I'm glad they are doing this outreach, though I do wish they would hold the NW meeting in NW Portland. It seems like both the streetcar users and cyclicsts who are stake holders of these respective transportation systems would be best served by a meeting in their neighborhood.

As Transportation Options begins to focus on NW Portland over the coming year it seems like this meeting could be used to support Options' efforts.

A pedestrian stepped off the curb and into the road without looking one day and promptly gets knocked flat by a passing cyclist.

"You were really lucky there," said the cyclist.

"What on earth are you talking about! That really hurt!" said the pedestrian, still on the pavement, rubbing his head.

"Well, usually I drive a bus!" the cyclist replied.

Heres one for Terry P:

Special license plates for bikes a good idea:
http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_12118121

We should register bicyclists and then pay them at least $50 per year for leaving their cars at home. This morning on my bicycle I not only stopped for a pedestrian at a crosswalk, but I raised my arm to stop an auto as well to let the woman cross safely.

Al, you're supposed to stop for pedestrians.

Why not stop there?

Fuel taxes ought to be spent to buy bicycles for everybody. :)

Lenny: I am still awaiting the check in the mail from you for my contribution towards our regional transit by using a high capacity bus from door to door, while not requiring any capital expense for our region (thanks to TriMet's unwillingness to buy new buses), not requiring free parking, and not using enhanced bus stops.

Since I board my bus at stops that often have little or no sidewalk connectivity, safe crosswalks (and thus no crossing signals), shelters, or other amenities, I should be paid to ride TriMet each and every day.

In fact, the fare one pays to travel should be directly dependent on such matters...so one who rides MAX or Streetcar should pay a much higher fare; bus riders pay a fare dependent upon the route they are on, the stop they use, whether they use a park & ride lot, and the age of the bus boarded (so anyone boarding a 1400-1900 series bus should never pay to ride)...

Bicyclists who ride solely on streets without bike infrastructure can ride for free; those who ride on bike paths or bike lanes should pay. (And since I own a bike and frequently ride on streets that lack bike lanes, I also expect payment for that as well.)

Finally I own only one car for a household of three (including one young child) but as I move into my new home we will be within walking distance of my son's elementary school, something that cannot be said about residents of the Pearl District. So Pearl District and SoWa residents should pay me for walking my son to school while they chose to live in area that lacks educational infrastructure. And since I am being required to pay for a sidewalk and maintain it for public use, I should receive payment to provide a portion of my property for public use (How many Pearl District residents allow me to access their private property for public use?)

Please contact Chris or Bob on how you can remit your payment to me.

Y'know, there probably is a way to pay bicyclists to commute. I was playing around with it as a silly idea, but ...

Imagine a GPS transponder imbedded in bicycles that participate in the program. The transponder registers when the wheels are moving and where the bicycle travels. (This way, we know it's being ridden instead of hauled around in the back of a car.) The rider registers an account with ODOT. Every time he/she rides the bike, the mileage is registered, and an account builds up at the rate of, say, five cents a mile.

If the bicycle is ridden in a congested area during peak traffic hours, the rate is doubled to ten cents a mile. That's when/where we really need ridership.

At the end of the year, ODOT sends the rider a statement of how much they accumulated over the past year. The statement can be used to write total mileage off as a tax credit on Oregon income tax.

So: taxpayer rides five miles to work and home again every day, during peak hour traffic. The GPS dutifully records his trip. (Yes; this is a voluntary program; you join it if you don't care that the government can follow your every move.) He gets ten cents a mile at peak hour, ten miles (one dollar) a day, and commutes by bike two hundred and fifty days a year. He gets a $250 state tax credit for that year.

I don't know. There probably are all kinds of problems with the idea. But something like that might be able to incent a lot more rush-hour bike commuting.

Maybe Douglas' idea is why TriMet refuses to use smartcards for transit.

Because TriMet could actually track HOW MUCH I ride transit (as opposed to certain folks on this forum who don't even have TriMet passes yet describe themselves as transit experts), would know which route I ride, along with how many other people are on my bus, where I get on and off, and which type of bus I am riding...

And then refund me my fare PLUS an additional payment.

This doesn't require fancy-schmancy GPS equipment, it's standard issue equipment for most transit systems in the United States -- just not TriMet.

Huh? Tri-Met doesn't use more advanced fare-collection technology because they might have to give refunds? That doesn't make any sense....

The "bike refund" being proposed seems to be a State of Oregon thing. Perhaps reducing the prices of transit is a good idea (I won't complain), but the revenue has to be replaced somehow. And people around here complain already that Tri-Met is funded by things other than the farebox--I'm not sure reduced fares for transit couples with higher taxes/fees for motorists (or refunds on motor vehicle fees for transit users) is politically tenable--even if lots of folks here would like it.

That said--there is an interesting question: How should Tri-Met levy fares--the current zone-based system, one with more granularity (zones), based on mileage travelled, etc? Use of more intelligent fare instruments (whether "smart cards" or simple plastic cards like they use in video arcades nowadays) would permit more complicated fare structures, but would the public buy it?

EngineerScotty wrote: Huh? Tri-Met doesn't use more advanced fare-collection technology because they might have to give refunds? That doesn't make any sense....

The point is that since some folks here are demanding "refunds" because they ride a bike, I am going to jump in and demand a refund from TriMet for the lack of service I am given plus the fact that I am forced to subsidize MAX, Streetcar, and free parking for MAX riders (and some bus riders) while riding a bus line that recoups a larger percentage of its cost than most (and at least one MAX line, and the Streetcar), and receive no capital investment from TriMet (well, OK, I have gotten a couple of rides in the 2900s but about once every two weeks) nor will TriMet spend a single penny of Stimulus funding on me.

So, to answer your second question: How should Tri-Met levy fares, maybe TriMet should levy a fare based upon:

1. Route. (Those routs that cost more or demand more capital expenditure should have a higher fare),
2. Location. Riding at a "well-invested" stop should cost more than a "sign on the shoulder of the road" stop. Also, one should pay more at a further-out stop than a heavily used, close-in stop.
3. Time of day. There should be a peak hour surcharge; there should also be a late night surcharge.
4. Parking. NO FREE PARKING - you park at a TriMet facility, you pay - $6/day for a surface lot, $12/day for a garage.
5. Age of vehicle. If you ride a 1400/1600/1700/1800/1900 you should pay less than a newer vehicle; if the temperature is above 75 degrees, your ride in one of these buses should be free (owing to lack of air conditioning in these buses).
6. If your bus or train breaks down, you get a free all-day pass. (If you are a pass rider, you get a coupon which can be redeemed for a cash refund, or an all-day pass to give to someone else.)
7. Express buses and WES should have a surcharge fare. (WES more so than the express buses because of the more comfortable train interior.)
8. WES Wi-Fi should be an extra charge.
9. Any stop equipped with a Transit Tracker display should have a surcharge.
10. Any stop equipped with a shelter should have a surcharge.

Having a smart card system would make it easy to charge the right fare - or determine the correct refund to give to a passenger for a lack of provided services. In short - you should pay a base fare for base service, and the fare is added for extra services or subtracted when TriMet provides less than base service.