An interesting paean to Fareless Square. Perhaps only geezers like me remember this, but in the late 1970s, Tri-Met ran several downtown buses at (I think) 10 or 15 minute intervals called something like the "Shopper Line". The fare was 10 cents, and they ran north-south through downtown from the PSU end to NW Glisan.

This took the fare collecting pressure of the other bus routes, and they were always full from 10am to 2pm. This was a tiny cost to shoppers, and you didn't have to fear confrontations with riff-raff or criminals like you now see in the free zone.