STRETCH

You stole the beer, Frank. Just live with it. You're a criminal.

to generate more money monthlies should only be good for 30 days. on months with 31 days, you should have to buy the extra single fares. And its a $3 surcharge if you buy them on the train.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

it has happened a few times to me on weekends... the trains are so full and so lightly staffed that sometimes the conductor just never makes it to our car before the train gets to the city.

Miami has this, by the way. It's a nice little system. People seem to adhere to it, which surprised me given that I've never thought of South Floridians as having a rock-solid value system.

Pulled this off again both ways, but one time was because the train that left before the one I wanted was half an hour late, so I took that one instead and just ran express from Des Plaines. I guess they felt bad and didn't check tickets. I'm just gonna keep sitting upstairs feigning sleep with my earbuds in; that worked outbound.

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1. LA's subway was based on an honor system for the first 2 decades of its existence. You were expected to purchase a nominal fare ($1.50 the times I've ridden it). But the gates either were absent or weren't locked, you could easily board and ride without paying anything (and many/most did). They didn't have conductors checking tickets but rather transit cops would randomly go around and ask riders to show proof they paid. If you couldn't, you'd get a ~$200 violation ticket.

2. When they first opened the White Sox stop on the Metra out of Lasalle station, it would come up so quick that as long as you were a car or two behind where the conductor started punching tickets, you'd be able to jump off without getting your ticket checked.

3. Green Line to Cottage Grove is fine, quick, pleasant ride above ground:

viewtopic.php?f=47&t=81941&start=275#p1841119

I figure, if they're too dumb to catch you, it's not really stealing, right?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Old friend of mine used to go downtown to the OTB many years ago and take the metra from Deerfield. Every once in a while he would lose all his money so he would get on the train and sit in the bathroom the entire ride. He said one time he went down there with 2 other friends and all 3 lost all their money so on the way home they were camped out in 3 different bathrooms. Hope no one on the train had to pee that day.

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I'm going to mentally reframe the Metra fare as the price you pay not to stow away in a moving lavatory.

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couple weeks ago, conductor thought it was suspicious the bathroom door was always locked. so he got out the key and opened it. turns out there was shit all over the place, which is why another conductor had locked it. Think about that before placing your bag on the Metra floor anywhere near the bathroom.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

after having to use the port a pottys at Riot Fest a few weeks ago, nothing bathroom-related can ever faze me again

that was simply an experience beyond words

Metra should make it a policy that all bathrooms remain locked leaving Chicago ( as well as the last stop inbound before it expresses)?until the tickets are all collected to stop both the literal and figurative pieces of shit who hide in the restroom to avoid paying .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

look at you with all the smart ideas and stuff

Then next week you will complain about the urine all over the floor.

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I've made it once without paying. No attempt to do so, conductor just never asked to see my ticket or asked me to buy one, so I didn't. Wasn't a particularly crowded train either.

I got news for you Frank, there's urine on the floor regardless.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Truth.

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Because I did buy a ticket at the station, I will now make an extra trip downtown that I wouldn't have made so that I can use the ticket I have before it expires. It all evens out in the end. luv u metra

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Last night Arlington Heights to Edison Park and back both trips we were never asked to show tickets. The trains were not more than half full.

I cannot imagine how much money they must be loosing by not collecting fares.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

Wow, how did this not get posted somewhere on the board. thats a pretty deep dig for a lot of folks. Necessary but going to be a tough sell. Probably all the union employees fault anyway.


k additional hikes totaling about 68 percent over the next decade, money needed to modernize its aging fleet, officials said Thursday.

The increases would help pay for a $2.4 billion capital plan that Metra says is "critical to maintaining safe and reliable service" by rebuilding and replacing the commuter rail agency's rail cars and locomotives.

"This is the first time Metra has ever proposed to enact an actual 10-year capital investment plan, on paper for everyone to see," Metra Chairman Martin Oberman said. "This is a brand-new approach to governing Metra."

Metra's board tentatively approved the fare hikes and capital plan Thursday as part of the agency's proposed 2015 budget.

Calculate how much Metra wants to raise your fares (infographic)
Calculate how much Metra wants to raise your fares (infographic)
Tribune Graphics
If the board gives the final approval next month, the new fares would go into effect Feb. 1, three years after Metra boosted them an average of 25 percent, the biggest increase in the agency's history.

Oberman said the agency can no longer "kick this can down the road and continue with cobbled-together solutions on an aging system."

Ron Weiss, 43, of Arlington Heights, said he wasn't happy to hear about the increase, but he said he hoped to see more from Metra with it.

"Obviously I don't want to pay more, but if I have to, I expect them to deliver services at a level that is competitive at a given price," he said. "There needs to be reliability and transparency."

Some Metra board members admitted Thursday that they were wary of asking the public to pay for improvements they might not see for a few years.

"We need to make sure we have given them something tangible they can look at," said Brian Reaves, the village president of Lemont.

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Metra Executive Director Don Orseno said customers shouldn't expect to see any new cars on trains for about three years. Meanwhile, the fare hikes will offer riders "good, clean, solid cars that give them reliable service."

Board member John Plante acknowledged that rail commuters are liable to get angry over the boost in fares. Nevertheless, he said, Metra "still remains a value even though people may want to vote with their pocketbook temporarily."

Kelly Frank, 54, said he has commuted from River Forest for years and that won't change due to the price increases.

"It's still the best deal in town," Frank said.

In addition to next year's fare jump, averaging 10.8 percent, Metra is proposing additional hikes ranging from 3 percent to 8.5 percent each year until 2024.

"We're leveling with riders and saying, 'This is what this is going to cost you,'" Oberman said.

Metra eases policy restricting bikes on trains
Metra eases policy restricting bikes on trains
Richard Wronski
The nation's second-largest commuter rail agency has rail cars that average 30 years of service and are older than those at railroads in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, Metra said.

Even though Metra has raised fares more often than its peer agencies in recent years, officials said the average fare has consistently been lower than those charged by other major lines.

In addition, Metra's fares have always lagged behind inflation, officials said.

As was the case in 2012, the "average" fare increase is not one-size-fits-all because the actual amount depends on how far one travels and the type of ticket purchased.

If the fare hike is approved, the majority of Metra commuters, who buy monthly passes, would pay an additional 10.9 percent to 18.6 percent, or about $15 to $30 more a month in 2015.

Monthly passes and one-way tickets for the closest-in riders in Metra's Zone A, such as those who use the Halsted Street, Clybourn or Kedzie stops, would pay 18 percent more in 2015.

cComments
How about WIFI and a bike car at all times. 68% in 10 years! Do they have insight as to what the costs for parking and gas will be to justify this? They have to. Most importantly is cut the damn waste and reduce the high to mid 6 figure salaries.
HEGAWN2
AT 12:34 PM OCTOBER 10, 2014
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Customers who travel farther, such as to Zone H stops in Aurora, Elgin, Waukegan or Joliet, would see their monthly and one-way tickets increase 11 percent.

Ten-ride ticket buyers would have the smallest or no increase, and even a slight decrease, because Metra plans to restore the popular discount on 10-ride tickets that it eliminated in 2013. That means a 10-ride ticket would again be priced at the cost of nine one-way fares.

Losing that discount alienated many regular riders, especially when Metra tried to market the more expensive 10-ride tickets as "convenience passes."

About 60 percent of Metra riders buy monthly passes. Those currently range in price from $78.25 to $263.50, depending on distance.

The increases would boost monthly passes from $92.75 to $292.25, depending on distance.

Similarly, the price range of a 10-ride ticket, which now is $27.50 to $92.50, would change to $29.25 to $92.25.

Other proposed fare policy changes include:


•Restoring the grace period on monthly tickets so they will be valid until noon on the first business day of the following month.

•Extending the expiration date on one-way tickets to 90 days instead of the current 14.

•Raising the surcharge for buying a ticket onboard trains to $5 from $3. (The surcharge isn't applied if a ticket is not available at the boarding station.)

•Increasing the price of weekend passes to $8 from $7.

The fare increases are part of a proposed 2015 budget totaling $749 million for operations and $329 million for capital needs.

A portion of the fare increase will go toward debt service on a $100 million bond issue, which would be the first in Metra's history. Oberman said previous Metra administrators did not use the bonding authority because they did not believe in saddling the agency with debt.

Metra envisions issuing an additional $300 million in bonds through 2022.


Oberman said the goal is to tackle an estimated $10 billion in capital investment needs over the next 10 years.

"Metra didn't do anything about it over the years except to say, yes, we have a big need," he said. "If we just keep saying we're going to wait until we get $10 billion, we're never going to do anything."

The improvement plan, which officials said would be the first long-term rolling stock upgrade in Metra history, calls for buying 367 new coach cars for $1.2 billion.

They would replace 318 cars that average 43 years of service. These cars are not hazardous, officials said, but require increasingly more maintenance.

Metra also plans to pay about $179 million to rebuild 85 locomotives, extending the life of this equipment by an estimated 25 years.

In addition, Metra anticipates buying 52 new locomotives from 2020 to 2024 at a cost of $416 million.

The capital program will cover Metra's costs for installing the federally mandated safety system known as Positive Train Control. The high-tech system, designed to automatically slow or stop trains when a collision or derailment is imminent, is estimated to cost more than $400 million.



Metra customers will be able to express their feelings about the proposed increases during eight public hearings on the agency's budget Nov. 5 and 6.

The hearings are scheduled for downtown Chicago, suburban Cook County and the five collar counties. The rail line is posting details on those hearings at metrarail.com.

Traditionally, such sessions draw few members of the public, but Oberman said he and other Metra board members intend to actively make their case for the fare hikes and capital plan.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Guess it's gonna be a lot more often!

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Metra is starting to creep into "not that much cheaper than driving" territory. Gas is going down, Metra prices are soaring.


My company just started paying for our transportation, so Im all good, but still

Well in a weird way if less people were using it they could cut costs, less trains, less fuel, less employees needed to run them and maintain them. Public doesn't really want that though. They want the same or better service without paying for any upgrades. The PTC system mentioned is a federal mandate. There's nothing Metra can do about that, they have to pay for it. Metra has brought all of this on themselves however with the years of incompetence / corruption. They need Theo as their CEO to sell them on the 10 yr plan.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Do they really need new train cars?

The ones I ride seem fine

They're old and have weird green windows that make parts of the city look like a nuclear apocalypse, but they do what's asked of them.

I get that they need to make improvements, but public transportation needs to be affordable or it serves no purpose. I don't care what they pay in New York. I'm not in New York.

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The Metra cars might be old but the South Shore cars are fucking ancient.

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Right but you (as a collective) cant have it both ways. They are telling you this is what we need to keep / maintain / make the system more reliable. Or do nothing and the service gets worse from using the same 30 plus old equipment which will lead to more complaining that the service sucks . Again, I understand the public's well deserved distrust of the fucking dolts in charge of Metra but this problem isn't going away. Its only going to get worse if nothing gets done. Unless the fed are going to pony up some major bucks ( which i believe they should but is doubtful they will) its gotta come from somewhere.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I'm all for capital improvements (and paying for them as needed) but that does not solve the problem of them incompetently managing the assets and business they have now. Before raising fares they should figure out a way to ensure all current riders pay and ensure correct staffing and train counts for their peak days, most of which are easily predictable and/or fall on the same weekend every year (GAY Pride for example).

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

Government bodies don't work that way. Waste and poor management are inevitable. Thus, fares must go up to pay for updated trains. You make great points though. I wish those things would happen.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Not to make light of the whole riders riding free , not paying etc but as someone who is on the train almost every day of the week all I can say that on the line I ride, that is a very minimal occurrence. If the total of "missed" fares is more than a couple million a year system wide id be shocked. Metra is talking hundreds of millions / billions , so Im not sure a couple million is going to make that much of a difference. Im sure there is fat they could trim with staffing but all that will result in is less people being asked to do more work which would probably result in even less fares being collected. I think the open boarding system is the problem. They need to figure out a way to make sure everyone has paid before they board the train somehow. Then they wouldn't need as many conductors and could save some money in that area but even if they eliminated every single conductor on every train they'd fall far short of the billions they're going to need.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I'm telling you, people use the touch cards on the platforms just fine in South Florida. If you don't sign out, you automatically get dinged for a trip from Miami to West Palm Beach. That seems to keep people honest.

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