TriMet riders supporting 'necessary' stricter punishments for drug use in transit

[@dezcrawford]

I used to ride public transit all the time. I rarely do now. I think there was good intent in decriminalizing certain substances, but I don’t think people fully thought out the difference between not wanting to hang a felony on a young person in possession of a unprescribed pain pill, and what might happen if homeless mentally ill people are high on meth in the streets and on public transit.

[@Weathernerd27]

When I first started the electrician apprenticeship I rode public transit alot but I rarely ride it anymore because 1) Its quicker to drive even with traffic the car is still faster 2) its cheaper to drive even with gas prices as high as they are. 3) its alot more pleasant to drive when I rode the bus/light rail it was standing room only and the station/train was dirty and smelly. Also there is no bathroom at the bus/train station which is alitlte bit of a problem when you have 1.5 hour ride and you started the day with coffee like alot of workers do. There is a reason why parts of the station smell like piss and I'm guessing its not just the homeless people. 4) Most of the bus/train stations have no parking so if you don't within within walking distance you are out of luck. 5) its really hard to take a bike/electric scooter on the bus/train. This matters because the bus/trains station is often .5 to 2 miles away from the construction site I work at, that is a 15 to 45 minute walk but only a 3 to 10 minute bike/scooter ride. If I could sit down, open a laptop/tablet and watch a tv show, there was parking/restrooms, the station wasn't disgusting, it didn't cost that much more than driving and it took about the same amount of time as driving then I would gladly use public transit but thats not how American public transit is. If you think that we could never build such a nice public transit system that there is no way the tickets would be affordable go to Europe and look at what they did.

[@aboutface102]

Do you really think the people using drugs paid to ride?

[@ChicagoMike97]

No. It is too easy to simply walk onto a MAX train. I am in Chicago now… on the CTA here, there is definitely some sketchy shit, especially on the red line, but we have turnstiles that are hard to jump. It is not as easy to evade fare. It is not as bad as TriMet.

[@aboutface102]

@@ChicagoMike97 They should have made turnstiles and walls from the beginning. It’s so stupid

[@ChicagoMike97]

@@aboutface102 Yeah especially at those downtown platforms. The train literally runs on the street and stops at the sidewalk. It is kind of weird. I had no issues on the MAX a few years ago, but now with all the crazy homeless and junkies, I could not ride it without something going haywire. And don’t get me started on Skidmore Fountain or NW 6th and Hoyt, lol.

[@daviddooley5361]

That's not the point.

[@aboutface102]

@@daviddooley5361 Oh it definitely is a major part of the point. If those people had to pay to board the majority never would.

[@420saralou]

Take some tips from C-Tran. First, they don't allow people with bags of cans. Those cans are what purchases their drugs. Don't enable them by giving them a free ride to the nearest Safeway. I see more people riding for free. Why am I and others still paying? Drivers aren't enforcing disruptive behavior. It's a shit show. I was waiting for the bus the other day and this guy walks up and asks if he can smoke some weed. Sure whatever. Then he informs me It's crack. And proceeded to blow it in my face. What the actual fuck??? I've found people sleeping in the bus shelter, someone almost burned it down. Trash everywhere. It's unsafe.

[@trishhamilton2049]

I think you are right WE should all stop paying for the ride see how they react when we all demand a free ride

[@qjtvaddict]

North America is the new Africa

[@caracoates4834]

It is not just the drug addicts that turn people off, what about all the mentally ill riding around town for free. They are selling a service, if you want to sell tickets you need a safe, clean, and on time product.

[@Weathernerd27]

I'm okay with somone who has no money getting a few free rides but their needs to be conditions, they need to be really trying to get into a better situation they can't get free rides for years and years. I would be in favor of giving a homeless person a free bus pass so long as 1) they went to re-hab and were randomly tested now and then to be sure they stayed off drugs 2) They worked with a councilor to create a plan to get back into the workforce and they followed up on that plan. 3) they got a gym membership so they could use the shower and make themselves more clean and presentable. 4) Once they had alittle money they got a room or a Van to live in only the rich can afford city apartments/houses these days.

[@Sufferingsassafrass]

Are they mentally I’ll or on drugs though? Hard to tell the difference at times. Maybe a combo too.😢

[@clarencesmith2305]

I want armed security on try-mess as a state agency they are responsible for our safety. Just ask my best friend how great there security is back in 2017 when he was murdered on the MAX at the Hollywood stop and my friends name was Ricky John Best.

[@Jay-lw4jj]

You guys really need some help when you got all that security they can kick them off the train but unfortunately when I get on the train I see all the security all bunched up in one f****** Corner not doing their jobs they have every right to tell a passenger if they're doing drugs on the train to get off the train plain and simple so it's the TriMet security that is not doing their jobs you should have two security guards to each train not 10

[@Intruc3]

It's almost like Measure 110 caused this problem.

[@forgottenman8629]

virtually all messes can be attributed to unfettered liberalism...

[@skyisreallyhigh3333]

Except it didn't.

[@skyisreallyhigh3333]

​@@forgottenman8629Conservatives are just people trying to conserve a different kind of liberalism. You're all liberals

[@Sufferingsassafrass]

Repeal would be helpful.

[@ElleBaby87]

​@@skyisreallyhigh3333yes it did are you dumb

[@ridesharebeware5747]

0:15 The irony.

[@steelewheels1365]

Liberals are blind. This has got to be a joke.

[@xzero422]

Love seeing Tri-Met acting like they now give a crap about transient junkies riding the Max for free and menacing paid customers.

[@MrBearcatjew]

because they are losing money

[@Weathernerd27]

I don't have a problem with the homeless if they behave but when they make a mess, do drugs in public, act crazy, relieve themselves in plain sight and our parks are covered with so many tents we can't use the park then their needs to be serious consequences. One time when my sister and I were riding the light rail their was a homeless man who hadn't bathed in months and it stunk up the entire car making the ride a miserable experience. I think you shouldn't be allowed on public transit unless you are semi-clean. I realize homeless people don't have access to a shower so let me explain a possible solution to this problem. I live in a Van during the workweek and a small apartment in the country on the weekend, I wanted to get a place in the city but there was nothing affordable within commuting range. My rent and car payment are low enough that it would work for someone that didn't make a ton of money. Even though I'm homeless during the workweek I don't look homeless I am clean/well kept and my full time job/hiking and skiing hobby keep me off drugs. In Japan they have these really tiny really cheap $20 a night apartments a person can rent to sleep at if the drive home is too long we need something similar, the Van is my tiny room on wheels.

[@Sufferingsassafrass]

❤❤

[@Daniel-bg4zh]

Actually homeless people do have access to showers and laundry services too. Mon - Fri in the mornings at TPI. Some people flat out refuse to use the service's though.

[@OddsandEnds]

i was at goose hallow and it was an open air drug market payed by cans on the platform

[@Daniel-bg4zh]

That's definitely a lie. No one is at Goose Hollow and drug dealers definitely don't accept cans.

[@MrBearcatjew]

@@Daniel-bg4zh they go to a 7 eleven or a plaid pantry and turn their cans in for a few bucks. That money is then used to buy street drugs. Just saved you 7 years of government analysis.

[@OddsandEnds]

or it looked like that i was on the other platform@@Daniel-bg4zh

[@htune754]

it's not frustration it's safety. gotta love the manipulative wording.

[@Christopher-pe6zj]

So funny lets assuming the people smoking drugs on the train give a flying fuck about a ticket LMAO PORTLAND GET REAL!

[@Daniel-bg4zh]

How will they even enforce this? Someone going to call the police while on a train that's constantly moving? Good luck giving location, not to mention the wait time when dialing the police.

[@snellsnell7490]

Surprise surprise tell the city to do some thing about bringing people back into the city. Like opening businesses giving incentives to small I repeat small businesses to start up. All these corporations found out that they have empty spaces in multiple buildings, people are working from home you don’t have ridership if people aren’t working here. It’s not just the occasional rider who comes to town and wants to buy something you have to get workers back.

[@Daniel-bg4zh]

Don't the locals normally complain about people moving to Portland?

[@JasonHall-bf1lm]

It's not safe

[@Miss_Cherry]

You can't save the world. This is our home, and most of us wouldn't have a bunch of people in our house becausewe feel sorry for them. If we did there's a limit to kindness. And i can't allow everyone with the same story to live at my house. At some point you need to be responsible for yourself. Who illegally crosses the border and wants the very same laws to protect them? Who moves to a non Spanish speaking country you've never been to with kids. No plan, no money. It's irresponsible asf

[@Chris4Bama]

Class A misdemeanor. A ticket. FAIL.

[@baoge4591]

Sure.. slap people with more crimes.. But what's that going to do? 1) it definitely won't discourage them from using the system, 2) you can get police to "escort" them off the system but that won't stop them from getting back on to do the same and a misdemeanor is not a jailable offense and 3) this new senate bill is going to be another waste of time and resources without doing anything with the real problem on easy, cheap, and accessible drugs, this dug problem and the homelessness.

[@qjtvaddict]

Enforce the rules!!!!!

[@elliotkeitges8165]

I would be more scared sitting next to that man who was first interviewed than sitting next to someone smoking feytanyl.

[@SplashCG16]

STOP LETTING PEOPLE RIDE WITHOUT PAYING! Have the bus driver tell them no, don't move the bus if they get on, they will leave or they'll get move and eventually it will get sorted out.

[@ElleBaby87]

Wtf What in the world Let's make a law that keeps people from doing drugs on a train in public There should be no need to do this in the first place I'm so over Oregon and it's stupidity When I get my disability I am out of this shit hole

[@MichaelVance-el5mz]

MaMISDIMEANOR?? MAKE IT A FELONY!!!

[@Daniel-bg4zh]

That's a bit over the top.

[@Brex806]

Hell is here thanks to lawmakers

[@chrisbowman1367]

And idiotic western oregon voters.

[@benjaminrichard7741]

Using drugs on trimet should land you 5 years in a for-profit prison where you are forced to make license plates or something.

[@Sufferingsassafrass]

🎯It would in a different country. There’s not a piece of litter on transit systems in Japan.

[@chrisbowman1367]

Then vote for a governor that didn’t learn everything she knows about the world from sorority social justice clubs. Western oregon is incapable of running a state with common sense policies and is compelled to make every decision based on emotions.

[@jasonhenry375]

What a joke ooh class a misdemeanor that will stop them😂 still wont see my ass! on that train

[@TheRealMayn1er]

Soooooo much I wanna say on here but looks like everyone has already said it. LOL THEY NEED SECURITY RIDING THE TRAINS 24/7 INSTEAD OF MAKING SURE THEY SPEND MONEY ON PUTTING TV'S AT EVERY FUCKING STOP 🤦🏻‍♂️ The street car smells like a fucking zoo even when there are no homeless riding. It's fucking ridiculous. And why pay for a ride if they don't?🤔 Just saying 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@KeikoFXDesigns]

Don't surprise me one bit... Welcome to the NEW PORTLAND ROOKIES LOL.

[@Miss_Cherry]

What do you think will happen if people don't have a place to go? Shid if I had to live outside I may be an addict too. They are trying to escape and some people are trying to survive. Lift the sanctions, send them home. We can't control the world. I understand principles but people are starving. Of course they are going to break the laws. It's human nature to want to provide fie yourself, but you can't because you don't have a work permit.

[@allouttabubblegum1984]

America is the only place you'll see an obese homeless person. No one is starving there's so much free food GTFO!😂

[@Noizedas]

More people died last year from alcohol than all drugs combined

[@Cattrix999]

And that is not what is addressed in the video. Did you watch it? It's not safe for people to use Trimet anymore. For law abiding citizens to use public transportation without being accosted by druggies and addicts who are high and not in their right minds.

[@allouttabubblegum1984]

😂

[@melreslor2114]

Alcohol used to be the #1 cause of drug-related deaths by far. Now fentanyl and opioids are catching up. Alcohol is still a major killer due to organ disease and automobile deaths.

[@mikehawk120]

Portland, when yt ppl get what they want but slowly figure out it wasn’t supposed to get what they wanted in free drug use.

[@timcarter1983]

More "edgy" white bashing. Hey, do you know this classic? "Down with the patriarchy!" Or how about this timeless gem... "Colonizer? I barely knew her."

[@forestc6014]

Climate action goals. Gtfoh.

[@bringyourownsnake980]

Oh, my goodness! Well... Your big girls are really pretty!... Bless your hearts. -The South

[@hiamvu]

Oh we have feminist issues next?!

[@tesslivv1523]

They don't ever act crazy around me, I'm 300 pounds🚒🐶 they know better. They harass the weak people, and I can't do anything to help you. Little mountain folk up in this town 😂