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TriMet is in the process of installing new fare machines at five of its stations, which will allow riders to buy reloadable Hop cards at transit centers.
The pilot rollout, which starts in December, comes as TriMet tries to phase out disposable tickets. Tyler Graf, a public information officer at TriMet, says paper tickets create extra waste and add manufacturing costs.
Until now, riders seeking a Hop card needed to visit a retailer—mostly grocery and convenience stores. The new machines will be at the Gateway, Rose Quarter, Beaverton and Willow Creek transit centers and the Portland International Airport MAX Station.
Graf says current ticketing machines at TriMet stations have been in use for decades. “They have served their purpose,” he says.
“With the introduction of Hop in 2017, we knew eventually disposable tickets would have to go away,” Graf says. “By introducing the Hop card vending machines, we’re making it more convenient for people to use the Hop card.”
Graf adds that riders who use disposable tickets don’t receive any of the benefits of a Hop card. Hop cards cap the amount riders are charged per day and per month after they reach the cost of a day or month pass, respectively.
The machines will accept cash, credit and debit cards, and contactless payment options. They’ll also feature five language displays apart from English: Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian or simplified Chinese.
Riders who qualify for youth (ages 7-17) or Honored Citizen fares (65 and older and Medicare participants) will no longer need to visit Hop card retailers (or go online) to purchase or reload their cards.
TriMet will continue to sell its reloadable Hop cards at locations around the city. The agency plans to start installing new fare machines across MAX locations in February 2025, Graf says. “We’ll eventually add 169 of them to the system to locations where people really need them most.”