TriMet News

Roberta Altstadt

  • Major retailers continue selling paper tickets as Hop Fastpass™ rollout continues

    Learn about the ease and benefits that come with switching to Hop

    Major retail outlets that sell TriMet fares will continue to sell traditional paper tickets and passes into the summer as TriMet increases the marketing and education about Hop Fastpass™ transit fare cards. We heard from riders who are unclear about Hop and how it works so TriMet will be spending the coming months talking about all the ways to pay with Hop, how easy it is to use and the benefits you get with Hop that you don’t get with paper fares. TriMet will look to set a date later this spring for the transition away from paper fare sales at major retailers.

    Hop is just as easy as paper, just tap for every ride

    Hop is a new transit fare card that you use on TriMet, C-TRAN and Portland Streetcar. Just like traditional paper tickets and passes, use your Hop card to pay for your ride.

    Go to one of the hundreds of convenient retail locations that sell TriMet fares (such as Fred Meyer and Safeway). Instead of getting a book of paper tickets or a paper month pass, get a Hop card and load money on it. The Hop card costs $3. That is a one-time fee unless the card is lost or destroyed. Then you will need to purchase a replacement card.

    Pay your fare by tapping your Hop card (or phone tied with a mobile wallet) on the green Hop reader every time you board. Readers are located at MAX, WES and Vine stations and on board buses and streetcars. The system automatically deducts the cost of the ride from the user’s balance.

    Hop brings benefits that paper tickets do not

    The system gives you the best fare so you save as you ride.
    Get the savings of a day or month pass without the upfront cost of a pass. For an Adult, a month pass is $100. With Hop you can avoid that upfront cost and pay as you go!

    • Use the Hop card for two trips—more than 2½ hours apart—in one day and earn a day pass, which gives you free rides the rest of that day.
    • Paying with the Hop card, reach the cost of a month pass and ride free the rest of the month.

    Don’t waste money on fare you don’t use.

    • With a paper month pass, if you don’t end up riding 20 days in a month you end up wasting money. With the Hop card, you only pay for the rides you take.
    • With a paper day pass, if you don’t end up riding twice in the day more than 2 ½ hours apart, you’re out money. Again with the Hop card, you only pay for the rides you take.

    Easily reload money just about anywhere, anytime.

    • At the Customer Service desk (or, in the future, at the checkout lane) at a growing number of stores. At any Plaid Pantry convenience store, reload with cash only.
    • Online at myhopcard.com, using the Hop Fastpass app (download free from Google Play and iTunes) or by calling 1-844-MYHOPCARD.
    • Set up auto-load (requires card registration).

    Enjoy lost-card protection.

    • Hop is account-based, which means the value is stored in the user’s account rather than the card itself. If the card is registered, and the user reports a lost card, the balance in the account is protected and the user must pay only for a replacement card. Replacement cards can be purchased at any participating retailer.
    • It is important to report a lost or stolen card as soon as possible, so the card can be deactivated. If the card is registered, you can deactivate it yourself online.

    More retailers are getting on board with Hop.

    • TriMet has grown its network of retail outlets from a little more than 100 in 2016 to more than 350 today – a first for a transit agency of TriMet’s size.
    • TriMet is partnering with even more stores to increase that number to 500 locations where you can sell and load money on Hop cards.

    Hop has many convenient ways to pay

    • Hop card: Purchase a Hop card at a local retailer or ticket office and load money on to it.
    • Contactless credit/debit card: Tap your contactless credit or debit card (with near field communication).
    • Mobile wallet: Pay your fare with a bankcard stored in an Android Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay mobile wallet. While a great option for less frequent riders including tourists and visitors, users can only buy an Adult fare and do not get all the benefits of a Hop card.
    • Hop virtual card in Android Pay: TriMet is beta testing the ability for riders with Android Pay to buy a virtual card and store it in their mobile wallet – making Hop the first transit fare card in the world available in Android Pay. Beta testers are able to tap their phone to a Hop reader and get all the benefits of a physical Hop card. Stay tuned for the rollout timeline of this new payment feature.

    Learn more about the ease and benefits of Hop.

    Wondering about your Hop data?

    The Hop system collects anonymous ridership and travel pattern data for use in aggregate to look at broad ridership trends. Individual transaction data, such as where a person’s card was tapped and when, is only available to support staff to answer customer questions about their account.

    About Hop

    Hop is the next generation of transit fare, offering a cash-free, hassle-free option that’s valid throughout the Portland-Vancouver metro area. Hop Fastpass – a better way to pay!

  • Independent analysis finds no systemic racial bias in TriMet fare enforcement

    Agency pursues opportunities to improve equity of overall fare enforcement efforts including making violations less punitive

    TriMet has completed the most in-depth evaluation ever of our fare enforcement practices and according to an independent third-party analysis there is no evidence of systemic racial bias. We do, however, intend to use the report to make changes we believe will improve the equity of our fare enforcement efforts. The findings revealed a growing fare evasion rate, a need for more fare enforcement and opportunities to make consequences less punitive while still providing an effective incentive for riders to have appropriate fare.

    No systemic bias, repeat offenders pose a challenge

    TriMet heard concerns from the community that our fare enforcement actions were “uneven” across races and ethnicities. Working with the TriMet Board of Directors, our Transit Equity Advisory Committee and the community – we took an in-depth look at our fare enforcement program.

    View TriMet’s guiding principles for fare enforcement program
    today reported

    That extensive review included an onboard survey to determine the demographics of our riders as well as a fare evasion study to understand who is riding without paying, how often and why. That survey showed an overall 14.5 percent fare evasion rate, which includes those without fare, expired transfers or inappropriate fare. To get a holistic view, we reached out to the community and our customers through listening sessions and an electronic survey of riders for their thoughts and feelings on our fare enforcement including whether people of color are treated fairly. TriMet then engaged Portland State University’s (PSU) Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute for an independent analysis to determine whether racial/ ethnic disparities exist in TriMet fare enforcement outcomes and, if so, what are the contributing factors.

    The reports key conclusions:

    1. No systemic bias. “Conclusion 1: Differences between the fare evasion survey results and enforcement outcomes are small and indicate little disparity. Thus, it does not appear TriMet fare enforcement on the MAX is systemically biased towards certain races and ethnicities; however the elevated percentage of African American riders being excluded should be examined more closely.”
    1. Repeat violators pose challenge. “Conclusion 2: Repeat violations (i.e. getting caught without fare/improper fare more than once in the two years of data) comprise 25.5% of all enforcement incidents and 36% of African American incidents. This percentage appears high and represents a unique challenge for TriMet fare enforcement.”
    1. Continued assessment. “Conclusion 3: Although there were two positive significant relationships in the adult analysis, the size of the relationship and difference between significance and insignificance was relatively small enough that the results are unlikely based on a systemic bias in TriMet fare enforcement, future studies should continue to assess these relationships.”

    View the PSU Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute analysis

    Changing enforcement approach

    While PSU’s Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute found no across the board bias in TriMet’s fare enforcement actions, it revealed opportunities for improvement as we strive to have enforcement that is equitably applied and not overly punitive, but that changes unwanted behavior.

    “When it comes to fare enforcement, we do not want to set people on a path that puts them into the judicial system, rather we want practices that motivate riders to pay their fare,” said TriMet Chief Operating Officer Doug Kelsey.

    We looked to our colleagues and reviewed fare enforcement practices across other transit systems including Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Buffalo, and San Francisco.  We are now pursuing a number of initiatives including:

    • Seeking legislative authority to pilot an administrative option that will allow first-time violators to pay a reduced fine prior to the citation being forwarded to the court.
    • Evaluating a community service option that could be used in lieu of payment.
    • Researching the feasibility of a new regional Low Income Fare program.
    • Bringing exclusion hearings in-house.
    • Expediting the exclusion modification process by granting the Administrator and the Hearings Officer the authority to grant exclusion modifications.
    • Expanding the amount of fare inspections on our system.
    • Conducting a review of staffing levels to determine additional personnel needs.
    • Increasing training for TriMet personnel who conduct enforcement, on de-escalation practices, cultural competency and mental health issues.
    • Creating an awareness campaign to increase customer education of fare requirements, consequences for violations and options for requesting an exclusion modification.
    • Continuing coordination with jurisdictional partners on consistent application of TriMet Code.

    “With the findings of our in-depth evaluation into past fare enforcement practices and with the new initiatives underway, I am confident we will continue to ensure TriMet’s fare enforcement efforts are both effective and as fair as possible for all of our riders,” said Kelsey.