No more free rides

Enjoy Fareless Square in the wee hours while you can. It might be gone soon.

Crime on the MAX has been a softly bubbling issue for a while, but after two high-profile November attacks off the light-rail line in Gresham, TriMet unveiled a multi-pronged plan on Dec. 7 to increase security for its riders. This need became reinforced when a woman was sexually assaulted on Christmas Eve at a Gresham MAX station.

TriMet’s security plans include some smart solutions: The police presence on MAX will be increased by 10 percent over the current budget. Fifteen new fare inspectors have been hired. Poorly lit station areas are getting better lighting and closed circuit security cameras. Most impressively, TriMet has entered into a partnership with Victory Outreach Community Services, who will ride the MAX and work with youth to prevent gang activity on trains.

Their plans also include a solution that is less smart and more puzzling, which is to restrict the hours of Fareless Square from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

TriMet’s December press release had this to say on the matter: “Issues about Fareless Square came up during the two safety summits, with concerns that it encouraged fare evasion, disruptive and intimidating behavior…No other city in the country has anything like Portland’s Fareless Square; Seattle has a much smaller fareless zone that limits free rides from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.”

These claims beg some questions. For one, the recent newsworthy incidents have taken place in Gresham, far from the reaches of Fareless Square. And according to a crime map released by TriMet documenting incidents that occurred during 2005 and 2006, some of the biggest problem stations, like the Hollywood/N.E. 42nd Ave. or the N.E. 82nd Ave. stops, are also outside of Fareless Square.

TriMet claims that much of the crime problem is caused by individuals who get on in Fareless Square and ride outside its boundaries, but hasn’t provided much in the way of hard data to support this. Not to mention, if problem-causing riders are riding outside of Fareless Square anyways, who’s to say these individuals will obey the rules when the times of Fareless Square are restricted?

A more logical answer to the problem of crime would be… well… the stuff that TriMet is already doing: more police around trains, safer station environments and, most importantly, more fare inspectors. (I’ve had my fare inspected a total of once in the two years I’ve been riding the MAX outside of Fareless Square.)

With the expenses of these new measures in mind, restricting the time smells a bit like a not-so-subtle money grab. Fred Hansen, general manager of TriMet and the driving force behind the changes to Fareless Square, said in a speech last month to the City Club of Portland, “If there are any financial savings from changes to Fareless Square, my commitment is that 100 percent of those savings be devoted to increasing security and safety on our whole system.” Perhaps those increases to security and safety are dependent on those financial savings?

Fareless Square is a vital part of our city. TriMet itself claims that, “No other city in the country has anything like Portland’s Fareless Square.” We have one of the most alive and vibrant downtown cores of big cities across the nation, which Fareless Square plays a significant role in. While most of its usage is obviously between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., the effect it could have on the vitality of downtown (and PSU) is huge.

Don’t get me wrong, if TriMet can show this is needed to improve safety, by all means let’s go ahead and make the MAX safer. But there’s a dearth of hard information on this issue, and some questions need some solid answers: How does TriMet know that restricting Fareless Square’s hours will curb crime on the MAX, and to what extent? Will restricting hours prevent crime in ways that other prevention methods cannot? How would restricting hours affect Portland’s downtown, and what could be done to mitigate any negative effects? And if the revenue gained from the new Fareless Square is needed to further other security changes, are there alternate possibilities to obtain the money instead?

TriMet will hold two public hearings tomorrow, Jan. 16, regarding this issue. If you care about this issue, and Fareless Square affects you, go. Let’s demand these questions be answered.

The first hearing will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Liberty Center Auditorium on 650 N.E. Holladay St., and the second hearing will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Portland Building Auditorium at 1120 S.W. 5th Ave. And if you use Fareless Square to go to the second hearing, be thankful you can still leave for free.