis, largely driven by fentanyl.

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“The agencies proactively commissioned this study to identify what levels of drug smoke and surface residue transit employees and riders might encounter on transit vehicles, with a goal of helping to identify responses,” continues the joint statement.

The study, conducted earlier this year, is its first-of-its-kind, analyzing air quality and surfaces. Although researchers determined that the levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine residue are “extremely low” — thousands of times lower than a medical dose — and do not pose a public health risk, the public transit authorities are urging a “crackdown on public use.”

Air pumps were placed onboard, and surface samples were collected from seats, windows, and doors on 30 transit buses and trains across all five public transit authorities. A total of 180 samples, including 78 from the air and 102 on surfaces, were collected.

“The safety of our staff, our riders, and our community is always our highest priority,” said Julie Timm, CEO of Sound Transit in Seattle, in a statement.

“While this is the underlying motivation for Sound Transit’s commissioning of this study last year, it is also the reason why we did not wait to increase our security presence and to start pilot partnerships with support services on our system earlier this year.”

Sound Transit currently has 55 police officers and has plans to grow to over 90 police officers, adding to their average deployment of 250 security officers, which are removing people using drugs onboard transit. This has led to fewer rider complaints and a decline in reports of open drug use on the system.

King County Metro, another public transit authority in the Seattle region, has 120 security officers, with plans to grow to 140.

Portland’s TriMet has doubled the number of personnel on their security teams since early 2022, and their Safe Response Team has grown to 58 staff, which helps people in need with accessing shelters, and mental health and addictions services.

In addition to enhanced security and enforcement measures, the public transit authorities are also using more superior air filters for their vehicles and conducting improved cleaning practices.

“We saw this wave of fentanyl and meth use rolling through our community, and we took action,” said TriMet Chief Safety Officer Andrew Wilson. “We have taken a number of steps to try to keep drug use off our buses and trains, and we won’t stop. It will be a continuous effort.”

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue, Jr. added: “Our riders, operators and other employees deserve to use our system without being exposed to drug use. More needs to be done to ensure that transit and other public spaces are safe and comfortable for everyone. TriMet stands ready to be part of the solution to this region-wide drug epidemic, but we urge state and local leaders and our law enforcement partners to continue to address drugs and addiction in our community.”

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