TriMet: 'It's a massive undertaking that touches the entire agency'
PORTLAND, Ore. - Some big changes are in effect for TriMet riders and the transit organization is working hard to make sure everything goes smoothly.
The zone system that TriMet has used for years is now gone for good. That includes the Free Rail Zone (formerly known as Fareless Square) in downtown Portland and the Lloyd District.
The idea is to make riding TriMet a lot simpler by switching to 'go anywhere' fares. Now, all riders will have to do is buy one ticket to travel anywhere they like. That means no more worrying about which zones a ticket is good for.
"It will be so much easier," said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch.
The switch is also expected to help TriMet with their $12 million budget shortfall. They are looking at saving nearly $9 million by eliminating zones and increasing some of the fares, which is normally done this time of year anyway to keep up with inflation, and in this case will also help with the budget problem.
How big of a project is this?
We talked to TriMet to find out how much work this entails and whether they feel they are ready to make it happen. After all, this is a drastic change.
"It's a massive undertaking that touches the entire agency," Fetsch said. "This is a tremendous amount of work by dozens and dozens of people who are dedicated to make this happen smoothly and successfully."
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Getting People Used To It TriMet will have extra staff on hand during the transition to make sure riders know about the changes, especially in the former Free Rail Zone where fares will now be required. TriMet said their first priority will be to educate people and then they will begin focusing on enforcement. |
First of all, there are the ticket machines. Not only is the software getting upgraded to change to the new fare structure but the machines will also start allowing people to make multiple purchases at once, instead of one at a time.
"Let's say you have five people with you and you all want an all-day pass - it would be individual transactions," Fetsch explained. "But with this new design, you will be able to make multiple purchases of an all-day pass with one transaction."
Then there is the signage, and not only at the ticket machines. Think about it - there are thousands of bus stops all over town, all of which will need new signs. And then there are all the signs on the buses and trains.
"This is probably the most comprehensive change to our signage system wide that we've ever had," Fetsch said, adding that the entire process will likely take a few months.
And of course every system map they have, as well as the information on their website, will need to be updated.
It's a lot to do and TriMet has already been busy behind the scenes getting ready for it all.
With all the work this will take, we asked what kind of a price tag is associated with such a big switch. TriMet didn't have a number to give us but did say that this is a one-time cost that will be offset by the money they expect to save once the zones go away. For example, TriMet estimates they will gain $2.7 million in revenue just from the elimination of the Free Rail Zone.
This will also bring TriMet one step closer to making the move to electronic fares (where riders would use a smart card). Other transit agencies in the U.S. already do that and several have told TriMet that to make it work they would first have to simplify their ticket system.
So when will the smart card change happen? Probably not anytime soon, but it is in the works. "We're developing that now," Fetsch said. "That's the future."
How will all of this impact low-income riders?
With the Free Rail Zone going away and some of the fares going up, those who don't have much income may feel the pinch.
TriMet anticipated the problem and they have a plan in place to help those folks out. They have set aside $1 million for a discount program that allows local non profits to buy tickets for their clients.
"We've already gotten over 40 non profits that have applied in a two-week period," Fetsch said. "We're trying to get them all signed up and have tickets available effective Sept. 1 when the fare change happens."
TriMet already provides discounts for bulk purchases and this program, which is a new pilot project, will help out even further.
"It was a concern of our board, which wanted us to look into how we could mitigate this change," Fetsch said.
What will the new fares be?
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Adults (ages 18 to 64) 2-Hour Ticket - $2.50 |
Youths (ages 7 to 17) 2-Hour Ticket - $1.65 |
Honored Citizens 2-Hour Ticket - $1 |
For those who might still have some tickets in their wallets when the switch happens, TriMet told us all you will have to do is pay a little extra to upgrade starting on Sept. 1. Or you can make it easier on yourself by using them up before then.
Are there any other changes happening?
The answer is yes. There will be some service changes starting on Sunday, Sept. 2 and TriMet is also making a change to its Downtown Pass Program.
Service Changes
- Two new MAX stations will open at Portland State University - one at Southwest 5th and Jackson and another at Southwest 6th and College.
- 17 bus lines will be reconfigured to eliminate overlap with other routes. This will affect lines 6, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 47, 48, 67, 70, 73, 77, 82, 87, 89 and 94.
- Line 15 will be extended between Montgomery Park and the Northwest industrial area.
- Routing along line 43 will be modified in downtown Portland.
- Low-ridership trips will be eliminated on lines 15, 18, 36, 37, 43, 50, 55 and 59. Service will either begin later in the morning or end earlier in the evening. Time between some trips may be extended as well.
- Service will be added to lines 4, 9, 33, 35, 44, 76 and 94 to ease overcrowding.
- For more information on the service changes
Downtown Pass Program
- The program, which was created in 2010 for the elderly or disabled who live in downtown Portland, will be expanded to include the MAX.
- The passes are $10 for two years.
- For more information on the Downtown Pass Program
They need to replace the crappy printers in the machines. The tickets that print out now are still unreadable.
I wonder how long it will be before we have to start a payroll deduction for a Transit Savings Account to be able to afford using mass transit? What are they doing with all the money? I mean, besides buying new furniture?
It's stupid that they're spending the money to add two more MAX stops just for the new campus housing building that is going up. The next closest MAX stop is three blocks away. You're telling me that people in the dorms can't be bothered to walk an extra three blocks from their doorstep? What a waste of funds.
And, I should add, I'm a PSU student whose bus lines are severely affected by the changes, so while they're spending money implementing more MAX stops, I'm losing even more flexibility in getting to school on time.
Hey Shannon Cheesman: "Not only IS the software IS getting..."  DDDDUUUHHH!!!! PROOFREAD!
 @None Thanks for the heads up - this has been fixed.
Insolence is usually the only thing that satisfies when something you don't like is happening, and you can't do anything about it. Here are some "changes" that people who use Tri-Met might actually find helpful in exchange for a rate hike:
A) An Express that goes East to West and back again, with one stop downtown, and then on to the end of the line without stopping for any lights.
B) Thug Ejection System for jaw-popping crackheads who can't take "NO" for an answer to their incessant, unsuccessful panhandling attempts.
C) A highliner car where scantily clad servers bring an overpriced drink cart around.
D) A real-time feedback system that allows riders to vote on driver performance and attitude. Results immediately effect the driver's pay rate, up or down.
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I'm sure everyone here has at least one suggestion they'd like Tri-Met to implement. My last swipe being that, they could save $10-20k every quarter in "Customer Satisfaction Surveys" simply by logging on here and perusing comments made by real people, who are actually effected, for FREE!!
 @Don_Keyshow A) is a good point.  The primary advantage that light rail has over a standard bus is that traffic yields for it.  This advantage is nullified when traveling from the east side of town to the west side of town because of all of the downtown stops.  The stops through downtown adds another 20 minutes to the trip.
 @UtterReality  @Don_Keyshow 15 minutes from Rose Quarter to Jeld-Wen Field is a typical estimated time from the rail controllers.. Just as fast as a car if not faster.
 @UtterReality   Â
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Actually I DO drive through downtown from west to east. It is faster.
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I-5 screws up I-405 southbound in Portland and the interchange is narrow and with lane switching people only get from 26 to 26 after a long slog at about 15 miles an hour from the Zoo to the stoplight at Broadway.
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I instead take the center lane. Drops you off at Market and the lights are timed to get through each one to Front Ave. Make a right and you can merge in with the same traffic you left who went through more lights, that garbage interchange where people block traffic there at 6th (heading north on 405 likely west on 26) and right onto Ross Island.
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26 to 405 to Broadway to 3rd to Arthur to Kelly and back to 26; 22 minutes
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Market to Front to 26; 5 minutes
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What is needed is a downtown bypass for 26 like there is for 30.
 @MrBear  @Don_Keyshow I see your point, but I was talking more about going from Beaverton to Gresham.  I should have expressed myself more clearly.
 @UtterReality  @Don_Keyshow The statement was from east side of town to the west side. Time yourself by car leaving from the Rose Quarter and arriving at Jeld-Wen Field at 2:00 p.m. on a weekday. In fact use any day at 2:00 p.m. Pick the most expeditious route of your choice. Obey the speed limit and signals. Hahahahahahahahahaha!
 @MrBear  @Don_Keyshow If you were driving from the west to the east in a car, you wouldn't drive through downtown in the first place.
 @UtterReality  @Don_Keyshow Yes, that was a disastrous design choice IMHO.
Gawd, this is just another one of those "my experience must be representative of everyone's" arguments.
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If Tri-met works for you, take it. Â I can't commute by train, but I always use it to go to soccer games or visit my daughter downtown. Â Drive when it makes sense, use the bus or train when that makes sense, and for god's sake quit trying to paint everyone with a one-size-fits-all brush.
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Everyone's circumstances are different.
 @Festivus The issue is that passenger revenue only covers 24% of Tri-Met expenses.  Private corporations and the taxpayers end up subsiding it whether it's wanted or not.
 @UtterReality Yes, and I'm glad to do my part.  Not everything has to benefit me personally to be worth supporting, but even then, the reduced car load on 26 during rush hour does me no harm either.
@MrBear@Festivus
 I have no problem with contributing, but I at least want a say in the matter if they are using my tax dollars. Â
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A large part of the issue is building and maintaining these expensive rail based systems over expanding bus service.  Don't get me started on the absurdity of the Portland Streetcar.
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Somebody please refresh my memory - what's the last rail line that had popular support? Â I believe that it was the extension to the airport.
 @Festivus  @UtterReality I agree. The price of having a civilized society is that everyone pays a little bit to benefit the whole. You may not use it, you may not need it, but somebody does who would otherwise have nothing. For those that selfishly whine about contributing, there are places in the world you can move to where civilized society and governments have completely collapsed, and you can utterly fend for yourselves. I'd take Somalia off that list though; they're fixing they're problems. Wisconsin might be a good choice.
 @Festivus Another example of 'We Know What's Best For You, And How Much To Charge You For It'. I think Tri-Met really wants to be seen as the New Seasons of public transportation: Overpriced, but using them makes some people feel like they have something politically correct to brag about.
 @Don_Keyshow My mother, who does not now and never will have a driver's license, relies on Tri-met for her most basic transportation needs.  There's nothing politically correct about it at all.  I used it daily in college as a cost effective alternative to owning a car when I could barely afford to put Top Ramen on the shelf.
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Lots of folks use Tri-met as their best or only option.
2-Hour Ticket - $1Day Pass - $27-Day Pass - $7Monthly Pass - $26 wOOt!!!
$12 million dollar budget deficit?? And they want to expand the line?? That's just plain nuts !
 @Rob C The line will get built using federal money, developers and contractors that are friends with the right people will get a cut, and after the temporary jobs are long gone, the local taxpayers will end up holding the bag.
 @UtterReality  @Rob C If things run true to form, it'll be an empty sack! Even the Talking Heads wouldn't want to sell royalties to Tri-Met for commercial use of 'The Road To Nowhere'.
@Rob C They can make other people to pay for it so why not? Well ignore the logical answer, because it's free money!
Im glad I dont live in portland. I wouldnt ride Crimet even if I did.
 @LostSoul So, since you don't live in Portland, and you don't ride TriMet, then your biased and uneducated opinion is kinda worthless isn't it?
Trimet you just lost yourself a long time customer. I have no idea when my bus will arrive starting next week and I now cannot take it to the rose quarter! My neighborhood now lacks bus service downtown! Once my yearly bus pass expires next June, I am going to invest in a bike because it is faster, cleaner, and I won't be getting ripped off. I am furious that I bought this yearly bus pass and you now changed my bus route and schedule!!!!!!!!!!
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Why should we pay more for less?
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"They are looking at saving nearly $9 million by eliminating zones and also increasing some of the fares, which is normally done this time of year anyway to keep up with inflation." So inflation is like 25% this year? It isn't inflation, it is the cost of health care going up which is the most ridiculous in the nation. My dad works on your guys account and says your health care is NOT justified!
Go look at the link above for the new schedules and compare them to the ones on the main site now. BARELY a change. Such a $#!T show.
$12 million budget shortfall...here's an ide'r. Fix the ticket machines so the people who are trying to pay the fare actually can pay it. Then reap benefit of how system is supposed to work. Or do nothing about ticket machines and continue to complain about losing money. Poor lil Portland, such good ideas in theory but only idiots around to carry out the plan
@UO Duck
Exactly. Â Many of these ideas look good on paper, and match the ideological bent of many Portlanders, but the execution is flawed. Â The real answer to these types of problems are increasing population density - which it looks like are the future plans for the Lloyd center area. Â
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However, after the $55 million dollar Bud Clark Commons in the Pearl fiasco, I have little confidence that the city planners won't turn the east side of the river into another Cabrini-Greene instead of the middle-class utopia that they project.
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Uhhh....."simplier"? LOL  Something a four year old would say, but I like it ::grin::
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How about just paying every time you get on a bus or train? You get off somewhere, and you pay to get on again. Wouldn't that be simpler?
does this include the street car?
@Kyo I do not believe so...
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The street car and trimet have a maintenance and worker agreement where they provide the drivers and operate them, but I believe they are a controlled by another entity.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Streetcar
good luck keeping the loafers and free riders off trimet. so what this really boils down to is that trimet wants to increase the workers fees to pay for those less fortunate sounds like obamacare. what about the crime that comes with this so called undertaking. I have friends who are moving because of the increase crime that light rail and trimet has brought to their neighborhoods. Is portlandia that blind that it can not see raising fees on those who can afford to pay will do nothing to the criminals who use the system to move from one area to another?
 @freedom123 WUT? you complain about the loafers and free riders, then complain they are raising the rates to pay for security to keep the loafers and free riders off?
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i dont understand your point?
 @Rey Arteb  @freedom123 The security clowns don't keep anyone off the trains. All they do it take head counts and push their bikes around. They are completely worthless.
@Rey Arteb @freedom123 I never saw him complain about paying for security employees....try reading...
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he stated fees of employees, so my assumption was he was talking about existing workers' pay and benefits....
 @freedom123 Oh yeah, that's right. You never hear of crime involving a vehicle! Sheesh, whatta tool.
There is crime involving private vehicles but there have been studies that show signiifcant crime increases in areas of new lightrail stations...he is not making it up....
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They dont call it crime-train for nothing...
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I believe incidents of assualts at the station , and armed robbery are among the big movers. plus the park and rides along the stations are suffering for high number of car prowls and car theft...
 @Duvie23 Yes, everyone cites a third hand source for their knowing and factual information. I'm pretty sure you can find increased levels of crime anywhere people congregate. Have you looked at Congress or churches lately? Not so sure I'm willing to go to any movie theaters.
Monthly pass $100.
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Parking downtown, $165 a month, for motorcycles $45.
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How much is your time worth?
 @Repoman Likewise, what's the cost of lost opportunity to driving?
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My commute is 90 minutes round-trip a day. Â Since I car pool with my wife, I'm already without a car three days a week. Â If Tri-met came closer to my house, I could use that time spent driving on reading, computing, or whistling into space.
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How much is my time worth? Â Less when I'm shaking my fist at other drivers than when reading a good book on my Kindle. Â Unless it's motorcycling weather. Â Then both cars and trains lose.
 @Repoman That was my experience exactly.  The extra hour per day that I saved by driving in (versus taking the MAX) was worth far more to me than the extra $100 a month that I was saving in parking and gas.  Commuting with the MAX only makes sense if you don't have a car or both your home and work are by MAX stops.
I drive to work around 5:30-6AM each morning. It takes me 26min to get to work and the traffic is very light. I can tell you if I took one of the different options of mass transit it would take me 1hr 20min to get there jumping between different modes of transportation.
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The cost would not pencil out for just the gas I use.
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On my way home I take a slightly slower route but the mass transit options can not blow by traffic on these roads....I would trapped in traffic just as easy.
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I would save near 5 hours a week in driving there a lone and at my wage that pays for my gas. Figure in going home and now I am ahead.
 @Repoman I like Tri-Met and don't mind paying a little more. After all, one can say that driving into town is better, but I fly by stopped traffic on the highway each morning while I'm on the Max. I do so with a little smirk on my face.Â
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My time is precious. ;-)
 @Improprietous  @RepomanÂ
I used to take 17 to PSU.
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Time: 45-90 minutes traffic dependant.
Cost: $120 a term (that was in 2003)
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Then I bought a moped, $1400, 100 mpg $300 a year for insurance. I spent $50 in gas for a whole year.
Time: 8-15 minutes traffic dependant
Cost: $40 a term (started at $20)
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Now I work in Hillsboro where the one time I took TriMet it took 240 minutes (three hours) to get there, driving, 45 minutes.
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Oh and as far as "flying passed traffic" bear in mind that traffic got out of their home, into their car and ended up where you saw them. You took 15 minutes to go to where they took 5. And when they get to where they want to go, it will take them 5Â and you 15 more.
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So in the end you both get to where you are going at about the same rate.
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Thus we go back to the overall cost. How much is your time worth?
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People often use the "car payment" excuse for raising the price of a car. I have never made a car payment, I always pay cash. In the end I always spend less. Oh and I don't buy $40,000 cars either. Not sure why anyone spends more than $15,000 and why anyone would buy one brand new.
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So in all I have never saved time or money with TriMet, even though I live a block away from the 17 that dropped me off a block from where I needed to be. \
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 @ImproprietousÂ
I doubt it. I live in Lents there are a lot of single family structures there. And many who would have to walk further than I did to catch a bus. Â And on the east side, the side where most people live, Lents is not unique, most of Portland is built just like it meaning most of people experience is not significantly different.
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No bus gets downtown under 30 minutes from 80th or further out ("80th" also applies north and south if your numbered street address is higher than 8000). So if you live out there you will take at least that long.
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That combined with the restructuring of the lines means you will likely have to transfer more often than you did before, thus more time. If you live near a "feeder" or "collector" street, you likely have a pretty straight shot towards downtown. It will likely take you less time than any bus, as you don't have to stop to pick people up as well as get stuck in the SAEM TRAFFCI a bus does.
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And thatâs the real issue. The traffic, good or bad, means the bus wonât get anywhere faster than a car because it is stuck in the same situation as any car on the road.
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This means the only benefit to taking the bus is cost. You aren't going to save time and it won't be pleasant (ever have a better experience on a bus than in your own car?)
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Thus if it costs nearly the same, you aren't saving money. Therefore the bus has become a poor alternative to driving.
 @Repoman
Well congratulations, you're the minority.
 @Improprietous  @Repoman Lets see two long walks, 3 transfers, around 1:45-2:00 hours one way to work or drive 15 minutes.... Tough choice...
 @FreedomRocks The Max station is at my apartment. It takes the Max 35 minutes to reach Quatama (Tanasbourne) to Downtown.
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Yes, when there is no traffic, a car would save me 20 minutes, reaching downtown in only 15 minutes. However, I'm usually traveling at high-traffic times (7-830am). I usually fly by stand-still traffic.
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Also, I calculated it, and it costs $9 in gas/maintenance to make one round trip run to Portland. Tri-Met costs $5 for the entire day.
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Must be the roads you are on and at what time in the morning. because I can do speed limit or 10mph above the entire way and from my house to my work I would have to transfer 3 times and stop at countless stations. Not even close.
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I think unless you live at a station and work at a station you get off I dont see how you beat a car even on portlands freeways which are not even the same type of grid lock Seattle and Los Angeles see....
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Everywhere I can think of MAX running along the freeway I dont see how it beats the car.
Lets say CTC to gateway.....
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You get on at CTC and you will have 8 stops, and that assumes the train is right there when you arrive.
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Car over that 6 mile distance at speed limit will do it in 7min. At 30mph you are talking 15min and that is still about less tiem than the lightrail will take from CTC to gateway.
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Then figure the tran as to accelerate up to full speed and no where along that track does it do 55mph. It mainly does 35mph or less over that distance.
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not even close.
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Gateway to Lyodd Center is close to a match with bad traffic.
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if you just figure BTC to Zoo that one would be faster..
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Again how many people work and live right at stations? NOt many so you have time to get to those stations or switching to buses to get to you front step.
 @Improprietous  @Repoman I also don't mind paying a little more. I don't always appreciate Tri-met's customer service, and I think they need to give their employees better health care options, but the company is not as bad as people are saying. They gave the public all kinds of opportunity to give their opinion about how they should deal with the budget shortfall. They have been working hard to deal with their cut of federal funding and have come up with the best solution they could.
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I take Tri-met to work to save time and energy believe it or not. Sitting in traffic stresses me out. I just sit there and get angrier and angrier because of traffic and poor drivers so by the time I get to work or home I have a hard time not taking my stress out on someone else. So I take the bus and relax with a good book, or think about my day and close my eyes a little. Sure, sometimes the ride is less than perfect, but most of the time it's just fine.
I appreciate the option to be able to take the bus. Plus, $100 for a bus pass should be compared to $165 for parking plus at least $100/month for gas. Not worth it.
 @Improprietous  @kumitekat How can a mass transit system be ranked #10 in the country when it is not solvent?
 @kumitekat Well said. People complain about Tri-Met left and right, but Tri-Met was actually ranked #10 in the country for mass transit systems.
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$100/month is a lot cheaper than a car payment, car insurance, gas, oil changes, and other maintenance.
@Improprietous @Repoman That's all fine if the thing goes where you want, when you want! But it doesn't, so I'll stay in my car and go where I want and when I want. And no, bicycles are not an option.
 @jpk That's true. Most of the time, I can get to work, school, and run small errands, but if I want to get out of town, I can't rely on the Max.
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So a couple times a month, I rent a car and do what I need to do that the Max can't offer me. And in the end, guess what? It's still cheaper than owning a car. ;-)