The need to abolish two-zone passes and / or rehaul the fare system
TriMet’s fare system is in need of a rehaul. The need to change the fare system or even rehaul the zone structure (or get rid of it completely) is only intensified with the new Green Line launch that happened this month. I’ll do my best to explain.
First, I need to thank a reader who I had some back and forth with; this individual brought this back into my attention and I thank this reader for sharing some insights, of which I’ll be using in this post.
The Zone System is Flawed
Here’s a map provided by TriMet to explain how the zones are laid out:
Looks simple enough… but is it really that simple?
An example: all train stops east of SE 82nd are in Zone 3 — even though the Green Line from Division to Foster runs within sight of Zone 2. And unlike the bus, there’s still no way for a MAX rider with a monthly two-zone pass to buy an upgrade ticket. Furthermore, though all stops east of SE 82nd are Zone 3, on the east side there are no “paid” stops in Zone 1 — unless you count the stops in Fareless Square.
Confused yet?
Here’s a look at the rail zone map (click for bigger image):
Say you own a Two-Zone monthly pass. If you’re traveling west on the red or blue line, that two-zone pass isn’t doing anything for you. So you’ll need to purchase a fare upgrade for this.
Fare Upgrades for Two-Zone Pass Holders is Ridiculous
If you own a two-zone monthly pass and need to upgrade to an all-zone pass for the day if you’re riding the MAX west, you’re going to have a hell of a time doing so. If you’re hopping on the bus, purchasing an upgrade to an all-zone day pass is as easy as $0.30. If you’re riding the MAX, you might think that a ticket machine has an upgrade option for you to purchase.
Nope.
TriMet’s advice if you’re a rail rider and you want to upgrade to an all-zone pass? Buy the upgrade on a bus.
Does that sound at all reasonable?
Possible Solutions
First, keep in mind that any change to the zone and / or fare system will impact revenue. The question is whether or not it would impact it in TriMet’s favor. If it decreases overall revenue for TriMet, for whatever reason, you need to think of side-effects that come about from making any sort of change:
- A more-friendly image of TriMet. Riders won’t be as confused. The ticket buying process will be easier to understand. Riders will understand how much a single two-hour or all-day ticket costs without having to think about zones.
- This also helps bus operators by not requiring them to look whether or not the transfer receipt is an all-zone or two-zone pass. This can also help in terms of keeping buses on schedule by reducing the time it takes for riders to have to show fare, bus operators having to inspect said fare, etc.
- This helps ticket inspectors too. Easy “does the individual have the fare or not?” checks.
Get Rid of the Zone System
The first possible solution is just to get rid of the zone system. I could see some protests from those who might be riding from Zone 2 who only require a two-zone pass. But look at it this way: currently, a two-zone two-hour pass is $2.00. An all-zone two-hour pass is $2.30. This is a difference of $0.30. Say TriMet was generous, got rid of the zones, and just required $2.15 for a two-hour pass for all zones. This isn’t a huge hike in price, is it?
Get Rid of the Two-Zone Daily / Monthly Pass
You can buy a two-zone monthly pass… but, when purchasing a day pass, you can only purchase an all-zone pass. The upgrade system if you hold a two-zone pass to an all-zone daily pass is ridiculous and requires you to buy an upgrade on a bus if you’re riding the rail. Why does the two-zone pass exist? And if it’s truly important for it to exist, why not give riders an easier way to upgrade to an all-zone pass for the day?
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Comments
Why not simply expand the Zone 1 some, and merge zones 2 and 3 and charge 2.30 for all of the new outer zone.
@Allan - Zone 1 = fareless square (for rail). They will not extend fareless square (in fact, as you may recall, they were toying with the idea of perhaps getting rid of it). Zone 2 + 3 merged would go with the “get rid of the zone system” solution I hit on in the post.
@Adam - that’s crazy; the blue line gets hit fairly frequently with fare inspectors.
You have just hit the tip of the iceberg. Why can’t you buy a packet of all zone all day tickets?
Being in zone three and all my travel is in zone three, can I just have a one zone pass? I believe so, but it has never been really clear.
Traveling through the tunnel from the westside means that you need to have a all zone pass just to get to the zoo, but if your coming from the east, all you need is a one zone. How is this fair?
The list goes on. In the end. Make 1 zone. Sell two hour or all day. End the confusion. Also, give a discount on the Monthly Pass to encourage people to buy a monthly pass.
Zone 1 is not fareless square for buses. The last Zone 1 stop on 99W, for example, is the Rasmussen Apartments south of Hamilton.
Merge the zones, and forget $2.15. Forget $2.30 as well. I’m fricking tired of carrying odd change. Make it $2.25 and make all future hikes in 25 cent increments. Yes, that’ll cost more to many, but not *that* much more, and passes (wether day, weekly, multi-ride, or monthly) do not have to maintain the 2.25 rate.
While they are at it they need to modernize the ticket system. There should be the ability for people to have multi passes. Standing in line waiting for each person to get a ticket (which takes FOREVER) for each ride is insane.
Yeah, another oddity is that WES is entirely in Zone 3, but you need to get an all-zone pass to ride it.
Okay, but what if I just want to ride a mile or two down SE 122nd Avenue? It already irks me to pay $2 for that.
“Traveling through the tunnel from the westside means that you need to have a all zone pass just to get to the zoo, but if your coming from the east, all you need is a one zone. How is this fair?”
I think I might be miss understanding this persons post.
If you are coming from the eastside (where or how far east the poster doesn’t say, but for arguement sake, let’s say zone 3 Gresham) to go to the zoo, you would need a 3-zone (all-zone) ticket/pass. You have no way(timely) of staying in zone 3 and coming around to the zoo from the east without passing into the other zones at some point along your journey, so you would indeed need an all zone from the east side.
OR-If you are coming from Zone 2 eastside (say 50th ave) to the Zoo, it is then only a 1-2 zone ticket, because the zoo is inside Zone 1. Fareless is an “entity” all itself.
The only people that might be getting “riped off” as it is being put, are folks who rarely if ever travel outside fareless square or zone 1. No discount for a single zone anymore.
I FULLY AGREE that there needs to be a MAJOR revamping of the fare structure. As it stands, it is a major nightmare for operators and passengers alike.
But I agree with Christian and those who ask…What would you pay to ride a few blocks? And…how would you be able to ensure that “the system” and other riders are not being ripped off? (saying they are only riding a few blocks and actually riding much further).
Eliminate zones. Drop the fare to $1.25 or $1.50 a ride. (I like the .25 cent increment thing, Wish the USPS did the same thing. Less hassle.) E L I M I N A T E transfers..everytime you get on a bus you pay a fare. EXCEPT if you have a pass. Keep the Day pass; develop a reasonable weekly & monthly discounted fare for Adult, Senior, Youth and Disabled.
(I don’t really know if I’m comfortable with the “Honored” moniker going to “recovering” addicts or ?; it needs a better title, but that’s another story..sorry to offend if I have. If you have served your country or lay your live on the line, you are “honored”. If you are a Senior who has lived a full life and is now retired and rightfuly commands respect, you are “honored”. If you are recovering or still using from an addiction, you are recovering; you could be considered “honored if you are now 100% OFF of that addiction). Off my soap box now. Again, apologies if I offended.
These things will likely drive UP fare revenue. This will make our fare system less confusing. This will cause less stress on operators AND our passengers (and even TriMet bookeepers.) and will eliminate a good part of the fraud we face. Oh, and save on paper and printing costs of transfers. Hmmm. Pain in the rear at first, but….
I’d eliminate zones, and sell only “2 hour” or “all day” passes as some others have suggested.
I might even eliminate the weekly/two-week/and monthly passes. TriMet could offer volume discounts on booklets of day passes it would acocmplish the same thing as week/monthly passes do — while reducing the number of different kinds of tickets drivers and fare inspectors would have to recognize.
Get rid of zones and forget about 2 hour tickets–just look at other transit systems like NYC, Chicago or Seattle where you pay by distance and/or number of transfers and there’s no time limit to worry about. Keep it simple.
The circular zone system never made much sense to me either…
The idea is that you pay more for the distance you’re traveling, however with the current system you can travel from Hillsboro to Gresham staying entirely inside of Zone 3. 
1) Max from Hillsboro to Beaverton TC.
2) 76 bus from Beaverton TC to Tualatin (Bridgeport) TC.
3) 36 bus from there to Lake Oswego.
4) 35 bus from LO to West Linn.
5) 79 bus from West Linn to Max at Clackamas Town Center.
6) Max from Clackamas Town Center to Gateway TC.
7) Max from Gateway TC to Gresham.
Sure, it’s absolutely ridiculous! But is still an excellent example of the problem with the current zone system.
So let me get this straight–I would need an all-zone ticket to go from Sunset TC to Washington Park (one stop!!!) but only a two-zone ticket to go from Cleveland Avenue in Gresham to SW 10th St downtown? Am I missing something? I understand they wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) extend Fareless Square, but having its eastern edge coincide with the zone 1 and 2 boundary is ridiculous because it makes the all-zone pass unnecessary for travel from the east side unless you’re going all the way through! So, returning to my hypothetical trip to the zoo from Sunset–if I only have a two-zone ticket, I have to take a bus or I’m screwed, essentially, right? Hm… Something about this reeks of “we can’t get our act together, so it’s your problem…”
Easy solution.
Each ride, $1.25, or better yet a flat buck.
No transfers, no zones, no oddball ticket BS. Just a $1.25. That would EASILY make just as much or more than they make from fares as it is. Then people going ONE WAY won’t get ripped off on $2.00 or $2.30.
Same with everything, get rid of the “fare-less” all together. $1.25. End of Story.
If anybody can’t understand that… well, that’s a whole different problem.
The fare zones presume that every trip is a trip to or from downtown. That may have been a reasonable assumption when the zones were started, but not anymore.
The only entirely “fair” way would be so much a mile, but that would be too complicated for most riders. For a bad example, see Seattle. Different zones depending on the transit system, inconsistent fares between Metro/Sound Transit/CT/etc. Something like Tri-Met for the buses, but “distance-based fares” on Sounder and Link. We should be so unlucky.
So, yes, I think something like a flat amount ($2.00?) for 2 hours worth of transit (whether one way or round trip) makes the most sense. Might make it easier to ride if everyone understood the fare. Or $2.00 for 2-3 hours and $4-5 for all day.
Yeah, that isn’t good for the person wanting to go a couple of stops down 122nd. But what else can be done that doesn’t complicate it too much?
What they should do is charge $1.00 per hour of service (excluding all day tickets, which would be $5.00. So, if you’re just heading up the street, it would cost $1.00 and most people on long trips would only need to buy 1 transfer! It’s foolproof!
I need to purchase an honored citizen bus pass every month, so I’m not sure how effective this would be for me to ride the tri met, and light rail.
Yes, it’s a little ridiculous especially after reading your post.
I’m not sure what they should to, to be honest, I’m still new to the way the TriMet works. All I can share is that I’ve been on the yellow line for a month and a half now, twice daily, and have yet to been asked to show my ticket. (I know, that’s completely off topic, but eh.)