Fares and Fare Enforcement on TriMet
How TriMet works to ensure a fair system and equitable fare enforcement
Oregon law allows TriMet to charge fare and set the price for riding our buses and trains. It also gives us the authority to set rules relating to the protection and use of the system, including enforcing the fare requirement.
A fairer citation process
TriMet can resolve fare citations directly with riders after we worked with the Oregon Legislature to give us that opportunity.
Prior to July 1, 2018, adults who received a fare evasion citation had to resolve it in the courts. (While fares are needed for using our transit service, skipping fare is not a crime that should have life-long consequences.) Now, for fare evasion citations only, riders can resolve those citations with TriMet within 90 days by paying a fine, performing community service or enrolling in our Honored Citizen reduced fare program.
A fairer citation process is just one of the ways TriMet has made our transit system better. We’ve used the rules that govern our system — the TriMet Code — to prohibit arrest for fare evasion only. When an inspector checks your fare, you aren’t being detained in any legal sense — but if you choose to walk away without showing your fare or refuse to identify yourself, a nearby law enforcement officer could have reasonable suspicion to stop and talk with you. If you violate any state laws, including giving the police officer a wrong name or other false information, you could be subject to arrest.
Ensuring fairness in fare enforcement
Transit should work for everybody, and it’s important that we’re all treated the same. TriMet routinely asks for an independent party to examine our fare enforcement practices. PSU’s Criminal Justice Research Institute found no systemic racial bias with analyses published in 2016 and 2018.
Affordable transit
TriMet provides transit service to the community that is affordable, with reduced fare or free fares to those most in need.
Honored Citizen is our reduced fare for riders living on a low income, seniors age 65+, Medicare beneficiaries and riders with a mental or physical disability. Honored Citizen riders pay half the price of an Adult 2½-Hour Ticket and less than one-third the price of an Adult 1-Month Pass.
TriMet has a reduced Youth fare for ages 7–17 and students in high school or pursuing a GED. We work with the Portland Public School District to provide high school students free transit service during the school year and offer other school districts in our service area the opportunity for free transit for their high school students who need it most. Children 6 and under ride free on TriMet’s buses and trains, with a paying passenger.
TriMet also works with social service agencies, non-profits and community-based organizations to provide those groups with reduced-cost or free fares to get them to those in our community who need free fares the most.
Also, TriMet’s base fare is on par with other transit agencies our size. We also offer 2½-hour passes, day passes and cost savings through Hop Fastpass®, which allows riders to earn day and month passes as they ride—without the upfront cost of a pass.
Here are some common questions we’ve been asked about fares:
Fare enforcement is a complex and often fraught topic. We want to assure you that our policies for collecting and checking fares have been made with careful consideration, and that we will continue making adjustments to improve. Because our riders deserve the very best: safe, reliable and affordable service, with zero tolerance for discrimination.
Do you have more questions about fare inspection?
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