Metra Fare Hike

Metra (Chicago) is proposing some rather substantial fare hikes to pay for new equipment and to cover costs associated with implementing Positive Train Control. They claim some of their Gallery Coaches average 43 years of age, making me wonder if any of the 1950s vintage classics are still rolling today. I fondly remember riding the smooth side Chicago and Northwestern Double Deckers from Arlington Heights when I was a kid and enjoying every second of sitting on the Upper Level.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-metra-fare-hike-met-20141009-story.html

Yes, there are some very old gallery cars running on the diesel lines, iirc. The old IC highliners are still running at 40 plus, but on their last legs and are being replaced by new emu's (basically electrified version of the diesel metra bi-level cars). Some of the highliners are covered in bondo, so it wouldn't surprise me if some of the other lines have similar conditions. Yesterday a train in front of ours in the evening had some kind of power issues (it sounded like a catenary issue or else something failed) - our train had to take on the passengers, probably about 400 or so.

My monthly ticket will still be substantially less than a CTA monthly pass (well, not that substantially) so no complaints.

As a daily Metra rider, I have no problem in principle with a fare increase to provide funds for Metra's capital backlog and particularly for new rolling stock. I will still be cheaper and much easier than driving to and from the Loop on the "express"way. But ordering, purchasing, and building new equipment will take some time.

In the meantime, Metra should improve service with the equipment and crews it has now. The timetables on some lines are little changed from the days of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, with inadequate provision for reverse commuting, early trips on weekends, and the like.

A look at the UP-Northwest Line schedule -- my commute -- would cause anyone intending to use it to commute to the suburbs or to go into Chicago on a weekend for an early-morning event (marathons, 5Ks, Bike the Drive) to either sigh or seethe at the uselessness of the present schedule for those purposes.

Metra should prepare from "scratch" and then implement truly new schedules that maximize as much as reasonably possible service hours and frequency in both directions on all days of the week on all lines. I have e-mailed my Assemblyman, and the Midwest High Speed Rail Association and Active Transportation Alliance (both do Chicago transit advocacy, though not as its primary focus, and I'm a member), to suggest a campaign to that effect.

John Bredin said:

In the meantime, Metra should improve service with the equipment and crews it has now.

...

Metra should prepare from "scratch" and then implement truly new schedules that maximize as much as reasonably possible service hours and frequency in both directions on all days of the week on all lines.

Click to expand...

This.

Off-peak service levels could be improved with essentially the existing equipment. And many of the lines are owned by Metra and see little in the way of freight service that could interfere with increased off-peak service. Increasing ridership and service levels at rush hour is likely a difficult and expensive proposition, but increasing ridership and service levels outside rush hours would be comparably inexpensive.

Metra also should be viewed as an integral part of the regional transit system (CTA, Pace, and beyond) and IMHO must do a better job integrating fares with other transit providers.

Off peak service should be at 30 minute intervals on all lines. Could have alternating express and local service.

For the occasional user, Metra's never ending fare hikes are a real disincentive to using public transit and going somewhere along the route. The best thing they have going is their unlimited ride weekend pass. Perhaps peak period increases combined with off peak discounts are in order to encourage additional leisure travel trips.

"Never ending fare hikes"? Have you ever ridden any other commuter railroad aside from Metra? Fares at Metra are FAR lower than anywhere else.

Not to mention, having relatively small fare increases every year (or something like that) is probably a better practice than holding fares flat as long as possible and then having a huge fare increase.

Admittedly, it isn't Metro North or anything.

That said, I'm a city dweller. When CTA has a single set fare for unlimited distance versus some of the mileage based zones of Metra for inner city or close in suburban service, without seamless transfer privileges ala Pace buses, it serves as a disincentive to ride.

Ironically, I find that the further one rides on Metra, the more value oriented it is, compared with shorter distance travel.

Perhaps a daily commuter user from the burbs making the big office bucks doesn't care much about cost increases, especially with a monthly pass. But I do think the rates and almost annual increases are a disincentive to travel to the burbs for activities on the occasional trip.

Perhaps the problem is more that Metra's fare are completely separate from CTA/Pace. A coordinated fare structure, with transfers between CTA/Metra/Pace included, might help, as would having all systems use the same zone system (so that where CTA and Metra both operate a service, fares on each system would be the same).