Running Line 10 as a loop
one-way east of I-205
Red lines and arrows show proposed route changes; base map from the TriMet Interactive Map
Going outbound (from downtown Portland), buses would follow their regular route, except travel down Foster Rd to 92nd instead of Ellis in order to stop near the MAX Green Line station. After reaching the end of the route on Foster at the MAX station, buses would continue straight west towards downtown Portland instead of turning around and heading east to follow the outbound route.
This would save 16 minutes of travel time on each round trip (compare Line 10 and Line 14 travel time from 94th to 82nd), allowing the frequency to be increased (or costs cut) at only a small impact to service coverage. Specifically, it would not be possible to directly travel counterclockwise from Foster to 136th to Harold or from those places directly to points west of I-205. Those trips would require transferring (for service east) or waiting through a layover (for service west) at Foster and 92nd. However, given the fact that the MAX Green Line and Line 14 provide faster, more direct service to the central city from there the transfer may not increase overall travel time. In addition, there would still be direct service in the opposite direction (eastbound/clockwise) and Line 71 would still provide two-way service through the area.