Pace to CTA fare

[MVTArider]

Looking at my CTA map I got last year when I was in Chicago I noticed that under the Passes section it states that "Passes are valid on CTA and Pace (except Pace Route 835) it also says that under the visitor pass section. I'm confused because I thought only the 30 day CTA/Pace pass was good on both. The CTA website says the 7 day pass is only good on CTA but neither the CTA nor Pace mention anything about other passes. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I do know that Pace transfers are not accepted by CTA. Also on the back of the "One Day Fun Pass" I have from my last trip to Chicago it says "Valid for unlimited rides on CTA." but it also says nothing about being valid or not on Pace. So whats the deal? (I put this question in a forum so others from outside Chicago can read it too. If there is another thread that already has this info please provide a link. I looked but didn't see one.) The CTA map is effective June 07 fyi.

[Kevin]

Initially, only CTA's 30-day pass was accepted on Pace. This changed on September 23, 2004 when Pace began accepting all unlimited ride CTA passes, along with the U-Pass for college students. This acceptance was initially on a trial basis. I believe it has since been made a permanent policy but couldn't find any official press releases confirming that.

[Busjack]

Pace accepting the other CTA passes depends on the RTA subsidizing them for doing so. I believe that Pace threatened to refuse to honor other CTA passes as part of the Doomsday scenario, but since that scenario was called off, I don't think Pace did anything to change the policy that all CTA passes would be accepted.

Their website only mentions what passes Pace sells at its store.

Obviously, you have to rely on what Pace prints on its schedules, and not on the CTA, since the two do not get along, especially concerning this matter. At one time Pace honored the CTA 7 day, but quit doing so when CTA wouldn't split the sales proceeds. The RTA subsidy mentioned above resulted in the change of Pace policy reflected in Kevin's post.

[MVTArider]

Thanks guys. So basically Pace probably accepts the visitor passes and 1 day pass now but it is subject to change depending on relations between the two companies. Man. I'm glad we have one big regional fare up here in the Twin Cities. If we didn't there could be a really big mess with 7 different providers :lol:

[Busjack]

Thanks guys. So basically Pace probably accepts the visitor passes and 1 day pass now but it is subject to change depending on relations between the two companies.

No, it is basically the structure of the RTA Act. RTA is supposed to exercise financial oversight, which it barely does. The service boards (CTA, Pace, and Metra) each has the power to set the level of service and fares, so long as they meet the recovery ratio (and the service boards have figured out all sorts of ways to fudge that). RTA has discretionary money, which it can use to pay Pace to take the passes, or say it doesn't have enough to kick in.

Again showing that the RTA reform we got in January wasn't much. But with the tax increase, there isn't any incentive to squabble at the moment.

Transfers aren't much different. CTA abolished selling transfers with cash bus fares, so it doesn't accept Pace transfers either. However, there is some incomprehensible arrangement under which Pace accepts Transit Cards, which do allow transfers, and the fares are somehow split with CTA.

[MVTArider]

Oh, ok now I get it. Still it basically answers my original question as to whether Pace accepts the CTA passes and cards or not. Thanks.