Fareless Square
Encyclopedia
The Free Rail Zone is an area within Portland, Oregon
where all TriMet
light rail and Portland Streetcar
rides are zero-fare (free). It primarily consists of the downtown area
and the Lloyd District
. Established in 1975, it was known as Fareless Square until 2010, and until then had included free rides on buses as well as on trains. The Free Rail Zone is similar to downtown free-fare transit zones in Seattle (established in 1973), Pittsburgh
(since 1985) and Salt Lake City
(since 1985), except for the recent change limiting its coverage to rail services. That change makes the current zone similar to one in Calgary, Alberta
, which applies only to light rail.
, then southward along the western shore of the Willamette River. The boundary of the eastside section starts at the east foot of the Steel Bridge, heads northwest to North Interstate Avenue to Multnomah Street, then east to the 1400 block of Northeast Multnomah Street, south to Northeast Holladay Street, and west to the Steel Bridge. By implication the entirety of the Steel Bridge is within the Free Rail Zone.
According to the TriMet code, the free-ride zone is created "within Zone 1" and does not constitute a separate fare zone.
Fareless Square initially encompassed the area of downtown Portland
between the Willamette River
and I-405
, north of Southwest Market Street and south of Northwest Hoyt Street. On April 3, 1977, it was expanded southward to the point where I-405 meets the river at the Marquam Bridge. A minor adjustment of Fareless Square occurred during the 1990s in order to include the stops for Union Station
(Amtrak
), by extending the northern limits of the area by one block to Northwest Irving Street.
In 2001 Fareless Square was extended again, this time across the river to the Lloyd District. Included were MAX stations along Holladay Street and bus stops on NE Multnomah Street from the Rose Quarter
, past the Oregon Convention Center
to the Lloyd Center
shopping mall. This was a panhandle-shaped addition to the original free-fare zone, and consequently Fareless Square was, strictly speaking, no longer square-shaped but retained its name. In 2007, a pair of stops directly in front of Union Station, added with Portland Mall construction and north of Hoyt Street, were added to the zone . The free-service area currently covers 1.35 mi2.
Officials attempted to terminate Fareless Square in 1986, but public support for it prevailed.
In January 2009, TriMet again raised the idea of reducing the validity of Fareless Square or possibly imposing a discounted fare, of $1, in the area concerned, this time in conjunction with a need to trim its budget in response to a regional economic downturn. In addition, consultants have cited the number of drug dealers which use buses in the fareless zone for transportation.
The Portland Business Alliance and tourism bureau supported the move. The estimated loss of revenue due to rides being free in the fareless zone is $800,000. In August 2009, the TriMet board approved an ordinance to discontinue the fareless zone on buses but retain it for MAX and the Portland Streetcar. The change took effect in 2010, with the zone renamed the "Free Rail Zone."
As bus drivers could only request, but not require, payment of fares on bus boardings within Fareless Square, critics of TriMet alleged that the existence of Fareless Square facilitated fare evasion
, and thus lost revenue, which must be made up by other means, such as taxation. In particular, riders who board in Fareless Square without paying a fare and then knowingly travel beyond the zone's boundaries would be evading fare. Transfers were given to all passengers who paid fares within the fareless zone, which were subject to inspection by fare inspectors or drivers at the first stop outside of the fareless boundary. However, in practice, drivers did not systematically enforce fare collection on bus trips taken from points inside the fare-free zone to points outside it. (In other cities with fareless zones, pay-on-exit is used on trips leaving the fareless area.)
On the MAX Light Rail and Portland Streetcar
lines, a proof-of-payment
fare system (or "honor" fare system) is used, so the application of the Free Rail Zone means that fare inspectors do not check passengers' fares within the free-fare zone.
In late 2007, a series of attacks
against TriMet
passengers, particularly on the MAX Blue Line
in Gresham
, led to increased public scrutiny of the security of the Portland transit system as a whole. Fareless Square was called into question as part of this inquiry, as it was alleged that the perpetrators of such offenses were often fare evaders who boarded TriMet in Fareless Square, and who then traveled to other areas (such as Gresham) without paying any fare, and that more stringent fare collection would keep such "undesirables" off the trains. TriMet's general manager proposed limiting the hours of Fareless Square to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, others questioned the logic of linking incidents of crime in Gresham with the existence of a free transit zone located several miles away, in downtown Portland, and TriMet's own statistics showed that in 2007 the agency received very few complaints about activities such as drug dealing and panhandling in Fareless Square. TriMet held two public hearings on January 16, 2008 to help determine the future of Fareless Square but, after receiving a large volume of comment from the public, decided to not make any immediate changes.
Other commentators have periodically called for eliminating fares altogether on TriMet, financing the public transportation system entirely through taxation.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
where all TriMet
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
light rail and Portland Streetcar
Portland Streetcar
The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. It is currently a single line that is almost long and serves some 12,000 daily riders, but a second line is expected to open in 2012.As with the heavier-duty MAX...
rides are zero-fare (free). It primarily consists of the downtown area
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
and the Lloyd District
Lloyd District, Portland, Oregon
The Lloyd District is a primarily commercial neighborhood in the North and Northeast sections of Portland, Oregon. It is named after Ralph Lloyd , a California rancher, oilman, and real estate developer who moved to and started the development of the area.The Lloyd District is bounded by the...
. Established in 1975, it was known as Fareless Square until 2010, and until then had included free rides on buses as well as on trains. The Free Rail Zone is similar to downtown free-fare transit zones in Seattle (established in 1973), Pittsburgh
Port Authority of Allegheny County
Port Authority of Allegheny County is the second-largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania and the 11th-largest in the United States. When considering that its service area is the 20th largest in the U.S...
(since 1985) and Salt Lake City
Utah Transit Authority
The Utah Transit Authority operates a public transportation system throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, United States. It operates fixed route buses, express buses, ski buses, three light rail lines , and a commuter rail line from Salt Lake City to Pleasant View, north of Ogden. UTA is based in...
(since 1985), except for the recent change limiting its coverage to rail services. That change makes the current zone similar to one in Calgary, Alberta
C-Train
C-Train is the light rail transit system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has been in operation since May 25, 1981. The system is operated by Calgary Transit, a department of the Calgary municipal government.-Operations:...
, which applies only to light rail.
Current boundaries
The boundary of the westside portion of the Free Rail Zone starts at the west foot of the Marquam Bridge, heads northwest along Interstate 405 to Northwest Irving Street, east to the Steel BridgeSteel Bridge
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic and light rail , making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world...
, then southward along the western shore of the Willamette River. The boundary of the eastside section starts at the east foot of the Steel Bridge, heads northwest to North Interstate Avenue to Multnomah Street, then east to the 1400 block of Northeast Multnomah Street, south to Northeast Holladay Street, and west to the Steel Bridge. By implication the entirety of the Steel Bridge is within the Free Rail Zone.
According to the TriMet code, the free-ride zone is created "within Zone 1" and does not constitute a separate fare zone.
History
Adopted in 1975 to combat limited parking and air pollution,Fareless Square initially encompassed the area of downtown Portland
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
between the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
and I-405
Interstate 405 (Oregon)
Interstate 405 is a short Interstate Highway in Portland, Oregon. It forms a loop from Interstate 5 that travels through downtown Portland west of the Willamette River.-Route description:...
, north of Southwest Market Street and south of Northwest Hoyt Street. On April 3, 1977, it was expanded southward to the point where I-405 meets the river at the Marquam Bridge. A minor adjustment of Fareless Square occurred during the 1990s in order to include the stops for Union Station
Union Station (Portland)
Union Station is a train station near the west shore of the Willamette River in the Old Town Chinatown section of Portland, Oregon, United States....
(Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
), by extending the northern limits of the area by one block to Northwest Irving Street.
In 2001 Fareless Square was extended again, this time across the river to the Lloyd District. Included were MAX stations along Holladay Street and bus stops on NE Multnomah Street from the Rose Quarter
Rose Garden Arena
Rose Garden, commonly known as the Rose Garden Arena, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is suitable for large indoor events of all sorts, including basketball, ice hockey, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions...
, past the Oregon Convention Center
Oregon Convention Center
The Oregon Convention Center is a convention center in Portland, Oregon. Opened in 1990, it located on the east side of the Willamette River in the Lloyd District neighborhood. It is best known for the twin spire towers which provide light into the building's interior and for housing the world's...
to the Lloyd Center
Lloyd Center
Lloyd Center is a shopping mall in the Lloyd District of Portland, Oregon, United States, just northeast of downtown. It is owned by Glimcher Realty Trust and anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom, Sears, Marshalls and Ross. The mall features three floors of shopping with the third level serving mostly...
shopping mall. This was a panhandle-shaped addition to the original free-fare zone, and consequently Fareless Square was, strictly speaking, no longer square-shaped but retained its name. In 2007, a pair of stops directly in front of Union Station, added with Portland Mall construction and north of Hoyt Street, were added to the zone . The free-service area currently covers 1.35 mi2.
Officials attempted to terminate Fareless Square in 1986, but public support for it prevailed.
In January 2009, TriMet again raised the idea of reducing the validity of Fareless Square or possibly imposing a discounted fare, of $1, in the area concerned, this time in conjunction with a need to trim its budget in response to a regional economic downturn. In addition, consultants have cited the number of drug dealers which use buses in the fareless zone for transportation.
Change to "Free Rail Zone"
In 2009, the idea of eliminating fareless service on buses was introduced, primarily because most trips on within the fareless area would be served by MAX and the Portland Streetcar, including trips on the new Portland Transit Mall light rail route. In addition, drivers complained about passengers boarding buses for a few stops within the fareless area, slowing down longer distance riders. Tri-Met stated that 93% of all trips made within the fareless zone can be made via the rail system. In addition, to alleviate concerns about seniors and the disabled in the downtown losing access to free service, a photo ID card would be provided to residents living within the current fareless boundaries to ride transit within the current boundary for $10 for two years.The Portland Business Alliance and tourism bureau supported the move. The estimated loss of revenue due to rides being free in the fareless zone is $800,000. In August 2009, the TriMet board approved an ordinance to discontinue the fareless zone on buses but retain it for MAX and the Portland Streetcar. The change took effect in 2010, with the zone renamed the "Free Rail Zone."
Controversy
From time to time, some in the Portland area have called for Fareless Square to be abolished, for various reasons.As bus drivers could only request, but not require, payment of fares on bus boardings within Fareless Square, critics of TriMet alleged that the existence of Fareless Square facilitated fare evasion
Fare evasion
Fare evasion, as distinct from fare avoidance, is the act of travelling on public transport in disregard of the law and/or regulation, having deliberately not purchased the required ticket to travel . It is a problem in many parts of the world, and revenue protection officers operate on many systems...
, and thus lost revenue, which must be made up by other means, such as taxation. In particular, riders who board in Fareless Square without paying a fare and then knowingly travel beyond the zone's boundaries would be evading fare. Transfers were given to all passengers who paid fares within the fareless zone, which were subject to inspection by fare inspectors or drivers at the first stop outside of the fareless boundary. However, in practice, drivers did not systematically enforce fare collection on bus trips taken from points inside the fare-free zone to points outside it. (In other cities with fareless zones, pay-on-exit is used on trips leaving the fareless area.)
On the MAX Light Rail and Portland Streetcar
Portland Streetcar
The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. It is currently a single line that is almost long and serves some 12,000 daily riders, but a second line is expected to open in 2012.As with the heavier-duty MAX...
lines, a proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment or POP is an honor-based fare collection approach used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, proof-of-payment requires that each passenger carry a ticket or pass proving that they have paid the fare. Ticket...
fare system (or "honor" fare system) is used, so the application of the Free Rail Zone means that fare inspectors do not check passengers' fares within the free-fare zone.
In late 2007, a series of attacks
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
against TriMet
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
passengers, particularly on the MAX Blue Line
MAX Blue Line
The MAX Blue Line is a 33 mile light rail line in the MAX Light Rail system in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet, the line runs between Hillsboro and Gresham, via downtown Portland...
in Gresham
Gresham, Oregon
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 90,205 people, 33,327 households, and 22,695 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,071.6 people per square mile . There were 35,309 housing units at an average density of 1,593.8 per square mile...
, led to increased public scrutiny of the security of the Portland transit system as a whole. Fareless Square was called into question as part of this inquiry, as it was alleged that the perpetrators of such offenses were often fare evaders who boarded TriMet in Fareless Square, and who then traveled to other areas (such as Gresham) without paying any fare, and that more stringent fare collection would keep such "undesirables" off the trains. TriMet's general manager proposed limiting the hours of Fareless Square to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, others questioned the logic of linking incidents of crime in Gresham with the existence of a free transit zone located several miles away, in downtown Portland, and TriMet's own statistics showed that in 2007 the agency received very few complaints about activities such as drug dealing and panhandling in Fareless Square. TriMet held two public hearings on January 16, 2008 to help determine the future of Fareless Square but, after receiving a large volume of comment from the public, decided to not make any immediate changes.
Other commentators have periodically called for eliminating fares altogether on TriMet, financing the public transportation system entirely through taxation.
| boundary coordinates |
|---|
| 45.52394°N 122.68621°W |
| 45.51375°N 122.68913°W |
| 45.50638°N 122.68158°W |
| 45.51390°N 122.67317°W |
| 45.52168°N 122.68540°W |
| 45.50502°N 122.67351°W |
| 45.51152°N 122.68845°W |
| 45.52788°N 122.68656°W |
| 45.52388°N 122.66909°W |
| 45.52845°N 122.67218°W |
| 45.52923°N 122.66785°W |
| 45.53173°N 122.66527°W |
| 45.53236°N 122.64922°W |
| 45.52974°N 122.64965°W |
| 45.52962°N 122.66450°W |
External links
- Official Info
- Map of Fareless Square (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file: here)