PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Most forms of public transportation will be free in the greater Portland area on Feb. 4 in honor of civil rights figure Rosa Parks. Fare-free rides will be offered on TriMet buses, MAX line trains, Portland Streetcar, the Westside Express Service commuter rail, LIFT Paratransit and Clark County’s C-Tran services.
“To celebrate and honor the iconic Rosa Parks and her contributions to the civil rights movement, we will not collect fares on Feb. 4 – Rosa Parks’ birthday,” Trimet said.
Ticket machines will decline purchases on this day and riders attempting to pay by Hop card will not be charged. Fare collection will resume at 2 a.m. on Feb. 5.
“You won’t need to tap your Hop card or buy a ticket at the station, just come on board,” TriMet said. “Transfers are free too.”
The annual day of remembrance is part of a resolution passed by the City of Portland in 2020, declaring Feb. 4 Rosa Parks Day. Parks was arrested on Dec. 1, 1955, for refusing to give her seat to a white passenger near the front of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her famous act of civil disobedience resulted in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which became a fundamental part of the American civil rights movement.
Portland Bureau of Transportation Public Information Officer Dylan Rivera told KOIN 6 that the Portland Aerial Tram will still require fare on Feb. 4.