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Thursday, September 8, 2011

Transportation Streetcar's Free Fare Zone May Be Derailed

Posted by Alex Zielinski on Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 10:44 AM

Get your free rides on the Portland Streetcar while you can — come next year, the MAX may be the only free transportation downtown.

In a Wednesday meeting with their citizen's advisory committee, Portland Streetcar Inc. recommended to eliminate streetcars from the once Fareless Square — now Free Rail Zone — in tandem with a monthly pass price boost. The change must be passed by Portland Streetcar's board in early November, followed by Portland City Council's stamp of approval, to go into effect by September 2012.

An enraged protester at a 2009 rally

After the TriMet bus system backed out of Fareless Square in 2009, resuming regular bus fares in all zones, the downtown area was renamed the Free Rail Zone. Now, another name change may be in store, leaving MAX as the only free public transportation in the zone.

Amid a debated push towards costly expansion, the streetcar has set its sights high when it comes to fares. If the request passes, the base streetcar fare would be $2.10 across the system. In addition, the monthly pass would spike from the current $8.33 per month to "hopefully" less than $45 per month, according to Streetcar Director Rick Gustafson.

This change would also bank on faithful ridership — specifically within the penny-pinching Portland State University crowd and South Waterfront residents. At the Wednesday meeting, Gustafson based this change on fairness by asking for across-the-board pay from all riders in all zones. The Streetcar staff plans to conduct a public outreach process over the next seven weeks to fully examine the possible impact of the November decision.

 

Comments (14) RSS

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1
Portlanders love nothing more than telling themselves how smart they are.

Reality shows us otherwise
Posted by D on September 8, 2011 at 11:04 AM · Report
2
A ride on the streetcar is not worth $2.10.
Posted by Fruit Cup on September 8, 2011 at 11:35 AM · Report
3
is that caption supposed to be a joke?
Posted by counter.strike on September 8, 2011 at 11:55 AM · Report
4
In the early years of the streetcar you could buy an ANNUAL pass for $50, and even so it was obvious that most of the riders had jumped on for free ("we're still in Fareless Square, right?"). I don't think they've ever had much business acumen over at Portland Streetcar.
Posted by sgp on September 8, 2011 at 12:10 PM · Report
5
What the internet has proven (with piracy) is that some people will take things for free. If it's not available for free, then they won't use it. Other people will pay no matter what. Cutting out the free will not win people to your cause, it just means that less people are going to be using it or thinking about it, and in time the service, downloadable, etc becomes obsolete.

For example, you can look at manga piracy online--fans of japanese comics often will read "scanlations," or fan translation of a series, before the series becomes available in English. A few savvy publishers have combatted this by providing chapters online for free, in english, at the same release rate as the japanese issue. The result was an increase in book sales.
Posted by ScrumYummy on September 8, 2011 at 12:10 PM · Report
6
I tend to agree with Fruit Cup. A ride on the streetcar is not worth $2.10, especially considering how long it takes to get anywhere on it. A bus will get you to your destination a hell of a lot faster, but I guess people just don't like riding on buses.
Posted by sarahesterman on September 8, 2011 at 12:35 PM · Report
7
I used to live on the Streetcar line but I'd hardly use it because I could easily beat it walking. Unless they're bankin on it being a tourist magnet, I don't see how it can compete with the faster & free MAX. I'm surprised PSU hasn't struck a deal for their students. OHSU has--a badge equals fare. They're probably the only people that will continue to ride it.
Posted by Night Moves on September 8, 2011 at 1:12 PM · Report
8
@counter.strike = Yes.
Posted by alexzielinski on September 8, 2011 at 1:16 PM · Report
9
$2.10 to move as quickly as I walk? Ha.

Also, what ScrumYummy said.
Posted by Broseph Goebbels on September 8, 2011 at 1:25 PM · Report
10
Good luck with that. The only time I ever take the streetcar is when I'm sick and don't want to walk or it's too hot. Neither of those are worth $2.10.
Posted by DemonJuice on September 8, 2011 at 1:57 PM · Report
11
Since there is no such thing as a free lunch, we have to ask is paying for these subsidised streetcar (and MAX) rides and who is getting the benefit of it.
Posted by frankieb on September 8, 2011 at 2:16 PM · Report
12
The streetcar can get you from downtown to OHSU's tram faster than walking. I'm not sure what else it does.
Posted by Graham on September 8, 2011 at 2:24 PM · Report
13
The time has come to dump the free rides, not just the streetcar but the whole system.
They making hundreds of people go to court over these fare evasion tickets yet they hand out service for free in downtown Portland.
Transit equity?
No such thing as equity in this city.
Posted by Al M on September 8, 2011 at 4:03 PM · Report
14
Lots of dumb, hateful and angry comments. As I expected.
Posted by doesurmindglow on September 19, 2011 at 11:46 AM · Report

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