Railroad Forums
Metra to keep 10% fare hike
No increases seen for 2009 or 2010
By Richard Wronski
Tribune staff reporter
12:56 PM CST, January 11, 2008
Metra riders will still face a 10 percent fare increase starting Feb. 1, despite Springfield's action to avert a transit "doomsday" by tentative approval of new mass transit legislation.
Metra's board of directors on Friday decided to keep the previously approved fare hike, saying it would use half of the revenue to pay for day-to-day operations and the other half to replenish a capital fund that has been raided during the last several years.
Officials said it would probably eliminate the need for any fare increases in 2009 or 2010. In November, Metra had approved 10 percent fare hikes for those years as well.
Chairwoman Carole Doris said keeping the February fare hike was a "prudent business decision."
"We have robbed Peter to pay Paul for the last four years," she said, referring to the capital fund that has been depleted by about $168 million to cover operating shortfalls. Capital money is normally used for new equipment, infrastructure improvements and long-term needs.
Metra fares vary by distance, but riders who have been paying $105.30 for a monthly ticket—the cost of traveling between downtown and Orland Park, Arlington Heights or Flossmoor, for example—will pay $116.10 starting Feb. 1.
To encourage riders to buy tickets at stations and over the Internet, Metra would increase the penalty for on-board purchases to $5 from $2. That penalty is not assessed on passengers who board at unmanned stations.
One-way fares would increase about 6 percent, an average of about 30 cents a ticket. In order to simplify on-board fare collection, the increases have been rounded to the nearest quarter, a practice common to other commuter rail operations in the United States. (Please see the fare chart on the next page for details.)
Weekend fares would increase to $7 from $5. This would be the first increase in the existence of the weekend fare program, which started in May 1991. During that time, Metra has raised its general fares four times (in 1996, 2002, 2006 and 2008). Weekend passes are good for unlimited rides on both Saturday and Sunday.
MACTRAXX wrote:I know and remember the Metra Electric's ticket machines-has METRA installed any ticket machines on any other of its lines or at any other terminal than Randolph/Millenium Station?No TVM's yet at any of the other downtown terminals, and the turnstiles at all Metra Electric stations were removed several years ago.
MACTRAXX wrote:Do train crews have discretion on how the METRA $2 penalty is charged as I believe? NJ Transit's train crews have but the LIRR's do not. Will a higher on-board penalty surcharge increase the number of fare disputes on board trains as I suspect?New riders, or those who ride infrequently are the most likely to get hit with the on-board surcharges. Even though the rules are clear, and the conductors make the announcements frequently, many folks end up paying it anyway because they're too much in a hurry to get the tickets at the station while the agent is on duty...
MACTRAXX wrote:I feel that a penalty fare should be proportioned to the fare in question-as a example the LIRR charges a $2.50 one way local intermediate station fare-the on-board charge for this fare now is $9-3 1/2 times the station fare-far too high in my opinion. I feel that charging double on board-or $5-would be enough of a deterrent here. METRA-and the LIRR for that matter- should have a surcharge proportioned for low-cost fares instead of $5 for all-like NJ Transit charges. I will also mention that I am absolutely opposed to any extra charges when tickets are NOT available in advance.Applying a "sliding scale" to surcharges based on the distance traveled, perhaps in a range between $2 and $6, is doable. But if something like that were implemented, it would likely still average out to about $5 or so when taken as a whole, so it's probably best to just use that as a flat fee...
