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This page is for people who are open to the idea of using a bus, rather than a car, to buy a few grocery items and/or do other errands in Hillsdale. I've found it possible to pick up groceries, AND then go to the bank and liquor store (or get a slice of Pizza, Espresso, Bread at the bakery..) before returning home on the next available bus.

Of course it is possible to stay longer — e.g. to enjoy a meal and/or relax at the library. Hillsdale has many amenities.

Trimet line #39 connects Hillsdale and Collins View. The #39 doesn't run on weekends. Generally, this isn't a problem, except for the Farmer's Market!

But, where does the bus go!?? #39 leaves Collins View travels north along Terwilliger, turns west onto Taylor's Ferry Road, then up Spring Garden to Barbur - then over to Hillsdale. Return via reversing path.

Let's talk about Time

Depending on where you live in Collins View, the trip to Hillsdale takes ~14 minutes. The return trip takes ~9 minutes.

I've made the following table to show how the usable time in Hillsdale varies during the day. The table shows arrival times of #39 in Hillsdale and the number of minutes you'll have on the ground before four successive return trips on #39.

The first column shows the times that #39 arrives in Hillsdale. You need to figure out when to board #39 in your neighborhood to arrive on that bus (see below).

Once there, you have the given number of minutes until #39 comes back through Hillsdale so you can get back home. For example, if you arrive in Hillsdale at 10:11 AM (the green row in the table), you'll have 59 minutes till #39 comes back around, or 90 minutes till a later bus, or 137 minutes till an even later bus, and so on.

Not all possible 'trips' are shown, only 4 bus 'cycles'. All of the trips in the first two columns and some in the 3rd column can be made in under 150 minutes, depending on where you board. See section of Fares below.

The orange cells in the chart indicate shorter trips, which you can either use, or avoid...

There are two bus stops in Hillsdale on Capitol Hwy. The first stop (ID 925) is at the west end, the other stop is at Sunset (ID 929), by the food carts and Wilson HS.

When in Hillsdale, you can always use Transit Tracker or PDX Bus app to see when the next #39 is due, so you can manage your time.

Be sure to see the Tips below.

Businesses in Hillsdale (including the Library!)

HILLSDALE FOOD PARK
Carts are open from 11 AM until 7 PM Mon-Sat. Sundays are variable. (near Ida B. Wells High School)

• Taco City
• Pad Kee Mao Thai
• Sushi Lovers
• Mama Noor's - Indian & Arabic Halal Food
• Phat Cart Korean Bento (winner of best dish and runner up for best kitchen at the food cart competition a couple of years ago.)

BRICK & MORTAR FOOD JOINTS

• Baker and Spice, Coffee, pastry, soup and sandwiches
• GiGi's Waffles cafe
• Dairyhill Ice Cream
• Please Louise
• Salvador Molly's (Pirate food)
• Pizzicato: Slice of Pizza and a salad.
• Papa John's Pizza
• Einstein's Bagels. 13 bagels for $7 on Mondays.
• McMenamins Brewery & Public House
• City Thai
• Casa Colima
• ?
• Starbucks
• Subway Sandwiches any way you want 'em.
• Sasquatch Brewery (west end of town center, at Red Electric Station)
• Verde Cocina, also at Red Electric Station.

SERVICES

• Multnomah County Library, Hillsdale Branch (multcolib.org)
• Money (KeyBank, B of A, OnPoint Credit Union)
• vacant storefront
• Pedicures, two places
• UPS store (with printing services and mailboxes)
• Laundromat
• Dry Cleaning

SHOPS

• basics market [website]
• Bowman's Hillsdale Pharmacy
• Liquor Store
• Paloma clothing

OTHER

• Walk on Wilson track, Yoga, Cross Fit
• Transfer to other lines to downtown (44, 45, 54, 55, 56)

39 Tips

Alternatively, you can use #39 to shop at Fred Meyer or Safeway. The schedule (and dwell times) would be similar, but I leave this as an exercise for the rider.

During the school year, #39 is full with students at the start of the day, less so after classes. Some food places are swamped during the school lunch hour, so plan accordingly. ALSO, the 3:22 return bus is usually SRO with students!

In Hillsdale, it's possible to transfer to lines going downtown and points west: #(44, 45, 54, 55, 56).

At the Tobacco Town / Safeway intersection, you can transfer from #39 to #12 which runs on Barbur Blvd, toward Tigard Transit Center, or through downtown to Sandy Blvd, if you want to. #12 runs every 15 minutes.

Alternatives to Hillsdale

Instead of using #39 to go to Hillsdale, you can ride toward the Barbur Transit Center, and shop at BARBUR WORLD FOODS. There is also a liquor store there.

Keep in mind the very limited service hours.. BUT, if you get stranded, you can take #12 back east to Terwilliger and walk from there (but not with a bag of groceries!

One could even take the new #43 back to Collins View! In fact, we might just use #43 to get to BB WORLD FOODS. I will work out a recommendation on that ASAP this Fall 2023.

Alternatives to using #39

Instead of using #39, one can take #35 down Taylors Ferry to shop at Zupan's and other stores on Macadam, and return up this hill. No weekend service?

Instead of using #39, one can take #38 down Boones Ferry to shop at Mountain Park, which has New Seasons, Columbia Sportswear, Flying Pie Pizza, a postal annex, a Starbucks, a Pet Shop, and many other businesses. #38 is limited to morning and evening rush hour times, with a big gap in the middle of the day, so beware!

Finding Stop Ids for stops in Collins View

(To be filled in.) Hint - walk over to your nearest stop on Terwilliger, Palater, Palatine Hill Road, or Taylor's Ferry, and read the 4 digit Stop ID off the post. Use that number in Transit Tracker. (I use the iPhone app PDX Bus.)

Using Transit Tracker

See 'Using Public Transit to/from Collins View' on Collins View website. [LINK]

Use a 'Hop' card to pay your Fare

If you are going to ride public transit in the area, you should pick up a Hop card to pay your fare. If you are senior-eligible, you need to go to the Trimet ticket office downtown (Pio Courthouse Square) and have a photo Hop card made there.

On #39 and the whole Trimet system, fares are either Youth, Honored Citizen (65+ seniors), or Adult. There's a fare good for up to 2.5 hours, and there is a all day fare (Day pass). For Seniors, a 2.5 hour ride is only $1.25!

2.5 hours == 150 minutes, which covers any of the Hillsdale rides in the first two columns. Most likely, third column times would take a day pass, $2.50 for seniors.

The cool thing about Hop — you 'Tap On' when boarding. (You don't 'Tap Off' when you de-board.) You'll only 'pay' for a day pass if you Tap On (again) more than 150 minutes after you (first) Tapped On, So, you don't need to know whether your trip will be longer than 2.5 hours before you board — the system takes care of you.

You can reload your Hop card on-line or in person with cash. You can set it to automatically reload, so you are never without fare. Just bring your card along on your trip. There are digital versions as well.

For more, see 'Using Public Transit to/from Collins View' on Collins View hub website. [LINK]

Personal Note. I'm not new to riding #39. I used #39 for years to get to the Hillsdale Library and other businesses, and as the first leg in longer transit trips. I was involved with Trimet in a project that extended Line 39 to Hillsdale. (#39 used to just turn around at Fred Meyer!) See the History, [Improving Line 39], on my personal website.

You can see my [personal home page] for more fun stuff. -- John Miller, collins view.