From PortlandAfoot

Portland Streetcar at PSU's Urban Center

The 2011 Streetcar fare hike proposal is a Portland Streetcar staff recommendation to pull out of the Free Rail Zone and match Streetcar fares to TriMet bus fares with a TriMet transfer, or $1 to $1.50 with no transfer option.

Streetcar would also ask the Portland City Council to pass an ordinance penalizing riders who jump fare on Streetcar. None has ever been passed, Streetcar Executive Director Rick Gustafson said.

In a September 2011 meeting of the Portland Streetcar Citizens Advisory Committee, Art Pearce, Streetcar's project manager for the Portland Bureau of Transportation, called it "pretty definite" that downtown streetcar will have a fare by October 2012. That's when the Eastside Streetcar line is expected to open.

The city said Dec. 7 that it'll continue to accept public comments until Director Tom Miller makes a final decision. The city held general open houses Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 and put an informational PDF on the web, including a project manager's email address, to serve as a "virtual open house."

[edit] Two-tier fare system

In November 2011, Streetcar proposed a two-tier fare system, divided between riders who do and don't also want to ride TriMet.

[edit] Full-price tickets good on TriMet

As they are today, each $2.10 streetcar ticket would remain valid all day on the streetcar and for two hours on TriMet MAX and bus. Youth under 18, seniors and people with disabilities would receive the same fare discounts they receive on TriMet.

People with a TriMet fare would still be able to ride Streetcar for free all day.

[edit] Circulator tickets for Streetcar only

The new "circulator" ticket, sold for $1 to $1.50 (Streetcar hadn't yet decided by December 2011), would be valid only on Streetcar, not on TriMet.

The price of an annual streetcar circulator pass, currently used by some South Waterfront and Nob Hill residents and workers, was proposed to rise to $250 per year or $25 per month, up from the current $100 per year ($8.33 per month).

However, Oregonian columnist Joseph Rose reported Dec. 10 that project manager Shoshanah Oppenheim planned to recommend continuing the $100 per year rate "at first."

As today, the annual Streetcar pass would not be valid on TriMet, and Streetcar would honor all long-term TriMet passes, which sell for about $90 per month.

[edit] Revenue and ridership projections

[edit] 459 percent increase in fare revenue

Consultants estimated that leaving the Free Rail Zone and expanding to the east side of the Willamette would boost ridership by about 25 percent and fare revenue more than fivefold.

A series of 2011 ridership studies by consultants Nelson\Nygaard estimated that a $2.10 per day fare, including expansion to the east side, would bring Streetcar about $1 million in annual fare revenue, up from $179,000 in 2011.

In September 2011, Streetcar was projecting that without leaving the Free Rail Zone, it faced a $1.5 million annual budget gap after the Eastside Streetcar line opens in October 2012. That sum did not include the cost of any fare enforcement.

[edit] Less fare-jumping

The Nelson\Nygaard study estimated that if the eastside loop opens with Streetcar withdrawn from the Free Rail Zone, fare-jumping on Streetcar would fall from 16 percent of paid rides today to about 11 percent. (The first number does not include the 39 percent of 2011 Streetcar riders whose trips begin and end inside the Free Rail Zone.)

As of 2011, Gustafson said, no one in the history of Portland Streetcar had ever been penalized for riding without fare, because the city had never created a penalty for doing so. Though as of 2011, Streetcar pays four part-time surveyors to ask people whether they have a fare, they do not issue citations.

[edit] New ticket machines

Rick Gustafson at City Hall, September 2011.

Streetcar Community Relations Manager Julie Gustafson said in December 2011 that every streetcar stop would get a streetcar ticket machine.

"We're going to try to make it as easy as possible for somebody to buy a fare, use their credit card and all kind of stuff," said Rick Gustafson, the streetcar director.

[edit] Reactions

As of early December, the most comprehensive summary of public opinion released by the city is an outreach summary released by the city Dec. 7. According to the report, many groups said they were "concerned" about the size of the fare hike, though some supported leaving the free zone.

[edit] Downtown Neighborhood Association leaders: Don't drop free rides

In October 2011, the Downtown Neighborhood Association urged Streetcar to delay its decision on leaving the Free Rail Zone. Board member Daniel Friedman accused the city of keeping the $2.10 fare hike "under the radar," the Portland Tribune reported.

Felicia Williams, the chairwoman, criticized the fare-hike decision.

"Fareless transit in downtown Portland is one of the city’s greatest accomplishments," said Felicia Williams, chairwoman of the Downtown Neighborhood Association. "Just a few weeks ago, Travel & Leisure magazine named Portland No. 1 in the country on Public Transportation and Pedestrian Friendliness. This is the sort of hard-won achievement no amount of PR could ever buy and, sadly, it looks like we’re preparing to walk away from it."

[edit] Rifer: simpler is better

Portland Streetcar Advisory Committee member Vern Rifer said he thought a $1 fare on Streetcar would be simplest, and spoke against the notion of trying to make a certain amount of money from fares.

"Simplicity increases ridership," Rifer said. "From ridership comes success. From success comes revenue. If we approach it from that way, as opposed to starting on the revenue side, we'll have a more successful operation."

Rifer also urged Portland Streetcar to hire a professional marketing company to promote its new fare system.

"Going from $179,000 to $1 point something million is a professional marketing challenge, and I would just encourage you to do it right rather than see if it works," Rifer said.

[edit] Zalkow: PSU students will ride much less

Adding fares to the streetcar would drive away many students, predicted Dan Zalkow, PSU's planning and sustainability director.

We will probably not be recommending people use the streetcar" on short trips, Zalkow said. "We will probably say 'Take the MAX and walk three blocks.'"

Zalkow suggested easing students into the higher fares by offering "heavy subsidies" for their annual streetcar passes.

[edit] Smith: The alternative would be unfair

In a September 2011 email, Streetcar (and Portland in the Round) board member Chris Smith wrote that, like Gustafson, he wouldn't find a downtown Free Rail Zone fair if it led to reduced east-side service.

"Continuing to follow TriMet's free rail zone boundaries, would have a central city Streetcar loop where much of the west side was free, while the east side would be full-fare," Smith wrote. "That is hardly equitable and equity was one of the primary drivers in reviewing the fare situation."

[edit] How to weigh in

To learn more about Streetcar's proposal to drop out of the Free Rail Zone or share your thoughts, write Project Manager Shoshanah Oppenheim at shoshanah.oppenheim@portlandoregon.gov. The city says it'll accept comments until a final decision is made in January or February.