What's Happening in Portland, OR…

Doug Kelsey, the general manager of TriMet, has ended speculation by announcing there would be no fare raise for Portland riders in 2020.

In a pre-emptive move, the tri-county transit agency recently announced that fares would not go up next year, thereby ending rumors and putting transit advocacy organization concerns to rest. TriMet’s budget forecast for fiscal year 2020 does show, however, that starting in fiscal year 2021 a single fare raise of 10¢ is listed that will continue for every other year.

A spokesperson for TriMet explained that those figures, which have shown up in several past budget forecasts, are simply “placeholders”. No across-the-board increases of TriMet ticket prices has occurred since 2012. Although, in 2015, those with disabilities and senior citizens, referred to as “honored citizen riders”, experienced an increase of 25¢ per ride.

TriMet General Manager Doug Kelsey has pointed out that the company prioritizes signing up low-income riders for its reduced fare plan. The program, with about 26,000 participants, has a maximum fare of $1.25 for each ride, which is about 50% of the company’s standard fare.

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For comparison, the transit systems of San Francisco and Seattle are each looking at a potential fare hike, although both cities have more recently approved fare increases than has TriMet.