Farewell, Fareless Square

It is officially over: Fareless Square has ended. Since Jan. 3, TriMet riders have had to change their routes if they are not willing to pay for bus rides in what used to be fareless zones in downtown Portland.

For public buses, Fareless Square no longer exists, and so TriMet decided to change the name. They spent money on advertising for the useless name change from Fareless Square to the Free Rail Zone.

Why spend vital funds on something so unnecessary? Most people would have heard about all bus areas requiring fares without the needless advertisements. If TriMet really felt the need to spend money on advertisements, they should have just advertised that the Fareless Square will no longer include buses.

The name change itself is not even essential. It is rather pointless and most people would have understood the change within the Fareless Square without changing the name and the advertisements.

TriMet may have thought that the name change would add less confusion to the already poor choice of getting rid of Fareless Square, but changing names and wasting money is a poor use of resources and could potentially just confuse more people.

The decision was made on Aug. 12, 2009, to make changes to Fareless Square by TriMet’s board of directors, according to www.trimet.org. Their reason was that with the addition of the green line, nearly all trips can be made by either MAX or streetcar within Fareless Square.

Let’s face it, without the option for buses in Fareless Square, the already overly crowded MAX trains and streetcars are going to become worse.

Yes, there are some moments when the MAX and streetcar are not very crowded, but in peak riding times, the MAX and streetcar are going to be packed with people.

With that kind of congestion on public transportation, it makes the trip miserable, and who would want to ride it?
Portland is a city that prides itself on their public transportation system. However, this error with removing Fareless Square was not Portland public transportation’s finest moment.

One of the greatest things about the public transportation system was Fareless Square. It made getting around downtown a lot easier and cheaper for all of us.

Especially for people who live, work or go to school downtown, Fareless Square was a great resource and asset to being downtown. Even for people who just want to travel around downtown, it is nice not to worry about fares expiring or paying extra.

And Free Rail Zone doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, does it?

TriMet made a mistake by washing their hands of Fareless Square, what with the increased traffic on MAX trains and streetcars, and the squandering of money on a frivolous name change and pointless advertisements.
So long Fareless Square, it was nice knowing you.