A way to cheat TriMet’s MAX system?
I’m not saying this should be done in regards to the MAX system here in Portland… but what I will say is this: this is a pretty interesting way to ‘cheat’ the transit system in Mumbai. An overview of what’s going on over there:
- Mumbai’s train system isn’t equipped with a ticket checking system (much like TriMet’s MAX system)
- Six million passengers use it each day
- A “clever traveler” has devised a scheme to create an ‘insurance policy’ that riders can pay that’s about $11 to join which gives you inclusion to this ‘ticketless-traveler organization’
- If caught without a ticket, you pay the fine… then turn in that receipt to the organization and you’re paid 100% of the amount you paid for the fine
Hmm, that transit system almost mirrors how the MAX system is set up here… no way to “enforce” riders to buy tickets, fare inspections that are WAY too infrequent… interesting….
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Comments
I’m not advocating it. Just pointing out similar flaws in the systems… it’s more of a “look what’s happening over here TriMet… you guys need to step it up with ticket inspections” kind of a post.
yeah. i find it interesting that i buy a one zone ticket to beaverton which i take a couple times a week and am required to pay for an upgrade of 30 cents to travel out of zone 1 and 2. unbeknownest to me these upgrades are unavailable to me at any max stop, therefore i am risking a ticket each time i travel! whats up trimet your ticketing people and wasting thier time and money for traveling out of zone with no available way to upgrade your monthly passess unless you take a bus and put change in the meter then you dont have a proof of upgrade for transfer, im appalled and disturbed at this little entrapment sceme of yours trimet, good riddence!
How would the insurance cover a Tri-Met exclusion, which costs nothing (no fine associated) but results in expulsion from the system for a minimum of 30 days? And if you’re caught on the system - bus or train - during the exculsion period you are arrested for a class A misdemeanor, booked into the Multnomah County jail and held until your initial appearance in front of a judge (unless you post bail). Would the insurance post my bail? What about my attorney costs? Not to mention I’d now have a criminal history. Sorry, I don’t think the concept, thankfully, would work here.
My biggest problem with Tri-Met…even if you want to buy a ticket for the MAX most of the machines don’t work. I tried to get a ticket the other day and actually went to 3 machines at the stop I was at. The first was out of order, the second took coins only and the third had an electronic display that wasn’t working so you had no idea what buttons to push.
I even went to the stop before to get a ticket and both of those were out of order. So I rode the MAX without a ticket even though I wanted to pay. On the trip home, same thing at the 82nd stop, both machines were out. I even got off at the next stop on 60th to buy a ticket and EVEN there two of the machines were toast though I FINALLY found that worked. If even honest people can’t buy a ticket….
@ Kent J - that’s a good point and something that has happened to me as well on several occasions. I now just buy a monthly pass since I ride so often…
Snap out of dream world people. This isn’t the third world. There are laws on the books that would allow for the organizer of this scheme to be charged with felony fraud. It wouldn’t be hard to pose as a participant to get to the leader of this ill advised scam.
This isn’t “fraud”… it’s… umm… “Peace of Mind Insurance.” There’s nothing to say that the organizer of the setup (which can be an offshore company) actually SUGGESTS riding without a ticket. But if you do go through the emotional strain of getting fined after forgetting to buy a ticket, this organization will ease that strain at an amount equal to your fine. What’s to stop the organizer from saying that you should always buy a ticket, but this is just insurance for if you forget or happen to accidentally wander outside of your fare zone? 
Nice rationalization there Mike. Bottom line. You are expected to surrender reasonable fees for services rendered. Any breach of that basic common sense municipal code is punishable under the law. Good luck to all you cheaters. I’m sure you sleep well at night. I pay everytime and sleep like a baby.
@ Larry - I think everyone is trying to say, “Hey, this is a clever little thing that they did…” and not, “I’m going to go out and START THIS IN PORTLAND!”
I pay everyday. And I hear you about disliking the fact that people don’t pay. Sometimes I wish I could just yell out, “Raise your hand if you paid fare!” on the MAX because I just KNOW that like, 75% of the people riding haven’t paid.
Other ways to cheat:
1. When exiting a bus or MAX, you could have people exiting the bus/max give tickets to others waiting.
2. Print out all zone cards/IDs. The process for doing this is fairly trivial. When you are talking $700+ all zone passes yearly, it makes economic sense for a criminal to do this.
How to prevent:
Have bar codes on every max or bus scan valid passes/tickets for validity. Take the bus driver out of the responsibility of checking fares.
Get rid of all fees. Portland could be a leader in providing free transportation to its poplace. Yes taxes would go up, but these are hard times. You could tax commuters, like they do in London.
I don’t ride the blue line that often but I’ve been around for a couplle dozen yellow and red line fare inspections. I’ve never seen an inspector catch more than a couple of people at a time without a fare in a given MAX car.
Indy wrote:
“Get rid of all fees. Portland could be a leader in providing free transportation to its populace. Yes taxes would go up, but these are hard times. You could tax commuters, like they do in London.”
I’m all for that. More people would ride transit if it was free, especially since the price of gas is so high now.
Overall, Tri-Met FAILS to fare it’s Max riders. I get fared LESS than one time PER YEAR! I’ve been riding for 5 years and fared 4 times! So technically speaking, my over priced monthly pass would have paid itself off and I’d still have saved money!
Tri-Met needs to put up some scanners, gate system, or fare FAR more often. Even when they do fare trains, it misses more than 2-3 between the team doing it. They should stop the trains with more people..it’d probably fix their money issues they claim to have (hence the rate hike!)
What I wanna know is why, lately, they have been checking fares on BUSES quite often! The bus drivers check for fairs when you board, do they not? This isn’t downtown either.. Makes no sense.
Fare inspection has increased lately that I’ve noticed.
Why would you be pimping a system that would increase the cost to honest riders and taxpayers to the benefit of dishonest riders?
Not to mention that it’s possible that there are things you can get away with in Mumbai that would get the pants sued off of you in the US of A.