Don't Edit

The best (and worst) TriMet bus passes of the last 44 years, ranked

The paper bus pass is nearly dead in Portland.

Cause of death: killed by nameless, smiling knockoff Mike Wazowski monsters known as “the Hopsters,” the mascots of the Hop Fastpass® system.

In June, TriMet sold 7,300 monthly passes. By the end of this year, TriMet will have phased out most non-Hop paper and mobile tickets.

TriMet’s archive includes bus passes dating back to the 1970s. Some are works of art in miniature — feats of design and security where function meets style. Others are tepid, boring garbage I would have thrown away as soon as the month was over.

But even when it was garbage, it changed color every month and brought a little more variety than the new Hop pass “spokesblobs.” A spokeswoman from TriMet confirmed the blobs are nameless and gender-neutral.

Debbie Huntington has been manager of creative services at TriMet for 24 years. She said the design of monthly bus passes is just one of a couple thousand projects they do each year.

In the early years of her job, Huntington said designers liked working on the passes because it gave them a chance to be more creative than their typical work producing bus schedules.

“As we get more sophisticated in more of our promotions and more advertising is being done in-house, we then start to shift in 'Oh my god we have to do those monthly passes again,’” Huntington said.

Here are 24 passes produced by TriMet since 1975, ranked from worst to best on a scale of one to 10.

Don't Edit

24. January 2006

Don't Edit

I’m convinced whoever designed this pass typed “coffee cup” into the clipart search on Microsoft Word 2003 and slapped it onto their design file. The purple-pink background reminds me of Megan Rapinoe’s hair, but this pass could never lead a team to its fourth World Cup title. 0/10

Don't Edit

23. January 2011

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

This TriMet pass is as sad as the month of January, so points for that. And that black and white low-quality photograph of a transit station rain cover? How moody. 1/10

Don't Edit

22. July 1985

Don't Edit

This pass is proof that the passes didn’t just get boring in the 2000s. It may be the '80s, but this design feels like it could have gotten me aboard the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Clearly, the designer spent way too long on the loopy bits in the middle. 1/10

Don't Edit

21. December 2001

Don't Edit

The amount of SCHOOLs on this pass probably has something to do with making it easy for bus drivers to see what type of pass it is no matter how you show it, but they’re giving me a headache. At least the photo is actually in focus. 1/10

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

20. April 1998

Don't Edit

The TriMet logo? 118 times? Groundbreaking. That said, the simplicity here is a lot more palatable than any of the passes so far. 2/10

Don't Edit

19. September 1980

Don't Edit

It’s just a photo, but finally the pass isn’t overburdened with an annoying amount of text. Plus, the photo is of a cool old streetcar. Choo-choo. 2.5/10

Don't Edit

18. November 1981

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Still hanging on with a similar design, this pass is marginally better than the 1980 pass because the letters are bigger and dare I say it, blockier. Plus, points for the haunting photo that reminds me I’ll likely never make enough money to afford a house. I’ll dream of sipping Arnold Palmer on this Queen Anne wraparound porch while I sit in my $46 a night Airbnb room. 3/10

Don't Edit

17. April 1976

Don't Edit

Paul Revere stans will love this American history bus pass, which came out during America's Bicentennial year. It’s hard to resist the Old Town Road jokes here. 3.5/10

Don't Edit

16. June, July and August 1999

Don't Edit

This three month summer bus for the youths is very '70s. Without a doubt one of the most stand-out passes TriMet has produced, it would be hard to misplace this groovy pass. 3.5/10

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

15. November 1988

Don't Edit

It took a little crowdsourcing over at Twitter dot com, but it turns out this man is one of several fixtures on a fountain at Pioneer Courthouse Square wrapped around what is now a Starbucks. According to Pioneer Square's website, the Starbucks didn't open until 1989. I don't know why, but I love this pass. Those soulless, empty eyes tell me his thirst for water will never be sated. All hail. 4/10

Don't Edit

14. July 1990

Don't Edit

Huntington told me passes like these were made with scratchboard, a white clay board or paper with black ink over top of it. She said the designer would use a sharp tool to scribe away the black ink, revealing the white paper underneath to create the design. 5/10 for the intense design process.

Don't Edit

13. August 1988

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

It’s nothing fancy, but that orange-soda orange and sunset yellow feels like melting dreamsicles and the hot final days of summer. Just writing about it made me move this pass up six spots. All I can think about while looking at it is :) and those kites look fun. 5.5/10

Don't Edit

12. June, July and August 1997

Don't Edit

The Pass is back. This design is more what I expect from the '90s. It’s loud, weird and shiny. I may not have been born until 1998, but I grew up with a '90s-obsessed internet that wanted nothing more than to go back, so I’m nostalgic for the nostalgia. 5.5/10

Don't Edit

11. February 1994

Don't Edit

This pass taught me that Oregon’s state animal is the beaver (I’m from Indiana). Points for being educational, points off for being snooty and using its latin name. I like that the TriMet symbol is in a heart, presumably for Valentine’s Day. 5.5/10

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

10. January 1977

Don't Edit

At first glance you might say this is one of the most boring passes you’ve seen yet. You would be wrong. Take a few steps back from your screen and you’ll see the white TriMet logos make a seasonally-appropriate snowflake. Cute! 6/10

Don't Edit

9. July 1978

Don't Edit

“Night Fever” by the Bee Gees is blaring from my car radio while I drive through town in my dad’s Corvette. It’s July 1978 and I’m having a hot girl summer. My dad needs his car during the week though, so I take the bus downtown with this pass. 6.5/10

Don't Edit

8. October 1994

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Maybe I’m just an intern from Indiana, but nothing says Oregon like an Oregon Trail wagon. Dying of dysentery was always the best part of my fourth grade computer lab class. 6.5/10

Don't Edit

7. December 1983

Don't Edit

This pass is another true work of art. White leaves and plant stems curl around the neon-yellow “D.” The intense amount of detail along with the lovely color combo earns this pass a 6.5/10.

Don't Edit

6. May 1985

Don't Edit

If it weren’t for the weird typography on “Pass Plus” clashing with the rest of the design, this pass might have been king. The top looks like it belongs on the fabric seat covers of whatever bus I’m about to board. 7/10

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

5. October 1979

Don't Edit

When Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Lizzy Acker

in 2017, she ranked this the 8th worst bridge: “Steel Bridge cons: It's definitely going to collapse in an earthquake,” she wrote. I first thought this was the Hawthorne Bridge, which is my favorite, hence spot number five. 7.5/10

Don't Edit

4. April 1982

Don't Edit

This 1982 pass did what the May 1985 pass could not. It has a mind-bending design that doesn’t clash with the necessities in the section below. If I stare at it too long I would probably knock it down a few spots because it’s giving me a headache. 7.5/10

Don't Edit

3. December 1991

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

This is a cool bear. It looks like he’s a little annoyed at all those random pink squiggles but they’re doing a lot for him. I guess that’s all you need to earn a top three spot. That, and I’m too intimidated to give him anything but an 8/10.

Don't Edit

2. June 1993

Don't Edit

Having lived in Portland for less than two full months, I’ve been thinking about getting a rose tattoo. Maybe instead I’ll just get this bus pass forever imprinted on my body. The colors are dreamy and warm, exactly how I felt walking through the International Rose Test Garden. 9/10

Don't Edit

1. September 1975

Don't Edit

If it’s not too much to ask, I would like to live and die inside this bus pass. It’s as simple as it gets. This bus pass could be the cover of an indie album or a post on someone’s grainy Tumblr. Lay my lifeless body among these wildflowers and let me disintegrate into the dirt. 10/10

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

-- Peter Talbot

ptalbot@oregonian.com

503-221-5772;

Visit

to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.