Saw my first pair of Metra cops on the UPN in about 4 months. Nothing to see here.

that'll teach HIM not to drive a car

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I thought they just charged you the one extra zone - like $1.50 or something.

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

The extra was probably for his lunch

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

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

That is what they do. He got taxed for being dishonest.

What an asshole.

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

The dude was a lying asshole. It's an extra dollar. Tap your Ventra app and hand the guy a buck. Bing boom done.

Don't forget the $5 upcharge for having to pay the conductor cash.

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Fuck Metra. Keep stealing from them. They have been stealing from us for years. A monthly pass has nearly doubled in the past decade. That's fucking robbery.

only if there was no agent on duty, which I'm not sure there is an agent ever on duty anywhere except downtown nowadays.

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

Most big stations are staffed from at least 5 to noon, I've had to pay on board for the rare afternoon inbound trains.

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Inneresting. Oak Park used to have someone but that went away maybe 10 years ago.

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

Sometimes I will take a seat next to someone displaying a Zone D/E/F ticket, as I get off on an F stop and figure the person will exit and wake me up if I've dozed off. One time I missed my stop because the douche was actually going to G but using an F ticket. Lesson learned...now I always set an alarm.

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Unrelated story...a few weeks ago a young couple got on my train, and about five minutes before departure from Union Station asked the conductor if they could buy their tickets from him. The conductor said there would be a $5 surcharge for paying cash and advised them to purchase using the Ventra app to avoid the fee. I watched as they spent the next 5-10 minutes fumbling around trying to load the app and enter their payment info, etc. By this time the train had left the station. When the conductor came around to check tickets, they proudly displayed their tickets for Zone B (to go to Berwyn). The conductor then told them they were on a nonstop express to Naperville.

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That's a pretty good story. A good conductor can tell when somebody is clueless and asks where they're going first thing.

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

Last year going to a Saturday Sox game, we got on at Oak Forest. The train was actually fairly crowded with a lot of people imbibing as is the custom on Metra. It was a jovial crowd and the two conductors who walked up and down the aisles MANY times were also laughing and engaging in some small talk. The Rock Island has some express trains on weekends, but also ones that stop at 127th, 115th, 111th, 103rd, 99th, 95th, 91st, with a few more stops before 35th st. This is mildly annoying because it can take upwards of an hour to get to Sox park, but on the flip side allows more time for beer consumption.

To make a long story short, the conductors had PLENTY of time to collect fairs/tickets/check Ventra etc, but about 47th St one of them announces to our car, "Well this is your lucky day because you all ride for free," which was quite surprising. I wonder how many times that happens where an entire train/car goes uncollected simply because the Conductors are simply not doing their jobs.

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The first time I had to get off before the terminals (Fox Lake to Lake-Cook), I didn't know what I was doing and paid for a ticket all the way in. Guess I've more than made up for the overpay since!

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Happens a decent amount of times on some of my trains that are jammed. While most people have monthlies, I have to think they are losing out lots of revenue every time that happens. (Quick math...11 cars, 30 people per car with single or 10-ride tickets, average $6 per ticket = $1,980)

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There's no upcharge if you're paying the difference for going past your ventra zone. or at least i haven't been charged the 10+ times i've done it. though i let the conductor know right away and hand him the difference unlike skeezeball in brogue's story. dunno the official policy on that

missing a few fares doesnt mean shit to METRA. fares only make up 28% of their revenue. we subsidize it

800 million is insane. It's those bloated salaries/pensions for the "ticket takers".

can you cite your source on that please?

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

https://salary.bettergov.org/department ... -a646616c/

With full pensions.

are you accusing me of distributing FAKE NEWS about METRA?? very rude.

PDF Page 6 of the 2020 report
https://metrarail.com/about-metra/reports-documents/capital-program-operating-budget


If you think METRA getting only 28% of total revenue from fares is bad don't look at PACE's budget docs

It's insane tax payers publicly fund 80% of it and a monthly from Naperville costs damn near $200.

Literally nobody rides PACE buses. I see those things around all the time, and they are always empty or maybe have 1-2 passengers. We'd be better off just expensing uber rides for these people.

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maybe try visiting a neighborhood south of chicago and north of i-80, poor folks use em

Well this is fucking bullshit. Why do my taxes go to all those roads I never even use. At least Metra makes you pay 28% share of it.

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

Aren't roads mostly funded by gas taxes and registration fees?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Has an airline tickled doubled since 2010? A cab fare? Nope. Why has a metra ticket doubled in 10 years?