A semi-daily chronicle of my life as a musician, a family man, and a citizen of Oregon.

Jan 31, 2008

Tri-met's Customer Non-service

Trimet is the public transportation system here in Portland.  I've been riding the bus & max (max=light rail) to work since last August and for the most part I really like it.  It's certainly done wonders for my reading.  But there are frustrating parts about it and a few weeks ago I had the worst experience.  Here's the email I sent to trimet:

To whom it may concern,

I'm pretty frustrated.  The max ticketing machines at 2nd and Taylor eastbound often don't function. Today the machine ate a 5 dollar bill from me.  I had to go to the ATM to get another 5 dollars only to find out that the other machine wasn't accepting bills either.  I ended up not paying the fare (or paying 5 dollars depending on how you look at it) to the 42nd ave transit center.  I did an errand and then waited at the bus stop going north on 42nd just past Sandy (75 line) where I waited 15 min past the bus due time only to have the bus drive right by and not pick me up!  It was right under the streetlight so the driver must have seen me.  I would at least like my 3.25 back.

Here's the response I got back:

You need to call 503-962-2444 and speak to a customer service rep.  They will fill out a claim form for you that goes to finance for a refund.

Thanks a lot.