TriMet wants to step up fare enforcement while easing up on first-time offenders, for whom a missing $2.50 fare can translate into a $175 fine and a court record.

The agency is proposing an in-house alternative to the court system and reducing fines for first-time offenders along the way. But the overhaul first will require sign-off from the Oregon Legislature.

The proposal comes after a months-long review found that 14.5 percent of MAX riders -- roughly 1 in 6 -- don't pay their way on the light-rail system lines, which primarily operate on the honor system. That compares with 9 percent in 2014 and 10 percent in 2015, the agency said.

Officials said the skipped fare rate could represent as much as $8 million in lost revenue a year.

The agency already is hiring more fare-enforcement officers, and it's planning public service campaigns to remind customers of the consequences of fare evasion.

But at the same time, TriMet is looking to lessen the impact a fare evasion charge can have on violators. Its proposal would seek to standardize enforcement across the TriMet system, which spans the jurisdictions of circuit courts in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties.

The $175 presumptive fine for fare evasion is high among TriMet's peer transit agencies, though many first-time offenders can get a reduction if they go to court. And the violation itself becomes a part of the violator's publicly available court record.

"We don't want people to be banned from future employment or housing over a $2.50 ticket," said Doug Kelsey, TriMet's chief operating officer.

Under TriMet's proposal, a fare-evasion citation would be suspended for a short period -- perhaps a few weeks -- during which the violator could pay a lower administrative fee. The agency hasn't settled on an amount, but transit systems with similar systems set the fees from $50 to $100.

If the fee is paid or other arrangements are made -- such as community service -- the citation is never filed with the court system. If it's not paid, then the citation would be processed and a traffic court trial could proceed as it would today.

TriMet previously handled citations issued in Portland at community court sessions, which became known as "TriMet Tuesdays." Community service was an option for some offenders, and the ticket could be dismissed and expunged after completion. But the program was ended in 2014, in part, due to the overwhelming size of the docket. There was no community court option in other cities.

The arrangement also would allow TriMet to receive the entirety of the administrative fee, rather than splitting the fine with the state courts. But Kelsey said the costs of processing the citations and handling appeals would likely negate any revenue impact.

"There's usually far more cost than there is revenue," Kelsey said. "We want people paying to use the system."

TriMet doesn't have the authority to form its own administrative alternative to the court system, but it will ask state lawmakers to change that when they meet next year.

TriMet has issued nearly 21,000 citations for fare violations over the course of a year, according to records obtained and reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive in July. It excluded 2,500 alleged fare-dodgers from TriMet property for at least 30 days. The agency and police also issued 2,300 warnings.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus