TriMet in June 1986. TriMet designer Jeff Frane, who attributed inspiration to his son Alex, made the winning suggestion. As the planning of an extension to the west side progressed, this line came to be referred to as the Eastside MAX. Freeway transfer funds provided $178.3 million, or 83 percent of the total cost. The project was completed $10 million under budget. An estimated 250,000 people attended the opening celebrations which spanned three days. Downtown retailers, many of whom had opposed light rail, reported substantial increases in sales following the line's opening. Nine new bus lines were created and six existing bus routes were modified as feeder routes. MAX trains initially operated between 5:00 am and 1:30 am, with headways as short as seven minutes. Fares ranged $0.85–$1.30 to travel up to four paid zones. Rides were free within Fareless Square from opening day until 2012. Originally, MAX trains did not automatically stop at every station, if no one was waiting to board when a train approached a given stop. MAX cars were equipped with stop-request bell cords (as are commonly found on American transit buses), which passengers needed to pull to signal the operator that they wanted to get off at the next stop. However, after finding that the times when a train could pass a station without needing to stopbecause no one was getting on or offwere mainly limited to late-night hours and a small number of less-used stations, TriMet removed the bell cords in November 1994 and changed its operating practices to have trains stop at every station at all times. From 1986 to 1996, most of the line's easternmost two miles (3.2 km), beyond the Ruby Junction maintenance facility, operated as bidirectional single-track. Trains traveling in opposite directions were unable to pass in these sections, resulting in delays when service ran behind schedule. In early 1996, a second track was laid and a second platform was constructed at Gresham Central Transit Center, making the section double-track and eliminating the only remaining single-track on the Eastside MAX. The new track was brought into use in May after a three-month suspension of MAX service east of Rockwood/East 188th Avenue station; it had been replaced by shuttle buses to allow the work to be carried out. Since the inauguration of MAX, TriMet has added four infill stations to the original alignment. In March 1990, the system opened the Mall