From Portland Afoot

Historical price of a one-zone TriMet ticket, adjusted for inflation, finishing with the September 2012 fare hike. (Note that an all-zone fare would not see as sharp a spike in 2012. We currently use one-zone fares for this comparison because the price history of all-zone fares is distorted by TriMet's old five-zone system; for a chart of all-zone fares, see the spreadsheet under "external links" below.) Pre-2006 data courtesy The Oregonian.

The history of TriMet fares comes down to a simple trend, when adjusted for inflation: fares were quite high before TriMet launched in 1970, fell quickly thanks to payroll tax subsidies, rebounding in the early 80s, receding in the late 80s and rising rapidly again in the 00s.

The 1982 rise in prices corresponds to TriMet's 1982 funding crisis, which accompanied the Central Eastside Transit Improvement Plan. The 00s price hikes came in the wake of TriMet's 1998 expansion of frequent service, including MAX lines, and major health care costs incurred under the TriMet-ATU 2003 contract.

[edit] See also

• public transit fares in Portland
• 2010 TriMet cuts
• 2012 TriMet budget cuts
• OPAL
• TriMet bus service hours

[edit] External links

• spreadsheet of TriMet fare history, with data by The Oregonian and Portland Afoot