Metra Ticketing

[Pace831]

Metra will offer a $10 all day pass from June 1 until at least July 31. This appears to accomplish two things:

1. Incentivize people to return to Metra as Illinois moves into Phases 3 and 4 of the reopening plan.

2. Reduce contact between passengers and conductors.

 

[Pace831]

Metra will begin selling a $7 unlimited ride pass for Saturday or Sunday.

[NewFlyerMCI]

3 hours ago, Pace831 said:

Metra will begin selling a $7 unlimited ride pass for Saturday or Sunday.

So is this just a lowering of the $10 pass?

EDIT: Nvm, reading is fundamental.

[Sam92]

1 hour ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

So is this just a lowering of the $10 pass?

EDIT: Nvm, reading is fundamental.

Happens lol. But yeah metra was losing by doing the former $10 weekly unlimited

[Smolensk]

There were announcements on Metra UP trains today that

1) All passengers traveling to and from Ogilvie Transporation Center need tickets.

2) Conductors will start collecting tickets from all other passengers on June 1.

 

So get in your joy rides by the end of the month.

I never did find out what someone going downtown from a station without a ticket agent was supposed to do if they didn't have a phone or it wasn't working.  Does anyone know?

[artthouwill]

On 1/20/2021 at 1:47 PM, Sam92 said:

Happens lol. But yeah metra was losing by doing the former $10 weekly unlimited

The $10 weekend pass generated a lot of weekend ridership to the point the UPNW and RI had added Saturday express trains (prepandemic).  BNSF had Already had an inbound and outbound express train on Saturday and the ME always had Saturday expresses on the mainline.   I remember full BNSF trains on Sundays when the Bears were playing at Soldier Field.  The last Saturday express I remember riding was a UPNW  and that was when they expanded express service to downtown. 

When I was a semi regular rider on the BNSF  I bought 10 rides, but I never used the 10 ride on the weekends.   It was better to purchase the weekend pass for my trips to and from Aurora and use the 10 ride on the weekend.   At that time,  a one way fare was $5.65 .

Rather than just a $7 Saturday or Sunday,  why not a $14 or $15 weekend pass option.  For zones E and up it's still a good deal for riders to use both days and you still have the option of the one day $7 pass if you don't need both days.

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Smolensk said:

There were announcements on Metra UP trains today that

1) All passengers traveling to and from Ogilvie Transporation Center need tickets.

2) Conductors will start collecting tickets from all other passengers on June 1.

 

So get in your joy rides by the end of the month.

I never did find out what someone going downtown from a station without a ticket agent was supposed to do if they didn't have a phone or it wasn't working.  Does anyone know?

So did UP  and Metra ever resolve their squabble?  Did they agree to a new POS agreement?  Are they still negotiating terms for Metra to operate the UP service?

[NewFlyerMCI]

3 hours ago, Smolensk said:

There were announcements on Metra UP trains today that

1) All passengers traveling to and from Ogilvie Transporation Center need tickets.

2) Conductors will start collecting tickets from all other passengers on June 1.

 

So get in your joy rides by the end of the month.

I never did find out what someone going downtown from a station without a ticket agent was supposed to do if they didn't have a phone or it wasn't working.  Does anyone know?

I thought this started happening way earlier? I feel like someone said this on the forum towards the end of August 2020?

I was definitely maximizing my free riders on the UP lines lol. If the 379 wasn't coming, it was often slightly faster or time neutral to take the 307 up to Harlem/Lake and take the UPW into OTC and catch the J14 (wait times on the 379 were that bad, could be upwards of an hour). Also used UPN to get to Evanston a couple of times, and made the trip out to Gurnee Mills which is something I wouldn't have done otherwise.

[Smolensk]

6 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

I thought this started happening way earlier? I feel like someone said this on the forum towards the end of August 2020?

 

I've been taking short free rides in 2021.  In fact,  I was taking a free ride on Monday when I heard the announcement.

I think they set up the inspection booths at Ogilvie in late 2020.  I haven't gone downtown since then.  I'd be glad to pay, but there is no ticket agent near me and all the threats about being arrested if you didn't have a ticket when you passed by the inspection booth have scared me off.

 

 

[NewFlyerMCI]

9 minutes ago, Smolensk said:

I've been taking short free rides in 2021.  In fact,  I was taking a free ride on Monday when I heard the announcement.

I think they set up the inspection booths at Ogilvie in late 2020.  I haven't gone downtown since then.  I'd be glad to pay, but there is no ticket agent near me and all the threats about being arrested if you didn't have a ticket when you passed by the inspection booth have scared me off.

 

 

Ventra app? I can count on one hand how many paper metra ticket's I've bought since 2017

[Pace831]

I went through Ogilvie several times since they set up the inspection booths. Half the time, there was nobody in the  booth at all. The other times, I was waved through after showing a paper ticket which they did not punch.

[Busjack]

My Metra Magazine (page 6) has an article that all Metra stations will get new ticket vending machines. Still paper tickets, but printed on the spot.

[strictures]

12 hours ago, Busjack said:

My Metra Magazine (page 6) has an article that all Metra stations will get new ticket vending machines. Still paper tickets, but printed on the spot.

Probably just like the ticket machines they've used in LA for at least 10 years.

[Busjack]

Metra has proposed a new fare structure for 2024. Highlights:

• 10 fare zones cut to 4, but they apply only to trips to or from downtown; otherwise, a $3.75 flat fare.
• Weekday day passes would be twice one-way fares instead of promotional flat rate.
• 10-ride tickets replaced by 5 Day Passes, available only on the Ventra app.
• Monthly passes would be 20 times a one-way ticket. (This seems a lot less than a former rate of the cost of 22 days or 44 rides) Promotional flat rate discontinued.
• Incremental fares eliminated; you need a ticket for the length of the trip (although fewer zones should make this less of an issue).

The Q&A also says that with regard to those tickets only available on the Ventra App "every fare product would be time-limited, which would reduce the possibility of missed fare collections. That can’t be done with paper tickets."

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

Metra has proposed a new fare structure for 2024. Highlights:

• 10 fare zones cut to 4, but they apply only to trips to or from downtown; otherwise, a $3.75 flat fare.
• Weekday day passes would be twice one-way fares instead of promotional flat rate.
• 10-ride tickets replaced by 5 Day Passes, available only on the Ventra app.
• Monthly passes would be 20 times a one-way ticket. (This seems a lot less than a former rate of the cost of 22 days or 44 rides) Promotional flat rate discontinued.
• Incremental fares eliminated; you need a ticket for the length of the trip (although fewer zones should make this less of an issue).

The Q&A also says that with regard to those tickets only available on the Ventra App "every fare product would be time-limited, which would reduce the possibility of missed fare collections. That can’t be done with paper tickets."

Interesting that the Metra Electric doesn't have a Zone 4.  It's the only Metra Line without a Zone 4.  Of course the South  Chicago branch doesn't have a Zone 3 either.

The BNSF Zhas a huge Zone 3 compared to the UP-W which has a larger Zone 2.

I guess Hegewisch will move to Zone 3.  

If nothing else, this is much simpler to understand for those who aren't regular users but the Ventra app will still be a challenge.

[busfan2847]

42 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Interesting that the Metra Electric doesn't have a Zone 4.  It's the only Metra Line without even.  Of course the South  Chicago branch doesn't have a Zone 3 either.

The BNSF Zhas a huge Zone 3 compared to the UP-W which has a larger Zone 2.

I guess Hegewisch will move to Zone 3.  

If nothing else, this is much simpler to understand for those who aren't regular users but the Ventra app will still be a challenge.

You can travel to Calumet (22.8m) in Zone 2 on Metra Electric and all of the South Chicago and Blue Island branches are in zone 2.

Most other lines Zone 2 ends around 15 miles from downtown (BNSF shortest at 12.3m (Brookfield), longest North Central at 17.1m (O'Hare Transfer)). Rock Island zone 2 ends at Midlothian 18.4m and all of the Beverley Hills branch.

 

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Interesting that the Metra Electric doesn't have a Zone 4.  It's the only Metra Line without a Zone 4.  Of course the South  Chicago branch doesn't have a Zone 3 either.

The BNSF Zhas a huge Zone 3 compared to the UP-W which has a larger Zone 2.

I guess Hegewisch will move to Zone 3.  

If nothing else, this is much simpler to understand for those who aren't regular users but the Ventra app will still be a challenge.

 

1 hour ago, busfan2847 said:

You can travel to Calumet (22.8m) in Zone 2 on Metra Electric and all of the South Chicago and Blue Island branches are in zone 2.

Most other lines Zone 2 ends around 15 miles from downtown (BNSF shortest at 12.3m (Brookfield), longest North Central at 17.1m (O'Hare Transfer)). Rock Island zone 2 ends at Midlothian 18.4m and all of the Beverley Hills branch.

 

Putting all of the South Chicago branch in Zone B, and to Blue Island via ME or RID at the same fare happened before this.

As for these changes, Metra said:

"outlying stations would be assigned to Zones 2 through 4 based on a combination of distance from downtown, service patterns and ridership characteristics on each line, which vary." Not just distance.

To Hegewisch, the fare would be reduced from $6.25 to $5.50 if it is in Zone 3. I wonder if this will have an effect on NICTD fares in the Hammond/East Chicago zone, which in the past were raised when Metra raised fares, so as not to encourage Hegewisch passengers to use the free parking in Hammond. Hegewisch isn't on the map, so if it ends up in Zone 4, the latter would happen. The question would also be whether a trip from Hegewisch to 57th would go down to $3.25.

 

[artthouwill]

48 minutes ago, Busjack said:

 

Putting all of the South Chicago branch in Zone B, and to Blue Island via ME or RID at the same fare happened before this.

As for these changes, Metra said:

"outlying stations would be assigned to Zones 2 through 4 based on a combination of distance from downtown, service patterns and ridership characteristics on each line, which vary." Not just distance.

To Hegewisch, the fare would be reduced from $6.25 to $5.50 if it is in Zone 3. I wonder if this will have an effect on NICTD fares in the Hammond/East Chicago zone, which in the past were raised when Metra raised fares, so as not to encourage Hegewisch passengers to use the free parking in Hammond. Hegewisch isn't on the map, so if it ends up in Zone 4, the latter would happen. The question would also be whether a trip from Hegewisch to 57th would go down to $3.25.

 

Hegewisch certainly isn't on the map

  Based on the Zone map, one could argue for Hegewisch to be included in Zone 2.  I think that is highly unlikely  and would cause problems for NICTD along the Hammond and East Chicago stations as well as the West Lake extension.

Also, a bump up to Zone 4 might cause some riders to switch to the Metra Electric which also harms NICYD as Hegewisch is its busiest stop.  Perhaps Metra is in consultants with MICTD to see which zone is most compatible with the rest of the system.

 

[Busjack]

18 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Perhaps Metra is in consultants with MICTD to see which zone is most compatible with the rest of the system.

 

Probably.

I noted that the Hegewisch fare is only on the South Shore site (not Metra's), but with an asterisk that Metra sets it.

Also, Hegewisch doesn't appear eligible for Fair Transit Cook County, so no half fare.

[Busjack]

Sun-Times article with anecdotal evidence that Metra fares for downtown commuters w\have gone severely up, but I guess post-COVID incentives are over. Also, ticket booths are all disappearing, and apparently riders will have to use vending machines or Ventra app.

[busfan2847]

56 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Sun-Times article with anecdotal evidence that Metra fares for downtown commuters w\have gone severely up, but I guess post-COVID incentives are over. Also, ticket booths are all disappearing, and apparently riders will have to use vending machines or Ventra app.

Little misleading that the prices are going up severely, given they are comparing the new fares to the post-Covid fares!

Antioch monthly was $263.75 in 2019, it dropped to $100 1st Jul 2022, and is now rising to $135 (51% of pre-Covid fare)

La Grange daily would have been $10.50 (or $9.45 using a 10-ride), It dropped to $6 for a 3-zone day ticket from 1st Feb 2022 (prior to that the only day-ticket was the $10 any-zone introduced 1st Jun 2020). The fare is now rising to $11.00 (or $10.45 using a 5-daily pack), a slight 5% increase from 2019.

Aurora monthly was $228.00 in 2019, it dropped to $100 1st Jul 2022, and is now rising to $135 (59% of pre-Covid fare)

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, busfan2847 said:

Little misleading that the prices are going up severely, given they are comparing the new fares to the post-Covid fares!

That's what I figured when I said the COVID incentives were gone, but obviously not entirely, especially when one considers "regional" fares (rides not through Zone A).

BTW, the original source is this on the Metra website.

 

[trainman8119]

Yep, reduce the fares then cry poverty, ie. “Fiscal Cliff 2026”. Hypocrites, like all politicians these days. 

[Busjack]

4 hours ago, trainman8119 said:

Yep, reduce the fares then cry poverty, ie. “Fiscal Cliff 2026”. Hypocrites, like all politicians these days. 

The issue is that the feds gave all transit agencies money to rebuild ridership and Metra is trying to be responsive to the call for regional (i.e. not downtown dependent) ridership. If Metra doesn't  improve the 57% weekday now/before rate, there won't be much of a system left.

[Railguy]

Without ticket agents does the 'buy onboard surcharge' go away?