TriMet will hand out hundreds of free Hop Fastpass cards in the next two months to passengers looking to trade out unused paper tickets.

Why would riders want to turn in unused paper tickets?

Starting next month, some 100 retail locations will stop selling paper tickets.

The transit agency is in the process of transitioning from paper tickets to the electronic fare card, which the agency rolled out in 2017.

Officials will take unvalidated, foil-stamped adult, youth or honored citizen paper tickets from riders in exchange for a Hop card loaded with the same value. Users can exchange up to $250 worth of tickets at the events. Monthly passes, or weekly or two-week passes are still valid but won't be available in the near future.

TriMet is holding the first of the exchanges Wednesday at the Rose Quarter Transit Center 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The transfer process could take a while, officials warned, but they are prepared to hand out hundreds of free Hop cards at each exchange (potentially as many as 600 spread evenly across youth, honored citizens and adult passes, though officials say they can't anticipate how many people will show up). Hop passes are available at 500 Portland area retail locations for $3.

Hop passes allow riders to add money in person, by calling 1-844-MYHOPCARD, at transit offices or online.

Riders tap the Hop card before boarding a MAX train, bus, streetcar or the WES. The electronic fare system caps the cost of rides, so riders earn as they go instead of having to buy a monthly or daily pass outright.

Users can also recoup the value on a lost card or transfer to another card.

TriMet also started selling paper Hop cards at ticket machines in the South Waterfront area and at SE 17th and Holgate.

As of August, an estimated 68,700 riders were actively using Hop cards, either through the virtual card option available to Android users or the plastic cards or paper ticket options.

Here's a breakdown of upcoming exchange events:

Where: 47 NE Holladay St., Portland

When:

Sept. 19, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Sept. 20, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Served by: MAX Blue, Green, Red and Yellow lines, bus lines 4, 8, 35, 44, 77, 85, Swan Island Evening Shuttle, C-Tran

Where: 4050 SW Lombard Ave., Beaverton

When: Sept. 26, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Sept. 27, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Served by: MAX Blue and Red lines, WES Commuter Rail, bus lines 20, 42, 52, 53, 54, 57, 58, 61, 76, 78, 88

Where: 9900 NE Multnomah St., Portland

When: Oct. 17, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Served by: MAX Blue, Green and Red lines, bus lines 15, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 87, Columbia Area Transit

Milwaukie City Hall

Where: 10722 SE Main St., Milwaukie

When: Oct. 24, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Oct. 25, 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Service nearby: MAX Orange Line, bus lines 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 70, 75, 99, 152

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen



