Joe Rose

A reader tweeted Hard Drive this week, upset about the wording of TriMet’s online reminder to riders to upgrade unused one-zone and two-zone tickets before the Sept. 1 fare increases.

“God.” (we’re assuming that’s a Twitter alias, unless our social-media reach is greater than we imagined) lamented to us and Twitter-loving Portland Mayor Sam Adams: “If the upgrade cost is correctly worded on @trimet's site, they are making an unfair profit off commuters.”

Well -- if you define raising the cost of a ride while simultaneously eliminating the fare-zone system that has guided Oregon’s largest transit agency for decades as profiteering -- sure.
Alas, TriMet’s alerts about the trade-in program haven’t been as clear as they should be. In other words, they’re not exactly “correctly worded.”


But the reality is TriMet is giving people still holding unused one-zone and two-zone tickets a price break if they upgrade to the system's new single-zone passes by the end of business on Aug. 31.

That discount amounts to a dime.

You see, at the beginning of September, there will no longer be zoned fares. There will be one zone to rule them all, where a bus or train ride will cost an adult $2.50 for two hours.

Until Hard Drive contacted TriMet on Thursday, the announcement on the agency’s website read: “Be sure to use up your 1-Zone and 2-Zone tickets by August 31, 2012. You can also upgrade your unused tickets to All-Zone tickets at the TriMet Ticket Office at Pioneer Courthouse Square. It costs 35 cents to upgrade a 1-Zone ticket and 30 cents to upgrade a 2-Zone ticket. From September 1 through December 31, you can upgrade your old tickets onboard the bus as well as the TTO, but it will cost 40 cents (for both 1-Zone and 2-Zone tickets).”

After reading that, "god." and other riders have contacted us, assuming the 30-, 35- and 40-cent upgrade costs also apply to the current $2.40 all-zone tickets.

That would amount to a 30-cent windfall per ticket for TriMet after Sept. 1.

The reality is anyone with unused all-zone tickets will be able to continue using them until they’re gone.

TriMet has since added this line to clear up any confusion: “Of course, we'll continue to accept All-Zone tickets after September 1.”

Of course, the reality is that someone who has been paying $2.05 for a single-zone ticket and $2.10 for a two-zone ticket effectively faces the largest fare hike in TriMet history on Sept. 1.

There’s no explaining that one away.

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