Pickles
Well-known member
So I recently got busted on Portland public transit, on Trimet, for the first time. And got a month long exclusion from the bus, max, and streetcar. Assholes.
But I found this gem of an article when searching for ways to continue riding.
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“Your free ride on Trimet is about to end.”
Posted by Amy J. Ruiz on Fri, Dec 7 at 2:05 PM
Today at City Club, Trimet General Manager Fred Hansen used his scheduled time at the lunchtime civic session to make some big announcements:
“I am taking several steps to deal with issues of fare evasion, loud and intimidating behavior and criminal activity on the system. I am setting a standard of zero tolerance for fare evaders,” Hansen said. He’s also thinking about restricting or perhaps eliminating Fareless Square.
Hansen laid out a seven part plan to decrease fare evasion and increase security. Increased police presence on MAX, by upping the Transit Police Division staff by 10 percent, at a cost of $500,000. Increased fare inspections, thanks to the recent increase is Wackenhut private security on the system (from 15 to 36). Hansen’s working to give security officers “the authority to write tickets and exclude unruly people from the Trimet system.”
It’ll be harder to come up with an excuse for your fare evasion, too—Trimet plans to fix up or start replacing the ticket vending machines, many of which are 20 years old, and not very reliable. “Your free ride on Trimet is about to end,” Hansen said.
Hansen’s also “entering into a partnership with Victory Outreach Community Services Inc,” a community-based Latino organization that will ride the system and work with Latino youth to prevent gang activity on MAX.
Trimet’s exclusion policy will be streamlined, “to more effectively respond to disruptive behavior.” Hansen’s also expanding the code of conduct, and “making it enforceable.”
Trimet’s also replacing old light bulbs, especially at eastside MAX stops, to make the lighting brighter, and adding more closed circuit security cameras. By the time the Green Line opens in September 2009, Trimet will employ over 500 cameras throughout the system.
And, perhaps the biggest news, Hansen plans to propose an ordinance to Trimet’s Board of Directors that would cut Fareless Square’s hours to 7 am to 7 pm. He’ll also launch a public process to explore other potential changes to Fareless Square. And if cutting the hours of Fareless Square saves any money, Hansen says he’ll devote those to safety and security throughout the system.
Hansen outlined the history of Fareless Square—it was originally implemented 31 years ago to deal with Portland’s air quality problem, with cars causing 140 days of air quality violations in downtown Portland. “31 years later we no longer have an air quality problem. It is time to reevaluate the need for fareless square and define the public policy purpose of subsidizing free rides in the downtown and in the Lloyd District in terms of today’s policy objectives.”
“The fact is, Fareless Square provides a free ride for panhandlers, who go back and forth between downtown and the Lloyd Center, and drug dealers and rowdy gangs of young people, homeless people and drunks who are using the train as a shelter and a place to do their business. This type of undesirable behavior—that intimidates our riders and leads to crime—is being subsidized by regular Trimet riders,” he added. “The restriction of hours specifically targets these types of behavior.”
Bahahaha your free ride is OVER. This was in fuckin 2007.
Portlanders, who has honestly noticed that much of a difference besides that fat bastard who lives on the stairs at the 82nd stop?
Get over yourself, Trimet.
But I found this gem of an article when searching for ways to continue riding.
"
“Your free ride on Trimet is about to end.”
Posted by Amy J. Ruiz on Fri, Dec 7 at 2:05 PM
Today at City Club, Trimet General Manager Fred Hansen used his scheduled time at the lunchtime civic session to make some big announcements:
“I am taking several steps to deal with issues of fare evasion, loud and intimidating behavior and criminal activity on the system. I am setting a standard of zero tolerance for fare evaders,” Hansen said. He’s also thinking about restricting or perhaps eliminating Fareless Square.
Hansen laid out a seven part plan to decrease fare evasion and increase security. Increased police presence on MAX, by upping the Transit Police Division staff by 10 percent, at a cost of $500,000. Increased fare inspections, thanks to the recent increase is Wackenhut private security on the system (from 15 to 36). Hansen’s working to give security officers “the authority to write tickets and exclude unruly people from the Trimet system.”
It’ll be harder to come up with an excuse for your fare evasion, too—Trimet plans to fix up or start replacing the ticket vending machines, many of which are 20 years old, and not very reliable. “Your free ride on Trimet is about to end,” Hansen said.
Hansen’s also “entering into a partnership with Victory Outreach Community Services Inc,” a community-based Latino organization that will ride the system and work with Latino youth to prevent gang activity on MAX.
Trimet’s exclusion policy will be streamlined, “to more effectively respond to disruptive behavior.” Hansen’s also expanding the code of conduct, and “making it enforceable.”
Trimet’s also replacing old light bulbs, especially at eastside MAX stops, to make the lighting brighter, and adding more closed circuit security cameras. By the time the Green Line opens in September 2009, Trimet will employ over 500 cameras throughout the system.
And, perhaps the biggest news, Hansen plans to propose an ordinance to Trimet’s Board of Directors that would cut Fareless Square’s hours to 7 am to 7 pm. He’ll also launch a public process to explore other potential changes to Fareless Square. And if cutting the hours of Fareless Square saves any money, Hansen says he’ll devote those to safety and security throughout the system.
Hansen outlined the history of Fareless Square—it was originally implemented 31 years ago to deal with Portland’s air quality problem, with cars causing 140 days of air quality violations in downtown Portland. “31 years later we no longer have an air quality problem. It is time to reevaluate the need for fareless square and define the public policy purpose of subsidizing free rides in the downtown and in the Lloyd District in terms of today’s policy objectives.”
“The fact is, Fareless Square provides a free ride for panhandlers, who go back and forth between downtown and the Lloyd Center, and drug dealers and rowdy gangs of young people, homeless people and drunks who are using the train as a shelter and a place to do their business. This type of undesirable behavior—that intimidates our riders and leads to crime—is being subsidized by regular Trimet riders,” he added. “The restriction of hours specifically targets these types of behavior.”
Bahahaha your free ride is OVER. This was in fuckin 2007.
Portlanders, who has honestly noticed that much of a difference besides that fat bastard who lives on the stairs at the 82nd stop?
Get over yourself, Trimet.
