Trimet pass question? (Portland: inspector, buses, bill)

[nikedunks13]

When you use a trimet pass do you just show it to the driver or do you have to scan it?

I received a trimet pass from a job, and I ended up leaving at the end of last week for another job. Obviously I knew I would have to return the pass but for some reason I was thinking it had to be withing a week and not a day. They're still asking if I'll return it even though they charged me for it, they are saying they'll attempt to cancel the request but they think it might be too late.

I'm completely fine with paying for the pass because it was my mistake to not return it within the 24 hours, but, if the pass will still work I'd like to hang onto it just in case I end up needing/wanting to use it.

They want me to return the pass whether I have to pay for it or not, and it just seems kind of weird to me that I'll have to return the pass even if I pay for it. But if you have to scan it to use it I'm sure it'll be cancelled and I won't be able to use it anyways, so then it wouldn't really matter.

Thanks in advance

[jjpop]

I'm pretty sure you just show it to a bus driver or to a MAX train inspector and they just glance to make sure it's valid for the current month. No scanning involved.

[nikedunks13]

That's what I was thinking. They actually left me a voice mail today basically saying they were going to bill me if I didn't return it by the end of the day and that they were doing me a favor by not already doing so, and they would have been doing me a favor if that was true but when I called back they said they had already went through the process but said she would try and cancel it as soon as she got off the phone with me, but she was thinking it might be too late.

I asked if she could let me know after she called them because I want to keep the pass if I have to pay for it and she told me the pass wouldn't work anyways.

I don't really think she would purposely lie about that but I also don't think they'd have every single person that gets on a bus or train scan their pass.

[Minervah]

I left Portland a year ago but unless things have changed on Tri Met there were no scanners on either buses or MAX. On the bus, you showed the driver your pass. On the MAX you just boarded and showed the fair inspector your pass if he came along and asked for it.

Here in Cleveland we have scanners on buses and light rail but even then there would be no way anyone could cancel a pass remotely. I don't know how this women could say the pass wouldn't work unless it was something special the company used between them and TriMet. As far as I know, companies I worked for what gave their employees passes just gave them regular passes.

[nikedunks13]

I guess I'll just hang onto it unless they for sure aren't going to bill me.

Thanks