Fair Transit South Cook Pilot

[Pace831]

Streetsblog: Metra board approves agreement with Cook County for a program that would include lower Metra fares.

(I'm creating a new topic for this because it has been discussed in several different threads already)

[artthouwill]

4 hours ago, Pace831 said:

Streetsblog: Metra board approves agreement with Cook County for a program that would include lower Metra fares.

(I'm creating a new topic for this because it has been discussed in several different threads already)

Now the Cook County board has to approve it at their meeting in December. I assume it would take effect in January.

Lori Lightfoot will be steaming hot.  Will she try to block this with a legal maneuver or she get revenge on Preckwinkle' another way?

[NewFlyerMCI]

I didn't know there was demand for more Pace service btwn Chicago Heights & Harvey/95th

[NewFlyerMCI]

I wonder if they've explored a timed transfer btwn not only the buses at HTC but between the ME as well. With the new reduced fares, might promote more usage on the ME and less pressure on 352/353

[MetroShadow]

8 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

I didn't know there was demand for more Pace service btwn Chicago Heights & Harvey/95th

The entire Halsted corridor has had high demand. It's just Harvey to 95th being the most important.

8 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

I wonder if they've explored a timed transfer btwn not only the buses at HTC but between the ME as well. With the new reduced fares, might promote more usage on the ME and less pressure on 352/353

From a planning standpoint, I don't see why not. But it would be pressure off 352 and 349, 353 doesn't serve any ME station outside of MAYBE 95th and Riverdale.

 

(Then again, if your end destination for either the above is north of 95th, there's plenty of justification for relieving pressure on all South routes)

[NewFlyerMCI]

8 hours ago, MetroShadow said:

The entire Halsted corridor has had high demand. It's just Harvey to 95th being the most important.

From a planning standpoint, I don't see why not. But it would be pressure off 352 and 349, 353 doesn't serve any ME station outside of MAYBE 95th and Riverdale.

 

(Then again, if your end destination for either the above is north of 95th, there's plenty of justification for relieving pressure on all South routes)

Yeah, idk why i was thinking the 348/359 was a combined route and that's what I meant instead of 353 (even though that'd still be wrong)

[Tcmetro]

Here's the Pace 352 Halsted improvements. Chicago Heights getting a major service increase and better hours for frequent service along the whole route. 

https://www.pacebus.com/notice/route-352-service-changes

[NewFlyerMCI]

4 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

Here's the Pace 352 Halsted improvements. Chicago Heights getting a major service increase and better hours for frequent service along the whole route. 

https://www.pacebus.com/notice/route-352-service-changes

Interesting that SB rush hour service is getting a boost. Is this change to reflect the overall increased service, or is there that much demand for a reverse commute? As I type this, I remember from riding this summer that the SB 352 did have a fair number of passengers the 2-3 times i had to take it, all the way to about 119th and the WB 381, while not as crowded as SB 352, did also have some ridership (only to about Western or Pulaski tho)

[Sam92]

6 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

Interesting that SB rush hour service is getting a boost. Is this change to reflect the overall increased service, or is there that much demand for a reverse commute? As I type this, I remember from riding this summer that the SB 352 did have a fair number of passengers the 2-3 times i had to take it, all the way to about 119th and the WB 381, while not as crowded as SB 352, did also have some ridership (only to about Western or Pulaski tho)

Harvey and the far south has a LOT of people without cars that still come into the city to work and you’d be surprised how many there are. Probably why 352 became owl. 

[NewFlyerMCI]

3 hours ago, Sam92 said:

Harvey and the far south has a LOT of people without cars that still come into the city to work and you’d be surprised how many there are. Probably why 352 became owl. 

Sorry, I should clarify. I meant SB morning rush service, I understand the boost for evening service. I'm just surpised there's that much demand for service to Harvey during morning rush

[Sam92]

11 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

Sorry, I should clarify. I meant SB morning rush service, I understand the boost for evening service. I'm just surpised there's that much demand for service to Harvey during morning rush

Possibly reverse commuters to the burbs for work instead of working in the city. 

[MetroShadow]

Prairie State College. Homewood. And residences along both sides of 80.

352 is one of the busiest routes in the system, always has been.

[Tcmetro]

New 352 schedule: https://www.pacebus.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/PaceRt352_20210104 (1).pdf

Weekdays and Saturdays all trips go to Chicago Heights except for owl and a few weekday early AM NB trips.

Sundays only half of the daytime trips go to Chicago Heights, and the service starts later in the morning and ends earlier in the evening compared to the other days of the week.

Good to see such a big improvement! Hope that Pace has more service increases like this in the future.

[artthouwill]

27 minutes ago, Tcmetro said:

New 352 schedule: https://www.pacebus.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/PaceRt352_20210104 (1).pdf

Weekdays and Saturdays all trips go to Chicago Heights except for owl and a few weekday early AM NB trips.

Sundays only half of the daytime trips go to Chicago Heights, and the service starts later in the morning and ends earlier in the evening compared to the other days of the week.

Good to see such a big improvement! Hope that Pace has more service increases like this in the future.

Combining the 352 and the old 370 has proven to be a monumental success. 

[Adam Kerman]

Some time in February, I anticipate having a Zoom meeting for Railroad & Shortlines Club of Chicago on this issue.

I am disappointed that we didn't get interchangeable fares, which would have allowed Pace to restart south suburban feeders and shuttles, or possibly even charge them to the county subsidy. This project will be less likely to prove its value without bus transfers. This is disappointing.

[MetroShadow]

13 hours ago, Adam Kerman said:

Some time in February, I anticipate having a Zoom meeting for Railroad & Shortlines Club of Chicago on this issue.

I am disappointed that we didn't get interchangeable fares, which would have allowed Pace to restart south suburban feeders and shuttles, or possibly even charge them to the county subsidy. This project will be less likely to prove its value without bus transfers. This is disappointing.

Those feeders have been gone for the better of the last ten years (tried to convert them over to Vanpools with little luck back in 2010). I think those ideas should be included in whatever modifications to the plan in the future since you're only as good as the services you have for forward mobility. 

[Busjack]

Sun-Times says Fair Transit South Cook is ending, to be replaced by something for SNAP recipients.

[busfan2847]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

Sun-Times says Fair Transit South Cook is ending, to be replaced by something for SNAP recipients.

From Metra:

"The Fair Transit South Cook pilot, which allows all riders on those lines to pay the reduced fare rate for tickets, is ending Jan. 31. Ten-Ride Tickets bought under the pilot will remain valid for 90 days from the date of purchase, and One-Way Tickets bought under the pilot will remain valid for 14 days from the date of purchase.

The new Access pilot will begin Feb. 1, offering reduced fares to low-income Metra riders regionwide. All Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipient household members living within the six-county region are eligible for the Access pilot."

[artthouwill]

2 hours ago, Busjack said:

Sun-Times says Fair Transit South Cook is ending, to be replaced by something for SNAP recipients.

Apparently the pilot was a failure.   Metra never provided numbers signaling its success, but this new program will be more fair in the sense of being systemwide.  It also should be cheaper.   I don't know when Metra plans to implement its new zone restructuring,  but it should bring ME and RI in closer alignment with the rest of the system. 

[Busjack]

49 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Apparently the pilot was a failure.   Metra never provided numbers signaling its success, but this new program will be more fair in the sense of being systemwide.  It also should be cheaper.   I don't know when Metra plans to implement its new zone restructuring,  but it should bring ME and RI in closer alignment with the rest of the system. 

There was something abour the ME rebounding quicker than other lines, but it didn't have that many riders to begin with. The Nov. 2023 ridership Report says that midday ridership recovered 94% on the ME and 87% on the UP-NW, the latter attributed to schedule changes. Peak is a little worse than average, with only the 3 UP lines  above 50%.