TriMet monthly passes go on sale on the 20th of the month, so I always buy the upcoming pass while the current pass is still working. This means I put the new pass in my wallet behind the current month pass, and then forget about ever removing the out-of-date passes. 
Theoretically, this is $900 of TriMet transportation. But seeing as how each month is only valid for one month, and then becomes worth zero dollars, you are actually looking at a running total of $900, actual value: nada.
I think the first time I bought a monthly transit pass was for the T in Boston. It was probably 1997, and cost $35.00, or maybe $37.00?
Soon these types of passes will go the way of the dinosaur. TriMet is moving to a refillable card, something I’m not at all happy about.
They have those refillable cards in LA. As someone who doesn’t use LA public transit very much (nor did I use it all that much when I lived there), I find it useful. But I think I would find it annoying if I had to keep refilling it all the time, especially since I’m not sure if there’s a way to track how much you’ve used it/when it’s getting low.
Aside from the loss of the changing colors, I see the refillable cards as the first step on the path to a per-use system, a la New York City. I’m not a fan at all of a per-use system, especially since on swimming days I would need three fares, not two. (One to the pool, one from the pool to work, one from work to home).
For now, the supposed way it will work is that you can buy the fares online ahead of time (which will, admittedly, be much easier than trying to time the lines at the Fred Meyer customer service desk) and once you exhaust a month’s worth of fare, you will still keep scanning each fare, but will not be charged anything additionally.
Hi friend!
I get 9 commenting moments before I dive in to my work for the night!
Here I go:
-I like that they are colorful.
Do they have a contest for the photo art? That would be cool to have your work on a pass like that!
Oh good. 9 commenting moments. I’m interested in how long each moment is. 🙂
They do not have contests. I assume the in-house graphic designer makes them, but I don’t really know.