Fareless Square History
TriMet began operating Fareless Square in 1975, two years before the opening of the Portland Mall, as an integral part of our overall strategy to increase transit use and to help preserve our region's livability. In fact, Fareless Square is tied to three important regional planning policies:
- State Implementation Plan for air quality (Department of Environmental Quality)
- Regional Urban Growth Goals and Objectives (Metro)
- Downtown Parking and Circulation Policy (City of Portland)
The following documents describe the background of Fareless Square in greater detail and the process for considering eliminating or extending Fareless Square, or creating new special fare zones.
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Introduction (20KB PDF)
Explores the concept of Fareless Square within the context of regional planning efforts and other local initiatives.
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Context and History (39KB PDF)
Describes TriMet's service design, discusses the rationale behind Fareless Square, and reviews the operational history of the free fare zone.
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Public Policy Issues (39KB PDF)
Identifies ten public policy issues to consider before eliminating or extending Fareless Square.
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Special Fare Zone Goals (18KB PDF)
Lists the goals adopted by the TriMet Board of Directors that must be satisfied by a proposed creation or expansion of Fareless Square.
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Special Fare Zone Application (22KB PDF)
Specifies the implementing criteria, which serves as the basis to evaluate proposals to create or expand the fareless area.
- Special Fare Zone Application Procedure (14KB PDF)
Describes the application process.
- Fareless Square Extension (15KB PDF)
Discusses the extension of Fareless Square to the Lloyd District.
On January 3, 2010, Fareless Square became the "Free Rail Zone"—the MAX lines and Portland Streetcar are still free in the downtown and Lloyd Center areas, but bus riders need to pay a fare.