Yesterday there was a sheriff checking tickets as people got off the WES. Today two guys with citation books were checking tickets on the Max. Is there some sort of crackdown, is this a normal end-of-month thing, or just random?

I heard this will be happening more often. I've had drivers insist on givin me a transfer even when I tell them I don't need it, because it's also proof of payment.

I saw the fare inspectors checking tickets near the MAX stop near Jeld-Wen Field this afternoon.  I was a little surprised as I had not seen them in quite some time.

I admit, as someone who pays my fare every darn time i ride transit, i like the occasional ticket-check. I need the external validation that i'm a good person.

I was kinda weirded out by the sheriff doing the check at the WES, though. And he ended up cuffing some guy and taking him away. I have no idea what for, unless riding without a ticket gets you thrown in the back of a cruiser.

I've heard of a lot more people getting checked recently too. One person got a $175 ticket. Makes sense for this to happen around a price raise and when they're eliminating fareless square. It's such bs that they're doing that. And the excuse of being "fair" to the east side is a load of crap. When you drive downtown you have to pay for parking meters all over, but not on the east side. Why not take out the meters as well so both sides can be fair? It only makes sense.

I was going to try doing the trimet thing recently, but it turned out to be more expensive to travel that way than to put gas in my car and go to my destination and return. Not to mention it's a little pointless to stop public transit so long before the bars close. Now I remember why I never tried out the whole TriMet system in the past.

Trimet is only cheaper for me because of parking.

That would make sense. If I was at PSU or working downtown I'd definitely go that route.

Tri-Met is millions of dollars in the hole with no good plan of recovery in sight. Fare checking will only get more intense as time goes on.

Trimet announced an increase in fare inspections was going into effect last fall. They've added staff, etc since then. I got a ticket (got excited and jumped in a train that had just pulled up without waiting to pay. I was wrong).  By calling the court and apologizing to a clerk for my bad behavior i was able to pay half the price of my ticket. $75

I also wonder how much this has to do with the recent study that showed that crime had increased in Clackamas due to the Green Line.   Enforcing fares would seem to be the first line of defense against this undesirable trend.

I was reading a blurb about the fight against the light rail extension on 99, and was surprised to see that one of the complaints was 'increased housing density' near rail lines. Really? They think the apartments around 99 in Tigard are going to be torn down and replaced with bigger apartment complexes? I doubt it, but i've got nothing but my gut to go on.

I also wanted to reach through the article and slap someone around for a quote to the effect of, 'This is about getting us out of our cars and onto light rail. Cars are about freedom to go where you want when you want! You can't take that away!'. So... putting in light rail would _force_ people to use it? Seems like he's trying to take away the freedom to not use a car for those who don't want to, or can't.

The thing that I wish about public transit is that they'd price it more aggressively for middle-class families.  Taking the Amtrak up to Seattle stops becoming cost effective (as compared to driving) when you get beyond one or two people.  That current system only appeals to young solo riders, lower economic status people and suburban commuters.

I've taken the light rail to commute to jobs several times in the past, but stopped when I figured that it wasn't really saving me that much money, and I'd rather give up a few bucks a day for an extra 30-45 minutes of free time.  What is incentive is there for any middle class family, or an upper-middle class individual (who likely already maintains a vehicle) to take the MAX - besides to support an ideological environmentally-friendly lifestyle?  

I currently live close to my work, which is really the best solution.  I guess all of the extra population density that the city is planning to add to the inner east side will help make this more feasible - assuming that the savants in charge don't accidentally turn it into another Cabrini-Green.

If they could figure out how to get a broader demographic using the public transit system, perhaps it would get more public support.

Well, that plan wouldn't work on the 99 corridor.

As for me, I increase my commute time by about 50%, but two days of parking costs as much as five days of transit. Wes/Max is inescapably cost-effective for me personally.