This week I’m working on a story for the print edition (out tomorrow! Find it on a corner near you!) about illegal immigrants who wind up being deported after they are arrested on the MAX for not paying the $2 fare. I requested TriMet’s stats on people arrested for fare evasion, which it turns out they don’t keep track of. But the public transit agency was nice enough to proffer the stats MAX security deals with fare evasion between Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties.

The breakdown is surprising: it shows that Multnomah County is far more likely to hit you with a ticket for skipping out on fare, but Clackamas is way more likely to exclude you from the system. If you’re caught without fare, transit security can decide to either just warn you, write you a $115 citation, exclude you from MAX and TriMet buses or just give you a verbal warning. Check out the breakdown:

Picture_1.png

So Clackamas only cites two percent of fare evaders, but kicks out 63 percent, while in Multnomah County, about 22 percent of ticket-less folks get cited and only 12.5 percent get excluded. Washington County has the weakest punishment of all, with 76 percent of fare-evaders getting off with just a warning.

All riders systemwide, however, are assaulted routinely by this cartoon picture of a “Portlander.”

how_to_ride.gif

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

12 replies on “Warning: Don’t Skip Out on MAX Fare in Clackamas.”

  3. Only 30 days!?

    As often as I’ve had my fare checked on the MAX (once in forever), it’d probably be profitable to just never pay and accept a month-long break if it comes down to that. And I bet I could ride for a month even after being excluded since I’m white and look upstanding.

  4. I’m so tempted to change my avatar to that “Portlander.” Hell, that’d make a good user name, too. I could talk about bikes all the time.

  8. This certainly fits into the anti-MAX philosophy of the Clackamas County sheriff’s office. As I understand it, transit police are on each agency’s payroll, and each agency is then compensated by TriMet for their time.

    Looking forward to the story, obviously.

  9. What I hate about “the Portlander” isn’t that he’s such a douche, it’s that he’s clearly displaying his fare, tucked into a shirt pocket.

    In the Latino version of this poster, the artist neglected to have “Latino Portlander” display bus fare in a similar fashion.

    Subconscious bias is BS.

  10. What I’ve been worried about is why a Portlander who is obviously sitting on a bus is trying to hitch a lift from a passing car. Are Trimet trying to tell us that their buses keep breaking down?

    Or are they just telling us that they waste so much energy on heating buses in the winter that even when it’s cold enough to need a hat and scarf on outside, inside the bus you need to undo your jacket?

Comments are closed.