August 12, 2009

Changes to Fareless Square Approved

TriMet's board votes to limit free rides to MAX and Portland Streetcar

TriMet's board of directors today voted to change Fareless Square to rail-only, effective Sunday, January 3, 2010. As a result, bus service will no longer be free in downtown Portland and the Lloyd District.

• With the addition of MAX Green Line and Yellow Line service on the Portand Transit Mall (5th and 6th avenues) in September 2009, nearly all trips within Fareless Square can be accommodated on rail. Nearly every destination in Fareless Square will be served by MAX or Streetcar within 3 or 4 blocks.
• The change will also make riding transit in downtown less confusing, since not all buses travel the length of the Mall. It also allows buses to operate more efficiently, and reduces any conflict with operators for riders who may not have paid a fare at the Fareless Square boundary.
• This summer, we held open houses and asked for public feedback on the rail-only proposal, resulting in more than 600 comments. 51% supported changing Fareless Square to rail-only, while 21% wanted to keep it as-is, 11% supported eliminating it completely, and 9% wanted to keep a fare-free zone in some form.

New downtown-only Honored Citizen Pass

With this change, TriMet will also create a new annual pass for seniors and people with disabilities who live within Fareless Square for travel on buses within the fareless zone. The downtown-only Honored Citizen photo ID will cost a nominal fee for people who are 65 years of age or older or have a disability.

Background

Fareless Square was implemented 34 years ago to help address air quality issues—specifically, reducing carbon monoxide—as well as reduce car trips downtown and increase transit usage. At that time, the transit system consisted only of buses, but has since expanded to four MAX lines and the Portland Streetcar.

When we open MAX Green Line this September on the Portland Transit Mall between Union Station and Portland State University, both Green and Yellow line trains will run north-south through downtown. As a result, we will have virtually the same service within Fareless Square on rail as we did with the former bus mall.

We estimate that about 95% of the trips currently taken within Fareless Square can easily be taken on the future Green Line on the Mall, on the existing Blue/Red MAX line on Morrison and Yamhill, and on the Streetcar. Nearly every destination in Fareless Square will be served by MAX or Streetcar within 3 or 4 blocks.