08:39 AM PDT on Friday, September 23, 2005

By ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, kgw.com Staff

Portland bus shelters and most MAX stations are going smoke-free, Tri-Met officials said.

AP photo

Smoker lights up.

Starting Monday, Tri-Met crews will begin installing no-smoking signs at all 1,090 bus shelters and MAX stations where smoking will now be prohibited.

“Tri-Met has received numerous requests and complaints over the years regarding people smoking inside shelters and at MAX stations,” said said Tri-Met spokeswoman Mary Fetsch. "Often when it rains, people go inside shelters to smoke in a dry place even when they’re not waiting for a bus.”

Smokers who disregard the new rule could face a $94 fine, minimum, or be barred from riding public transportation.

It will several months to install the signs at all bus shelters and the majority of MAX stations, Fetsch said. In the meantime, volunteers from the Tobacco Prevention Program and the American Lung Association of Oregon will visit the sites and hand out flyers on the health dangers of smoking.

"We'll be installing signs everyday," Fetsch said. Signs will be up at a handful of MAX stations and two or three dozen bus shelters by Monday, she estimated.

Enforcement will begin on January 1st.

The only MAX stations that will be exempt from the rule are those where the platform shares space with a city sidewalk, such as the stations downtown.

Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including formaldehyde, cyanide, carbon monoxide and arsenic. At least 43 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer in humans.