Chief
07-31-2008, 06:24 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121748011387950.xml&coll=7
Test - Platforms in Northeast Portland and Gresham will be enclosed and staffed with inspectors
Thursday, July 31, 2008
BRAD SCHMIDT
The Oregonian Staff
TriMet's fare honor system is set for an overhaul this fall at two troubled light-rail stops in Portland and Gresham, where new fenced checkpoints will be staffed by ticket inspectors.
The platform renovations -- to be implemented at Northeast 82nd Avenue and Gresham Central transit centers -- signal a striking philosophical shift for TriMet, which has largely relied on customer honesty on its touted MAX system.
Spurred by high-profile crime problems last year and lax enforcement standards that rarely punish fare evaders, officials say the time has come to study whether more secure platforms can lead to a better system.
"To be practical, I don't think you'll ever completely eliminate fare evasion," Steve Banta, TriMet's executive director of operations, said Wednesday. "But you'll control it much, much more."
With design 75 percent complete, the $600,000 renovations would reshape where and how riders pay for tickets.
New fencing will enclose fare-paid zones at 82nd Avenue and at the westbound Gresham Central platform. Ticket-vending machines will be moved outside the fencing, and 42-inch openings will serve as checkpoints. Authorities will be stationed there 10 to 12 hours a day to check entrants, Banta said. No specific date has been set for the test program to begin.
"It's an easier way to check for fares," he said.
TriMet's decision to enclose the platforms comes as the agency draws criticism for faulty ticket machines and a system that infrequently punishes those who don't pay. With soaring fuel costs, increased ticket prices and record numbers of transit users, TriMet and agencies nationwide are increasingly addressing fare-evasion problems.
New York City this month raised fines for ticketless subway riders for the first time since 1984. San Francisco is studying how much money its system loses to free riders. And transit officials in Los Angeles County have approved installation of nearly 400 gates at subway and light-rail systems to curtail an estimated $5.5 million lost annually from skipped fares.
Locally, TriMet's changes will force riders to purchase tickets before boarding trains. Of the more than 165,000 riders stopped without valid tickets since 2002, 67 percent have received warnings instead of $115 fines or suspensions.
TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen told The Oregonian in January that any warning rate above his 50 percent goal is too generous. So far this year, 63 percent of riders stopped without valid tickets continue to receive warnings, according to TriMet data.
Portland Police Commander Vince Jarmer, who oversees the 43-member transit police division, said fare evasion is complicated by uncooperative ticket machines.
"There's a lot of legitimate people saying, 'Hey, I couldn't get a ticket today,' " Jarmer said. "And we don't have a reason to disbelieve them."
Hansen had vowed that reliable ticket machines would be working at all platforms by last February, but he now says those efforts weren't enough. Another 31 dated machines must be replaced by year's end, he said, while even more will be swapped for debit/credit machines.
"To be able to really move toward that 50 percent," Hansen said, authorities "need to be able to have assurances that the ticket vending machine was working, that there wasn't a question about it."
But even with station changes and increases to transit police and security staff, reviews are mixed about TriMet's progress on fare evasion.
John Charles, president of Portland's Cascade Policy Institute, contends that fare evasion is tolerated because ticket receipts make up only about one-fifth of TriMet's operating budget.
"Given that there seems to be a fairly widespread problem on TriMet," Charles said, "if they want to be taken seriously on this fare issue, then they should enforce it aggressively."
Lynn Lehrbach, one of seven on TriMet's board of directors, agrees. He said a warning-first response to fare evasion "isn't good enough.
"There is a concern," he said. "Anytime we're raising fares we want to make sure everybody's paying that's getting on."
And Gresham's mayor, who advocated for gated MAX stations, said he will reserve judgment on TriMet's platform changes until he sees specifics.
"One of the things (Hansen) told me is we'd have the opportunity to sit down and talk about the design of the stations," Mayor Shane Bemis said. "To date, we haven't done that."
In the meantime, Bemis said he wonders how much money TriMet is losing to fare evasion.
"If we had just some of that fare evasion money to go toward added security," he said, "we'd be far ahead."
Brad Schmidt, 503-294-5940; bradschmidt@news.oregonian.com
Test - Platforms in Northeast Portland and Gresham will be enclosed and staffed with inspectors
Thursday, July 31, 2008
BRAD SCHMIDT
The Oregonian Staff
TriMet's fare honor system is set for an overhaul this fall at two troubled light-rail stops in Portland and Gresham, where new fenced checkpoints will be staffed by ticket inspectors.
The platform renovations -- to be implemented at Northeast 82nd Avenue and Gresham Central transit centers -- signal a striking philosophical shift for TriMet, which has largely relied on customer honesty on its touted MAX system.
Spurred by high-profile crime problems last year and lax enforcement standards that rarely punish fare evaders, officials say the time has come to study whether more secure platforms can lead to a better system.
"To be practical, I don't think you'll ever completely eliminate fare evasion," Steve Banta, TriMet's executive director of operations, said Wednesday. "But you'll control it much, much more."
With design 75 percent complete, the $600,000 renovations would reshape where and how riders pay for tickets.
New fencing will enclose fare-paid zones at 82nd Avenue and at the westbound Gresham Central platform. Ticket-vending machines will be moved outside the fencing, and 42-inch openings will serve as checkpoints. Authorities will be stationed there 10 to 12 hours a day to check entrants, Banta said. No specific date has been set for the test program to begin.
"It's an easier way to check for fares," he said.
TriMet's decision to enclose the platforms comes as the agency draws criticism for faulty ticket machines and a system that infrequently punishes those who don't pay. With soaring fuel costs, increased ticket prices and record numbers of transit users, TriMet and agencies nationwide are increasingly addressing fare-evasion problems.
New York City this month raised fines for ticketless subway riders for the first time since 1984. San Francisco is studying how much money its system loses to free riders. And transit officials in Los Angeles County have approved installation of nearly 400 gates at subway and light-rail systems to curtail an estimated $5.5 million lost annually from skipped fares.
Locally, TriMet's changes will force riders to purchase tickets before boarding trains. Of the more than 165,000 riders stopped without valid tickets since 2002, 67 percent have received warnings instead of $115 fines or suspensions.
TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen told The Oregonian in January that any warning rate above his 50 percent goal is too generous. So far this year, 63 percent of riders stopped without valid tickets continue to receive warnings, according to TriMet data.
Portland Police Commander Vince Jarmer, who oversees the 43-member transit police division, said fare evasion is complicated by uncooperative ticket machines.
"There's a lot of legitimate people saying, 'Hey, I couldn't get a ticket today,' " Jarmer said. "And we don't have a reason to disbelieve them."
Hansen had vowed that reliable ticket machines would be working at all platforms by last February, but he now says those efforts weren't enough. Another 31 dated machines must be replaced by year's end, he said, while even more will be swapped for debit/credit machines.
"To be able to really move toward that 50 percent," Hansen said, authorities "need to be able to have assurances that the ticket vending machine was working, that there wasn't a question about it."
But even with station changes and increases to transit police and security staff, reviews are mixed about TriMet's progress on fare evasion.
John Charles, president of Portland's Cascade Policy Institute, contends that fare evasion is tolerated because ticket receipts make up only about one-fifth of TriMet's operating budget.
"Given that there seems to be a fairly widespread problem on TriMet," Charles said, "if they want to be taken seriously on this fare issue, then they should enforce it aggressively."
Lynn Lehrbach, one of seven on TriMet's board of directors, agrees. He said a warning-first response to fare evasion "isn't good enough.
"There is a concern," he said. "Anytime we're raising fares we want to make sure everybody's paying that's getting on."
And Gresham's mayor, who advocated for gated MAX stations, said he will reserve judgment on TriMet's platform changes until he sees specifics.
"One of the things (Hansen) told me is we'd have the opportunity to sit down and talk about the design of the stations," Mayor Shane Bemis said. "To date, we haven't done that."
In the meantime, Bemis said he wonders how much money TriMet is losing to fare evasion.
"If we had just some of that fare evasion money to go toward added security," he said, "we'd be far ahead."
Brad Schmidt, 503-294-5940; bradschmidt@news.oregonian.com