Fair Transit = Fareless TriMet

by Anonymous We already pay the bulk of the TriMet operating budget through (mostly employment) taxes (49%), federal operating grants (13%), state and local revenue (8%). That’s a total of 70% that everybody has already paid—even folks who aren’t passengers. Passenger revenue is only covers 6% of the TriMet budget. https://trimet.org/budget/index.htm Why are we expected to cover an additional 6% via fare? If TriMet were fareless, it would attract more riders. More riders would make rides safer and garner more support for public transit. More support means more tax revenue. More revenue means more routes and greater frequency. This is a virtuous cycle. Instead of blaming fare evasion for budget crises, blame the austerity. Fewer routes making fewer trips makes TriMet less reliable. So, Mooch City, stop crying about your neighbors evading 6% and start demanding your electeds and the TriMet board to grow up and implement the fareless transit system Portland deserves.