Scaled down from the original request to pilot all Portland Public Schools students from grades 6-12, the Multnomah Youth Commission has gotten buy-in from the City of Portland and TriMet to allow student ids at Franklin and Jefferson to function as TriMet passes.
The program will expand to other schools in 2009.
0 responses to “Students at Franklin and Jefferson Will Ride TriMet for Free”
How about a reasonable transit discount for PSU/PCC students? The $15 or whatever is saved on the quarterly pass is kind of a joke; it would certainly be a big shock for any recent PPS graduate at PDX who sees their monthly pass escalate from $20 to $60 on each end of the summer.
PSU students get a significant discount on both transit and parking…”Flex” pass holders additionally get daily parking for 6 bucks (unheard of downtown). Even regular monthly pass holders get a significant discount over people who pay as they go. Transit riders currently pay for less then 30% of the operating costs of their ride and 0% of the capital costs. How much more discount do you expect?
I did some research that indicates Portland lags significantly behind other urban universities (Universe: US top-50 MSA, university enrollment > 2,000) in transportation cost [55th of 69 universities in the study], 37th of 69 in transportation subsidies, etc, student participation is relatively low – damning because our study did not look at access to transit, and many of the schools we looked at surely had poorer access than PSU.
Yes, the FlexPass program is poorly structured on PSU’s end; but really, Tri-Met needs to step up with a blanket program of SOME kind that covers PCC, PNCA, PSU, UP, Reed, L&C, etc in the same manner as exists in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, etc.
I’m not as concerned about that as much as I’m concerned that free bus passes for high schoolers will create a sense of entitlement and “anything goes.” This also comes at a time of what I believe is the largest TriMet fare increase of the decade (and possibly even TriMet history), and was based on all riders paying more. At what point will the sense of entitlement for these fine folks end?
Now, students of two high schools can get free TriMet passes, regardless of their status, their parents’ income, or where they live (I know of some H.S. kids that practically live next door to their high school). Not to mention that this does absolutely nothing if you’re a low-income kid that goes to a different high school, in which case you get next to nothing (the regular TriMet Youth pass/fares, which went up with the latest fare increase). I haven’t even mentioned that even free bus passes do nothing if the school and/or the student isn’t served by TriMet service.
I almost attended the Portland City Council meeting Wednesday morning to speak out against this, however I figured the decision was already made and the vote was simply a formality. I have nothing against the kids (as some who question opposition to these types of proposals often retort), but I think they should’ve been at the TriMet board meeting in June.
TriMet is also facing record ridership amid service cuts (check the new schedules for your local route[s] compared with the old schedules), and near the end of last year it was next to impossible to ride some bus routes during morning hours because they were jam-packed standing room only for several runs in a row. Sometimes, the driver wouldn’t even stop or change the sign to “drop off only.”
I know that TriMet offered PSU and PCC a “blanket program,” which would’ve cost PSU $6 million and PCC $5 million. As I understand, both said even if they were interested they don’t have that kind of money for their students to have free TriMet service.
If I haven’t mentioned this before, PCC also runs its own bus system. If anyone guesses it too is facing record ridership, standing-room-only runs, and impending budgetary doom, they’d guess correctly.
I also know Lewis & Clark runs some of their own service as well, but I have no firsthand knowledge of it (other than seeing the “Pioneer Express” bus in Downtown Portland, which RAZ [who they contract for the service] ran on the Swan Island Evening Shuttle over the summer).
anything goes
I hate to be negative here, but I’ve heard of how high school-aged riders can cause problems on TriMet. At least some of the recent incidents on MAX were by them. My idea was to only give free passes to those who need it/are missing school because they can’t afford to get there, such as those getting free/reduced lunches; however, I’ve read that this is already being done.
I would not support a ‘means-tested’ distribution of transit-passes; this would only ensure that only poor students rode the bus, perpetuating the “bus stigma.”
What are the long-term resolutions to the combination of increase in ridership and fuel costs translating into decreased level of service? The only thing I could think of is to get out of the war, massively reduce our military spending (20% of the entire US budget, a similar amount to social security payments or medicare/aid) and channel some of that money towards public transportation.
Jason Barbour Says:
TriMet is also facing record ridership amid service cuts (check the new schedules for your local route[s] compared with the old schedules),
Could you be more specific about these service cuts? When I do a random check of several different routes, I see no change at all in the number of trips, regardless of the day of the week. I looked at the 4F, 14, 15B as well as 64, 77 and 10H, purely by closing my eyes and pointing. I see absolutely no difference in the number of trips.
I hate to be negative here, but I’ve heard of how high school-aged riders can cause problems on TriMet.
A difference between a “free pass” and a general “fareless square”-style policy is that a pass is a revocable instrument. If a few bad actors get their passes revoked for an entire school term (or year) and have to pay when their friends board for free, it should help to curb bad behavior, especially for bus patrons who will have to present a fare instrument to board in most cases.
Anthony, how much do you think your parking realty is worth? Governments subsidize that too, so don’t brush off transit as being too subsidized.
As a high school student living in Vancouver, I don’t drive, and while our transit system is comparatively lacking, a $20 monthly pass isn’t too bad for someone with as low income as a high school student. Over the summer, I know I got my money’s worth out of my pass.
The thing that thoroughly disheartens me is the fact that my school (and I would assume nearly every suburban school across the nation) grossly undercharges for parking, while providing so much of it. Why not raise the cost of parking to a level on par with what it is actually costing society, and then use that extra money to support a bus pass system?
BobR:
If a few bad actors get their passes revoked for an entire school term (or year)…
Surely TriMet wouldn’t be allowed to take a student’s high school ID (which act as their TriMet pass), would they? And if so, couldn’t the student just get a replacement at school?
Doug –
If that’s the way this trial program is to be implemented, then my first formal comment to TriMet would be that the free pass needs to be a separate document or a sticker for the student ID which can be revoked or crossed out.
I just want to say that I strongly agree that using straight IDs as passes creates an issue if you want to revoke someone’s riding privileges. A different-colored ID would be best since students might be able to fix not having a sticker or something.
Transit riders currently pay for less then 30%
With regard to high school students, in most school districts they can ride yellow buses for 0% of the cost. The request here is to simply make it so PPS students can get a benefit that all other students in Oregon outside of Eugene are required to get. If you ignore discounts like this and those given to the elderly/disabled, as well as routes that are really a social service for those unable to get around otherwise, the % would be as lot higher.
So my pass is a sticker on my work ID card. I imagine that if I did something awful, that TriMet could ban me from the system. I doubt that they’d take away my work ID card, (since if they did, I’d just tell HR that I lost it and get a new one, complete with new sticker,) so more likely they’d talk to my employer about it, to make sure I didn’t get a new one, (I imagine my employer wouldn’t be too happy to hear that I was intimidating old ladies on the bus, or whatever I was doing…)
I imagine TriMet might have a similar plan for PPS: Talk to the school. I know that back when I rode a [yellow] bus to school, that if you were misbehaving on the bus, you could get in trouble, just as much as you could if you did it in class.
I’m not sure if this is TriMet policy, or the employer’s, but I know of at least two employers where if you lost your badge with the TriMet sticker, you had to pay for the replacement sticker.
Jason McHuff wrote: With regard to high school students, in most school districts they can ride yellow buses for 0% of the cost. The request here is to simply make it so PPS students can get a benefit that all other students in Oregon outside of Eugene are required to get.
I would buy the argument, except that the funding source for these two schools to get public transit access (whereas all other high schools within the TriMet service district are discriminated against) is NOT the formula transportation dollars alloted to PPS by the State of Oregon for pupil transportation.
PPS uses the dollars and puts them in the general fund. The money used to fund this project is from a Business Energy Tax Credit. Now, how can a non-tax paying entity get a tax credit, you ask? Because apparently an eligible company can “pass through” its eligiblity to a qualified non-profit. So some company trades its ability to apply for the credit, and the State gives money to PPS and TriMet.
A better solution would have been to give ALL High School students a discounted annual pass, and charge those students who choose to drive a fee to park on campus with permit parking surrounding the school to prohibit kids from simply parking on neighborhood streets (a system which already exists).
Those students who carpool would not need to pay for a TriMet pass they won’t use; the BETC can be used for its rightful purpose (to encourage tax-paying BUSINESSES to make their businesses more energy efficient), and Oregon taypayers don’t get stuck subsidizing something that shouldn’t be subsidized – in this case, something that Oregon taxpayers are now paying for, twice (because PPS still gets the formula transportation funding, AND gets the BETC, for the same exact thing.)
“the BETC can be used for its rightful purpose (to encourage tax-paying BUSINESSES to make their businesses more energy efficient), and Oregon taypayers don’t get stuck subsidizing something that shouldn’t be subsidized”
Most people wanted to encourage the government to be run more like a business, so I see nothing wrong with this… But anyways, isn’t the point of the tax credit to encourage energy efficiency? And if the schools can conserve more energy per dollar of tax credit than the businesses that buys the tax credit from them, then why not allow encourage it? It really seems like a great solution.
Agreed on the parking though. My high school student council kept wanting to use the money that students paid to participate in sports/marching band/chess club to pave the student parking lot. They never got away with it while I was there, but the parking lot is now paved, so they might have…
More fare instruments to keep track of?
Ugh!
I take it these are the two most “disadvantaged” schools (is that the word?) in Portland or something like that?
Portland again shows it ability to get preferential treament via TRIMET!
The gas prices have come down to normal btw, roll back the fare increases?
(aka Portland Transit Authority)
Al, the City of Portland is paying TriMet for the subsidy, not the other way around. The two schools are only a pilot program that should ultimately grow to include all the middle and high schools in PPS.
Students do not NEED a free ride anywhere in town at any time of day. They would NOT get that on a yellow bus.
I could see this working if the students were limited to which route they could ride on and what time of day they rode. Any other time/route would require full payment of fare.
Of course I would question the parenting skills of a parent who lets their minor children ride public transit without adult supervision (transit drivers would not fall in this category because, unlike school bus drivers, they are not liable for their passengers). I would also require any transit driver who drove my children the same background process and training as any other school employee.
Of course I would question the parenting skills of a parent who lets their minor children ride public transit without adult supervision
I rode TriMet buses as a kid without adult supervision (after having taken numerous trips _with_ adult supervision in my lifetime), as did many other kids, and had few problems.
Although the public realm is not a totally safe place, I think parents today are a tad overprotective and tend to fear the unknown just a bit too much.
I used to take the #34 bus all the way downtown (that should date me a bit) from Oak Grove, before it was turned into a feeder bus to the #33. (Yes, there were “feeder” routes in the days before MAX.) After then, I would take the #34 to Milwaukie and then there were multiple options to get downtown from there.
On several occasions I would make the trip to Janzen Beach Center via the 34, 33, and 5, and back again, when my age wasn’t quite half way into the double digits.
I’d also like to point out that many of these kids are riding TriMet to school now. I see kids with books and backpacks riding the #71 and MAX near my home on a regular basis.
My understanding is that PPS High School students are already expected to use TriMet. According to the transportation policy the district is only responsible for transportation for high school students who:
If the high school kids in Portland get free passes, then why shouldn’t all the kids in the entire TRIMET transportation district get free passes?
And why do only those two schools in Portland get free passes if that’s the case?
It’s just more confusion into an already completely confusing system.
And I get [expletive deleted] when I tell operators that I am unable to enforce the fare structure.
Who gets passes?
What do the passes look like?
Tickets, transfers, zones, HC, student, fare box errors, ticket machine errors, operator errors.
FORGET IT!
If the high school kids in Portland get free passes, then why shouldn’t all the kids in the entire TRIMET transportation district get free passes?
As Jeff mentioned, the City of Portland is paying for this program, not TriMet.
And why do only those two schools in Portland get free passes if that’s the case?
Because it’s a 3-month trial program.
From the article:
As I said above (and I should have got this right from the article, originally, but I didn’t), I think these should be separate passes. It will make it easier for operators to recognise, and passes can be revoked from troublemakers (not expecting many, but you’ve got to have boundaries.)
then why shouldn’t all the kids in the entire TRIMET transportation district get free passes?
That’s exactly the goal of the Multnomah Youth Commission which pushed for this pilot program :-)
is NOT the formula transportation dollars alloted to PPS
I thought I read in one of the articles on this that PPS was willing to give TriMet the money they get. If they’re going to push the burden of transporting students onto TriMet, it does seem that its TriMet which deserves the money. However, given PPS’s poor shape, I’d sympathize with them keeping it and it should be noted that LTD in Eugene is also using BETC to do this.
limited to which route they could ride on and what time of day they rode
Doing that would be impractical, especially without fare cards which could be electronically limited. However, as I said, I’d be willing to consider only giving passes to those in need. Also, regular route TriMet operators do indeed go through background checks and training.
Overall, I definitely support the idea of putting students on transit instead of running a completely separate yellow bus system. You can have efficiencies like the Line 10 bus which runs to 26th & Powell from downtown instead of possibly deadheading to 17th & Center.
Bob R.
I’d also like to point out that many of these kids are riding TriMet to school now. I see kids with books and backpacks riding the #71 and MAX near my home on a regular basis.
Get on Line 70 at the Rose Quarter any weekday morning if you doubt it — that’s the fun ride to Benson HS. I ride the 19-Glisan in the morning and there are kids there headed for Da Vinci Middle School and others headed to Central Catholic. Middle and high school kids are perfectly capable and secure riding TriMet, and they do it every day.
That’s exactly the goal of the Multnomah Youth Commission which pushed for this pilot program :-)
Then that’s good, other than the system is already bursting at the seams!
Matthew wrote: Most people wanted to encourage the government to be run more like a business, so I see nothing wrong with this… But anyways, isn’t the point of the tax credit to encourage energy efficiency? And if the schools can conserve more energy per dollar of tax credit than the businesses that buys the tax credit from them, then why not allow encourage it? It really seems like a great solution.
The point of a tax credit is to allow a business to invest money that would have otherwise been spent on taxes, and spend it on something that is deemed to be worthy of society.
If, as you state, government should “run like a business”, then I’m sure you will have no problem with Portland Public Schools – and every other education district – paying the wide variety of taxes that any other business pays. Income taxes, property taxes, use taxes, etc. After all, schools use transportation infrastructure, police and fire protection, etc., and should be required to pay taxes.
Maybe PPS should pay the transportation impact fees that are required of most other businesses. That will, if nothing else, dictate that all staff ride TriMet. Then those god-awful “taxpayer subsidized” parking lots for staff and students can be removed and replaced with more worthy property tax generating facilities like affordable housing.
One should not receive a tax credit, if one doesn’t pay into taxes; or the amount of the credit should be limited to no greater than 100% of the taxes paid. I do not get to take advantage of any such loophole – and that is, whether you agree or not, exactly what this charade is, a loophole.
This should be for students who cannot walk the distance between home and school for reason of distance or disability. I have seen Franklin students get on the #4 at SE 57th by Atkinson and get off 7 blocks later on a daily basis. There was no visible reason they could not do the 5 minute walk. (I got off at the same stop and there was no visible impairment in their gait as they walked down 64th.) The bus is great, but so are feet and these are even less expensive and less polluting than any bus.
Here BOB R-
Click and hold the red square so you don’t hit the walls or any of the blue blocks:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjCVb3s84qQ
Transit Beer being consumed, Al & Adron, saying high to all of Portland Transport. All should swing down next time and have a beer or 4.
Of course I would question the parenting skills of a parent who lets their minor children ride public transit without adult supervision (transit drivers would not fall in this category because, unlike school bus drivers, they are not liable for their passengers). I would also require any transit driver who drove my children the same background process and training as any other school employee.
I totally agree. As a parent, if you are under 21, you really should just stay at home and have your parents drive you around – this society is just too dangerous to risk our fragile, impressionable minds from being corrupted or brutally murdered by the streets.
Susan,
You can’t be serious. The reason i have the maturity, self-confidence, and self-reliance that i have today is because i moved out of my parents house and town when i was 17 years old and got my own house and took care of my own safety. I’m not sure if you are being sarcastic or not. Portland isn’t exactly a dangerous place either. Theres a lot of good people looking out.