fare Payment methods

[Smolensk]

7 hours ago, jajuan said:

I just looked at the fare chart on CTA's website and it says the 25-cent transfer charge from Pace to CTA is still in effect. Just like with Pace still offering its Pace only 30-day regular pass, there are a few spots where both agencies aren't ready to completely streamline just yet.

Thank you.  As a matter of fact, I just transferred from Pace to CTA last night and got charged 25 cents.

Nobody at Pace seems to know if they will honor the one-ride Ventra ticket.  I tried emailing customer service and all I get in response is a form letter telling me about the new 1, 3, and 7 day passes.  I tried calling and the person I talked to clearly didn't understand the question.

[Tcmetro]

I recently transfered from CTA to Pace and was charged 30 cents. I thought Pace got rid of the transfer fee, but that must only be Pace-to-Pace.

I also was charged 25 cents for the Pace to CTA transfer, but that one is disclosed in the fare table on the CTA website.

[artthouwill]

23 minutes ago, Tcmetro said:

I recently transfered from CTA to Pace and was charged 30 cents. I thought Pace got rid of the transfer fee, but that must only be Pace-to-Pace.

I also was charged 25 cents for the Pace to CTA transfer, but that one is disclosed in the fare table on the CTA website.

Pace to Pace transfers are free. All of these changes were recently implemented  

[Kevin]

On 10/14/2022 at 1:33 PM, Busjack said:

It seemS like again the unsuccessful bidder went to the press, since from the discussion, CTA split with Pace when it appeared that the 2 agencies had different systems with which the fare boxes had to interface, and SPX missed the deadline for submitting the "best and final offer."  Scheidt & Bachmann got the contract. Apparently this, used by MBTA.

And here they are. 

[Busjack]

15 hours ago, Kevin said:

And here they are.

 

On 2/5/2024 at 9:24 PM, Mr.NewFlyer1279 said:

1176, 1301 have been sent to Chicago Ave as well, all these buses have the new farebox installed on them and per my guess they’re at C for testing 

From the linked story:

Quote

The initial roll-out of the program will entail the installation and field testing of 100 updated buses through spring. The equipment will be installed on buses operating out of CTA’s Chicago Avenue Garage on the West Side, which serves some of the agency’s highest ridership routes including: #12 Roosevelt, #20 Madison, #53 Pulaski, #65 Grand and #66 Chicago.

So that's exactly what it is.☺️

[Tcmetro]

On 4/17/2023 at 2:58 PM, Tcmetro said:

I recently transfered from CTA to Pace and was charged 30 cents. I thought Pace got rid of the transfer fee, but that must only be Pace-to-Pace.

I also was charged 25 cents for the Pace to CTA transfer, but that one is disclosed in the fare table on the CTA website.

I dug into this a little more recently after getting the same transfer fees between CTA and Pace.

• CTA now mentions the CTA to Pace fee in the notes underneath the table on the fares page. ( ‡ Full fare transfer to CTA from Pace buses 25¢, 15¢ Reduced/Student) - https://www.transitchicago.com/fares/
• Pace doesn't mention the CTA to Pace/Pace to CTA fees on the fares page - https://www.pacebus.com/fares
• Pace does mention the transfer cost on the page about how to get to the airport (Ventra transit value can be used to pay for rides on CTA or Pace, and allows you to transfer from Pace to CTA for only $0.30 and from CTA to Pace for only $0.25.) - https://www.pacebus.com/bus-n-fly

The CTA and Pace pages actually conflict on this information (CTA says from Pace to CTA is 25 cents, while Pace says from Pace to CTA is 30 cents).

 

 

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Tcmetro said:

I dug into this a little more recently after getting the same transfer fees between CTA and Pace.

• CTA now mentions the CTA to Pace fee in the notes underneath the table on the fares page. ( ‡ Full fare transfer to CTA from Pace buses 25¢, 15¢ Reduced/Student) - https://www.transitchicago.com/fares/
• Pace doesn't mention the CTA to Pace/Pace to CTA fees on the fares page - https://www.pacebus.com/fares
• Pace does mention the transfer cost on the page about how to get to the airport (Ventra transit value can be used to pay for rides on CTA or Pace, and allows you to transfer from Pace to CTA for only $0.30 and from CTA to Pace for only $0.25.) - https://www.pacebus.com/bus-n-fly

The CTA and Pace pages actually conflict on this information (CTA says from Pace to CTA is 25 cents, while Pace says from Pace to CTA is 30 cents).

 

 

Pace to CTA used to be  25 cents but is now 30 cents.   Pace to Pace transfers used to be 25 cents but now are free.  Anything that requires more than one fare, I just buy a $5 one day pass which is valid on CTA and Pace.   It's a better value.

[Smolensk]

6 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Pace to CTA used to be  25 cents but is now 30 cents.   Pace to Pace transfers used to be 25 cents but now are free.  Anything that requires more than one fare, I just buy a $5 one day pass which is valid on CTA and Pace.   It's a better value.

Pace to CTA is 25 cents for full fare, 15 cents for reduced fare.

CTA to pace is 30 cents for full fare, 20 cents for reduced fare.  (How do they get that 20 is half of 30?)

But these ONLY apply to the first transfer, the second transfer is free.  So if I need to transfer from the 'L' to Pace, I first walk over to a CTA bus, tap my Ventra card on the card reader, and then walk over to the Pace bus.  I suppose walking thru a turnstile at the 'L' station would work, too.

 

 

[artthouwill]

50 minutes ago, Smolensk said:

Pace to CTA is 25 cents for full fare, 15 cents for reduced fare.

CTA to pace is 30 cents for full fare, 20 cents for reduced fare.  (How do they get that 20 is half of 30?)

But these ONLY apply to the first transfer, the second transfer is free.  So if I need to transfer from the 'L' to Pace, I first walk over to a CTA bus, tap my Ventra card on the card reader, and then walk over to the Pace bus.  I suppose walking thru a turnstile at the 'L' station would work, too.

 

 

That's why I choose the one day pass.   I have 24 hrs of use without doing any math.  

[Elkmn]

If i really don't want to do the math i pretend I'm a rat and hang out in the bus engine until I'm at my stop (or dead)

[Tcmetro]

Sometimes I have a day pass that expires so I just use a regular fare to get where I'm going.

The $5 day pass has been a great addition especially now that it covers Pace.

Just found it interesting how little documentation there is on the transfer costs between systems.

[Elkmn]

Why is pace slightly cheaper from cta buses? Is it because they assume pace riders are poorer than CTA bus riders?

[Busjack]

1 minute ago, Elkmn said:

Why is pace slightly cheaper from cta buses? Is it because they assume pace riders are poorer than CTA bus riders?

You assume too much. Each service board is legally authorized to set its own fares, so long as it presents a balanced budget within RTA set funding marks. More than likely, Pace is trying to attract discretionary riders. And where service is more in demand (i.e. I55) the fare is $4.00

Also, you admitted lack of knowledge of the Southland. Maybe your theory holds up for 352.

[Elkmn]

I understand pace might want discretionary riders, but pace's current service model is more low frequency coverage, than high freqeuncy routes that serve less places, so it's usually not practical for people who have a choice to use pace, unless they're on a frequent line. If I ever have the choice between pace and cta, i usually choose cta, because it's more frequent and on a more dieted street, even if it's slightly pricier.

[Tcmetro]

There aren't many cases of choice between Pace and CTA anyways. Even in those cases (like the 95 and the 381 on W 95th) you'll find that most riders get on whatever bus comes first.

Keep in mind that CTA (and Metra) also have reduced the cost of fares, passes and transfers to try to salvage some level of ridership after the covid collapse. 

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Elkmn said:

I understand pace might want discretionary riders, but pace's current service model is more low frequency coverage, than high freqeuncy routes that serve less places, so it's usually not practical for people who have a choice to use pace, unless they're on a frequent line. If I ever have the choice between pace and cta, i usually choose cta, because it's more frequent and on a more dieted street, even if it's slightly pricier.

 

56 minutes ago, Tcmetro said:

There aren't many cases of choice between Pace and CTA anyways. Even in those cases (like the 95 and the 381 on W 95th) you'll find that most riders get on whatever bus comes first.

Keep in mind that CTA (and Metra) also have reduced the cost of fares, passes and transfers to try to salvage some level of ridership after the covid collapse. 

@Tcmetro summarized it well. I can also add that there was a time when CTA wanted to compete with Pace, such as whhen it proposed a study from 79th to 159th, or Route 96 to the Skokie Industrial Area, or 205 over Pace 212. One thing Claypool admitted in 2011 (although not explicitly) was that CTA could not afford to compete with Pace, and it abolished routes 17,49A,  56A, and 90N, and rearranged the Pullman area. The only places where there are a real choice (because of huge ridership) are West 95th (at one time 95 didn't run west of Lafayette) and S. Halsted, and in those cases, CTA and Pace are participating in joint Pulse studies. There;s also overlap on Harlem,but Pace really cut back service north of the Green Line. Similar situation in Berwyn on Cermak.

As @Tcmetro indicated, people take the first bus, unless they are going to a destination not served by the other carrier (such as Harlem-North to Harlem-Irving Park.

I don't know what Pace route you avoid, but you seem to disregard that transit is not a free good, and usually frequency is a result of demand, unless there is market information that something like Dempster Pulse will grow ridership.

[pudgym29]

This seems to be the most appropriate topic where to post.

I will keep this brief.
I did not think I was qualified for this; but when applying for my Illinois license plate renewal in December; because I could renew that for the [i]senior citizen[/i] rate, it had a tick box for querying eligibilty for the Regional Transportation Authority's '[b]Seniors Ride Free[/b]' pass. I already possessed the Half Fare permit. I thought that was all to which I was entitled.
I ticked the box. I was prepared for someone to respond I did not qualify (but try again next year). The process involved presenting a copy of a filed Illinois IL-1040 form to check financial limitations.
To my amazement, I was eligible for the Ride Free pass. I was approved for it back at the end of January.
I thought it would have been sent to me semi-automatically once the R.T.A. learned of my eligibilty. That was erroneous. After a month, I went to the R.T.A.'s World-Wide Web site to inspect how to apply for it there.
Because I had the Half Fare permit, [u]I could not apply for the Ride Free pass online[/u]. I had to physically visit one of the R.T.A.'s service outlets. Not all of its outlets have photography; and the R.T.A. wants to have a new(er) picture of you than what is on your Half Fare permit.
I chose the outlet with photography at Damen & Lawrence on Chicago's north side. With everything else occuring here at the abode. I did not visit until Wednesday, 17 April.
The "[i]up to ten working days[/i]" note notwithstanding, the pass arrived here on Monday, the 22nd. Wow. It must not have had many other applications to process.

So I now have this pass. It is a moment when my transit use was going to throttle up anyhow; with warmer days and more significantly, [b]Illinois Craft Beer Week[/b] from 3-10 May, starting with [b]Beer Under Glass[/b] @ Union Station on Friday, the 3rd.

We of the [u]Logan Square Draught Beer Preservation Society[/u] will conduct a [u]Pub Crawl[/u] of bars and pubs in [b][u]Avondale[/u][/b] on Monday, the 6th. I will send publications a proclamation of venues and times we will visit. I was out-&-about Monday, making copies of the handbill with the data, and shall distribute those in the upcoming days. If you want the data, contact me; or else look for it online at the Little Three Happiness Forum or FlyerTalk Forum [in the 'Community Buzz' rubric].

My main duplication store is Copy Max (two words - to avert copyright snags) at Milwaukee & Paulina, near the Division & Ashland Blue Line "L" station. After duplicating there, I went back to Ashland Av. to ride north to Cortland for the [b][u]Bucktown Pub[/u][/b]. I did not stay too long there. As I strolled back to Cortland & Ashland, a westbound route #73 Armitage bus came into view. I boarded it to ride to the Western "L" stop.
The bus, from Chicago garage #1128, [i]had the new farebox[/i]. Here are photos of it; and for comparison, the new Pace bus farebox, so that you don't get the two of them mixed up.

[strictures]

Don't use the Free Ride pass too much in one day or you'll get a nasty letter from the CTA about that.  That happened several years ago after using the CTA bus & L extensively on the annual October weekend of Open House Chicago, of which bizarrely the CTA was & still is a sponsor.  That's how incompetent the CTA is!

[artthouwill]

8 hours ago, pudgym29 said:

This seems to be the most appropriate topic where to post.

I will keep this brief.
I did not think I was qualified for this; but when applying for my Illinois license plate renewal in December; because I could renew that for the [i]senior citizen[/i] rate, it had a tick box for querying eligibilty for the Regional Transportation Authority's '[b]Seniors Ride Free[/b]' pass. I already possessed the Half Fare permit. I thought that was all to which I was entitled.
I ticked the box. I was prepared for someone to respond I did not qualify (but try again next year). The process involved presenting a copy of a filed Illinois IL-1040 form to check financial limitations.
To my amazement, I was eligible for the Ride Free pass. I was approved for it back at the end of January.
I thought it would have been sent to me semi-automatically once the R.T.A. learned of my eligibilty. That was erroneous. After a month, I went to the R.T.A.'s World-Wide Web site to inspect how to apply for it there.
Because I had the Half Fare permit, [u]I could not apply for the Ride Free pass online[/u]. I had to physically visit one of the R.T.A.'s service outlets. Not all of its outlets have photography; and the R.T.A. wants to have a new(er) picture of you than what is on your Half Fare permit.
I chose the outlet with photography at Damen & Lawrence on Chicago's north side. With everything else occuring here at the abode. I did not visit until Wednesday, 17 April.
The "[i]up to ten working days[/i]" note notwithstanding, the pass arrived here on Monday, the 22nd. Wow. It must not have had many other applications to process.

So I now have this pass. It is a moment when my transit use was going to throttle up anyhow; with warmer days and more significantly, [b]Illinois Craft Beer Week[/b] from 3-10 May, starting with [b]Beer Under Glass[/b] @ Union Station on Friday, the 3rd.

We of the [u]Logan Square Draught Beer Preservation Society[/u] will conduct a [u]Pub Crawl[/u] of bars and pubs in [b][u]Avondale[/u][/b] on Monday, the 6th. I will send publications a proclamation of venues and times we will visit. I was out-&-about Monday, making copies of the handbill with the data, and shall distribute those in the upcoming days. If you want the data, contact me; or else look for it online at the Little Three Happiness Forum or FlyerTalk Forum [in the 'Community Buzz' rubric].

My main duplication store is Copy Max (two words - to avert copyright snags) at Milwaukee & Paulina, near the Division & Ashland Blue Line "L" station. After duplicating there, I went back to Ashland Av. to ride north to Cortland for the [b][u]Bucktown Pub[/u][/b]. I did not stay too long there. As I strolled back to Cortland & Ashland, a westbound route #73 Armitage bus came into view. I boarded it to ride to the Western "L" stop.
The bus, from Chicago garage #1128, [i]had the new farebox[/i]. Here are photos of it; and for comparison, the new Pace bus farebox, so that you don't get the two of them mixed up.

I'm glad this was a BRIEF POST!

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, artthouwill said:

I'm glad this was a BRIEF POST!

And pertinent to TRANSIT FARE. 🫥

I was going to refer to something else regarding to a certain person heading to the DMV,* but won't.

------------

*Giannoulias says Illinois now has a DMV.

[Busjack]

On 4/23/2024 at 10:46 AM, Busjack said:

And pertinent to TRANSIT FARE. 🫥

I was going to refer to something else regarding to a certain person heading to the DMV,* but won't.

I amend my prior prior post in that a review of the verbosity indicated there was a point about a transit card, but about half way through reinforced my second point, which I previously declined to make.

[Mr.NewFlyer1279]

Didn’t know which topic to put this under so I figured why not here lol. North Park, Kedzie, and Chicago currently have the new fareboxes being installed on their fleet. Forest Glen is next up in line for these boxes, Chicago gave up 8138 to FG specifically for operator training on them. training should conclude within the next few weeks. I think 77th or 103rd should be next up after the glen.

[Busjack]

3 hours ago, Mr.NewFlyer1279 said:

... North Park, Kedzie, and Chicago currently have the new fareboxes being installed on their fleet. Forest Glen is next up in line for these boxes, Chicago gave up 8138 to FG specifically for operator training on them. training should conclude within the next few weeks. I think 77th or 103rd should be next up after the glen.

To get back to the point of this, driver training seems to be the crux of bus and farebox allocations. To rebut a clairvoyant's point, NP is getting the fareboxes, even though it has the most buses to be retired (to put it one way).

[Al Mac]

On 1/2/2011 at 11:19 PM, Guest DevalDragon said:

There are 2 big problems with installing pass machines on buses. First is the cost - it would cost CTA a fortune to add pass machines to each of its buses. Second, think of the lines and delays - think it takes forever to board now? Wait until people start buying passes and reloading Chicago cards while trying to board rush hour buses.

 

My only complaint with the current system is you can't buy a 1 day pass from CTA - except at their headquarters downtown. That's just silly.

And this was like 12 years ago? I’m so glad it’s gotten much better. But Ventra still has to improve some things.