Tri-Met Fares Increase…Once Again
If it's September, it can only mean one thing: Tri-Met is raising its fares for bus and light rail. And this September is no different. Like clockwork, cash fares have been raised a nickel, so now it will cost $1.75 for a Two Zone ticket, $2.05 for an All Zone, and $1.40 for a Youth ticket. Monthly Passes didn't escape the rate hike, either. For the Two Zone and All Zone passes, you'll now be forking over $65 and $76 respectively. The Youth monthly pass was raised to $24. As usual, the Honored Citizens (elderly riders, or those with a disability) rates remained the same.
Tri-Met fares go to funding everything from new projects like the Bus Mall renovation, to maintaining buses and light rail. And while the rate hike wasn't unexpected, it understandably irks some Tri-Met riders. Longtime Tri-Met rider, Quinn Harrington, observes, "I am tired of the increases…they[the fare increases] are part of the overall change to a regressive system of taxation where property owners and wealthy people continue to receive tax benefits while the poorer in society are charged higher use fees."
For now we'll have to endure the rate increases, and with new Tri-Met projects on the horizon, over the next couple of years we're sure to see another increase or two. For an entire list of the fare hikes, check out www.tri-met.org.
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