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Monday, January 12, 2009

News / Portland MAX Fare Woes Highlighted In Video Featuring Hot Reporter

Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 1:48 PM

Back in June, I spent a hot Sunday going to a bunch of MAX stations with transportation activist Bob Richardson, for an In The Shadows column. Richardson happened to bring his video camera along, and has put together the following ten-minute account of our experiences on the day. I should warn you, it's not only totally wonky, but also, hilarious and engaging and marvelous, too. What more can I say? We tried...


Richardson has contacted Trimet spokesperson Mary Fetsch today, linking her to the video, asking her if anything has improved:
Speaking anecdotally from my own experiences in the last six months, there hasn't appeared to be much improvement (in fact, things are worse at my closest station), but I don't know what's been going on agency-wide... Can you provide any statistics or a road map which might indicate improvements to come?

One important thing we realized after doing this project is that even though most stations have at least two ticket machines (if you count all platforms), the failure of just one machine can cause significant burdens to passengers. As the video shows, most of the stations on the Yellow Line (much like the stations on the original Blue Line east of 102nd) have median platforms which are split by intersections. If a passenger cannot purchase a fare at one platform, it requires a total of six signalized pedestrian crossings to make a round trip to the opposite platform. Because most signals require a button to be pushed (and a wait of a full cycle), this can conceivably take up to 12 minutes. This kind of delay, combined with the risk of missing a train, encourages people to jaywalk in order to buy a fare. Should it really be the effective policy that a passenger must cross a wide, busy street like Lombard or 122nd twice in order to purchase a ticket?

Based on that concern, my informal recommendation would be that TriMet place two ticket machines on each independent platform where a major street crossing is required. Do you know if this issue has been discussed internally?


Richardson also sent Fetsch a spreadsheet showing the stations and platforms visited, itemizing the condition of the machines tested. I bet he's just made her day. Don't you think? Hope you enjoy the video. Thanks for all the hard work putting it together, Bob.

 

Comments (14) RSS

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1
good article you guys. the next one should be max stations after dark.
Posted by LifeAquatic on January 12, 2009 at 2:46 PM · Report
2
Thanks, LifeAquatic...

I actually did a piece about MAX-after-dark awhile back, which you can find here:

http://portlandtransport.com/archives/2008…

It's not the definitive study of the subject, but it's a start. :-)
Posted by Bob R. on January 12, 2009 at 2:54 PM · Report
3
Just a point - You can get month passes (which is what I use) and a book of tickets (which is what my wife uses). So there shouldn't be issues there. Whole Paycheck, Freddies and Safeway sell them, among others.

Also, I would focus also on the Streetcar - Those ticket systems on the trains NEVER work.
Posted by Rishu73 on January 12, 2009 at 3:21 PM · Report
4
Rishu73 -

Books of prepaid tickets are also a problem if the validators aren't working, or as documented in the video, stamp the wrong time on your prepaid ticket, rendering it expired before you even board a train.

It is true that regular riders can buy passes, or stock up on prepaid tickets. However, many riders are occasional riders or visitors, sometimes pass-holders bring friends or children who wouldn't otherwise have a pass.

If we're going to have single-fare vending at all, the machines ought to work reasonably reliably, and policies shouldn't create burdens for legitimate riders when machines fail.

Lastly, regarding the streetcar, there are indeed problems with those machines. However, because the machine is located on-board the streetcar, passengers (if asked to show fare), can simply point to the failed machine as proof.

One possible solution for MAX would be to add on-board machines, a payment method of last-resort, should platform-based machines fail. Then, the problem of worrying whether you'll be believed by a fare inspector goes away, because if the on-board machine isn't working, as with the streetcar, passengers can just point to it. Installing such machines would remove a bit of passenger room, though.
Posted by Bob R. on January 12, 2009 at 3:28 PM · Report
5
Excellent! Top notch.
Posted by J_Renaud on January 12, 2009 at 3:39 PM · Report
6
Bob R. is one of Portland's best examples of why wonkiness matters, or at least should.
Posted by The One True b!X on January 12, 2009 at 4:31 PM · Report
7
Great job public advocate Bob and reporter Matt.
Posted by ETB on January 12, 2009 at 5:38 PM · Report
8
Would have been better if you got tackled.
Posted by Will Radik on January 12, 2009 at 7:06 PM · Report
9
great job guys.
raising the ticket prices to cover for gas then not lowering them when gas prices go down,
wanting to end fareless square when it is what makes our system unique,
having ticket machines that dont work, but adding more fare inspectors,
Tri Met needs better oversight.
I too was expecting Matt to get tackled.
Posted by Heywood Jab... on January 12, 2009 at 8:26 PM · Report
10
No more tackling Matt! :)

--Matt's wife
Posted by Skinny City Girl on January 12, 2009 at 9:26 PM · Report
11
a) Thank you Mr, Richardson for your fine work. The only machine my debit card has worked in since last Summer has been at the Pioneer Square TriMet office. Thank you new employer for my TriMet pass!

b) Feel free to take the plum out of your mouth Mr. Pom, I mean Mr. Davis.
Posted by Milfalicious on January 12, 2009 at 9:32 PM · Report
12
I am an occasional (2-3 times a week) bus & MAX rider, and I normally don't have tickets on me. The two machines at the stop where I board (downtown near Central Library, going east) have NEVER both been working. I have never seen the westernmost one working, and the easternmost machine, on the occasion it is working at all, is only accepting one form of payment. I have had several experiences where it cannot read either of my credit cards (with which I have no problems at grocery stores, etc.). Last week I had an experience where I was trying to buy a $2.30 fare: I gave it three dollar bills, at which point it said I still owed $0.30, and then the red dot came on meaning I couldn't put in any more money. So I pressed cancel and got none of my money back, nor a ticket, and had to ride out to Gateway worrying about the inspectors. I would say that only about 5-10% of the time do I have a smooth, flawless transaction with a MAX machine.
Posted by hollywoodwheat on January 13, 2009 at 1:09 AM · Report
13
Great video, guys. Entertaining and very telling of this issue.

I covered it on my blog TriMetiquette. You can read about it here:

http://www.trimetiquette.com/trimet-max-ti…

Again, great stuff.
Posted by TriMetiquette on January 13, 2009 at 8:33 AM · Report
14
We always buy passes, so it is not a problem. But any time (and I do mean any time) I am trying to ride with someone who doesn't normally ride the machines are broken. This makes a TERRIBLE impression on people who are wondering if they might be able to use transit reliably. This is a MAJOR problem for TriMet.
Posted by valkraider on January 13, 2009 at 9:05 PM · Report

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