TriMet Says You Have To Pay The Fare And They Can Ask If You Did

PORTLAND, OR – TriMet has a very simple message for its riders: You have to pay to ride and they can ask you if you did. The move follows a judge's ruling that one stop was unconstitutional.

At its board meeting meeting on Wednesday, TriMet made a point of clarifying that message, pointing out that while one judge ruled one stop had been wrong, other judges have ruled just the opposite.

"If you do not want to show your proof of fare, you do not get on MAX, because the requirement to be on MAX is to have valid fare and show proof upon demand, to an inspector or a police officer," a Multnomah County judge stated in a case in 2009.

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Fare evasion has been a growing problem for TriMet. The percentage of riders who didn't pay has risen this year to 16.6 percent – up 3.5 percent from the year before, according to a study from Portland State University.

That translates into millions of dollars in lost revenue.

At the same time, the agency has been fighting an increasing perception that people of color are more likely to be asked for proof of payment than whites.

The fare evasion study did find that people of color had been stopped at a higher rate than whites while at the same time finding that the rate did correspond to the number of people who hadn't paid for their tickets rather than people being stopped because of their color.

There were also a higher number of repeat offenders who were people of color – a fact that had an effect on the numbers.

The ruling in the recent case of Ana Del Rocci – a member of the David Douglas School Board – reignited the debate. She is Latina and supporters maintained that she had been stopped because of the color of her skin not because the officer had reasonable suspicion.

Photo of TriMet board meeting via TriMet.