CTA Tattler

This is a fair trade off if you are a regular commuter. With the SmartCards CTA has minimal maintenance and gets to hold cash for rides not yet taken. In return, you get a break on the fare.

This, like the Geico turnstyles, is a creative, cost-based approach to addressing finances. Cost the system less, pay less. I think CTA should be congratulated for this.

I also like the fact that the SmartCard operates like the magnetic cards in terms of adding value. It does not require you to have a checking account (which many people do not), or otherwise have a different financial infrastructure than did the magnetic card.

I can't encourage people enough to pressure your employer to take part in the Chicago Card Plus program with the CTA. I administer it at my company and it is extremely easy.

Positives:

1. Pre-tax - your employer takes it out of your paycheck before taxes.

2. Replacement value - if the card is lost or stolen, you can call the CTA and get a replacement card with the same value as the card had when you called (there is a $5 replacement fee).

3. Faster boarding - I was sceptical at first about this, but now that I have used it for a year, I can really see a difference.

Negative:

1. You have to budget ahead. The money is deducted from your paycheck almost a month before it is credited to your card. This really only affects the first month.

2. CTA Customer Service - Thankfully there have been very few problems. Some employees have had horror stories when they tried to correct a problem with the regular CTA customer service people. As an adminstrator, I have a contact person in the Chicago Card department and they can have any problem fixed in the same day!

3. Administrative work - administering the program is a bit of a pain, but the CTA has made it as easy as possible. Everything is done online. I usually spend about 2-3 hours per month administering the program.

4. Can't load at the CTA stations - the only way to add money to the Chicago Card PLUS is through payroll deductions and credit cards.

If anyone had any specific questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Chicago Card Plus is pretty excellent.

My only beef with it is that the card sometimes takes forever to register at the point of entry. During rush times this can be pretty frustrating. I don't know if it loses its magnetism over time.

I had to replace it once within the last year. Dealing with the CTA in the interim sucked-- they screwed up the replacement and I had to pay my payroll deductions to the CTA while also paying cash to ride for almost two weeks.

That's the only snafu-- other than that, you get unlimited rides for $75 a month. You can't beat that if you're on the CTA everyday, multiple times a day, as I am.

I just wish the CTA would maintain consistency between bus and rail rates.

And though I am a Chicago Card Plus user, I don't agree with inability for cash customers to buy a transfer.

This is the proposed increase:

If approved by the CTA board, fares would increase in 2006 for some riders.

ON THE TRAIN

Transit card or cash: 25 cents more to $2

Cash users would no longer be able to buy a transfer.

Chicago Card: Remains $1.75

ON THE BUS

Cash users: 25 cents more to $2

Cash users would no longer be able to buy a transfer.

Transit card: Remains $1.75

Chicago Card: Remains $1.75

It looks like this new plan would effect tourist or commuters who don't take the CTA regularly. Just as long as they don't cut services by the end of next year, I'm fine. I plan on moving by a metra stop next year. Good Luck to ya!

No, cmama, you can't leave us! We love your contributions and comments here. Besides, is that any way to treat a guy who found your vibrator for you? ;-)

Tourists and infrequent riders are an important type of revenue stream.

I'm sure that there's a slice of the CTA ridership that would be encouraged to use it more, especially considering the rise in fuel prices.

Would this new fare structure make the CTA less of a desirable alternative for that target audience?

Do you know what a hassle it is to collect, count, transport, roll, and deposit three quarters for every cash fare? That's why they changed the transfer to .25 from .30 on the last fare increase. Counting and hauling all those coins is a bitch. $2 exact each way for cash fares will make it easier to board busses and do away with nuisance coins.

yes, but it is also another fare increase (the second in as many years), making chicago tie with new york for the most expensive non-express public transit in the country.

Personally, I think that if fares must increase, this proposed fare increase is the best possible plan. Cash fares cost money to process and secure and they cost personnel time. Reducing cash handling/tranfer dispensing duties for bus drivers will allow them to run their routes more safely and hopefully faster.

As for how this will affect tourists, I doubt they will even notice it. If they are savvy and know they will use the system a lot, they can still buy a transit card. Otherwise, they will lose some chump change out of their travel budget. Really, I doubt tourists do a lot of transferring anyway, so adding 25 cents to their fares isn't going to faze them.

The only thing I would suggest is that the CTA give away free Chicago Cards again in order to encourage people with less money to switch. It's really in everyone's best interests to have as many people as possible using the Chicago Card. They will need to add some fare machines at places such as grocery stores, currency exchanges and the like so users don't have to visit an El station just to add money to the card though.

I don't think it is fair to charge two different prices for the same service. Hurt the poorer people and the tourists. I would suggest the managers of the CTA look internally for cuts. Or offer the touchless cards to everyone free of charge.

I'm tired of these fare hikes. I would like to see more fat come out of the CTA first. For example; the customer circus clowns and the in-security guards that are always loafing at the turnstiles. The pathetic looking security dogs. The 5 or 6 bus drivers congregating at the turn-around on Berwyn and Western. They have janitors who do not clean, well paid clip board holders. They should find employees willing to actually earn their wages before they come begging for more money from us.

This proposal does not eliminate cash fares, so there will still be some challenges at the farebox. (Requiring exact change does not mean coins will go away.)

I use a Chicago Card Plus and do think that a higher percentage of riders using the format would help improve on-time issues with buses.

However, I think the CTA should avoid separate fare structures for bus and rail and am not sure that taking an axe to cash fare transfers right now is a good idea.

Since a few people mentioned it, I'd like to point out that the CTA will offer the Chicago Card/Chicago Card Plus for free again starting December 1, 2005 through the end of the first quarter of 2006.

Also, I doubt a change in cash fares would affect tourist. Most either purchase a Transit Card at Midway or O'Hare and many are now purchasing visitor passes thanks to the new machines that accept debit/credit cards.

I think the CTA is doing this because the cash-using demographic is least likely to have time or energy to complain about this. If they raised fares for the rich white guy using the chicago card plus, you know that they would complain. However, the poor single mother from the south side isn't going to complain, she's going to comply. Pretty sad on the CTA's part.

I wish they would fire people who don't do their fucking jobs. Like nearly every CA and janitor. And 90% of the desk jobs.

If they did that, they could pay the people who do do their jobs more, AND probably cut fares too. And be able to afford to keep the system clean. And be able to afford new equipment (what happened to the new railcars that were going to be here early 2005?). And be able to fund capital improvements.

It'll never happen though. This is Chicago where if you're someone's friend you get free money. The CTA has a lot of friends, and they're keeping them in business...

I think they're raising cash fares and eliminating paper transfers because cash riders are more expensive to service, and paper transfers are a big expense.

Cash handling is an espensive proposition, and why should Chicago Card Plus users subsidise the extra cost created by cash riders?

This is hardly an issue of political influence. How many rich white guys even have Chicago Card Plus? How many rich white guys mingle with the masses on CTA? The rich white guys are willing to pay for the CTA only because it keeps poor people off their roads. Who pays more isn't important to them, as long as it keeps enough of the unwashed masses off LSD and the express lanes on the Kennedy.

And there are plenty of activist groups who can mobilize disinfranchised poor voters when the cause is worth it.

This is very simply an attempt to better align fares based on costs. It costs more to service riders paying cash than it does to service riders using Chicago Card Plus.

Of course if they really wanted to create a fare system that reflected the cost of providing rides to Chicago Card Plus users vs. cash riders, the cash fare would be raised to more then $5 a ride. It's the political ramifications that keep the cash fare as low as it's staying. And I'm not talking about the political influence of rich white guys who couldn't care less who's paying more to ride CTA as long as keeps people off their roads.

On paper, this seems like a good idea---it's obvious that if everyone is switched over to Chicago Cards, it would be less costly to collect and sort the cash fares. It would also certainly spare riders from the interminable delays caused when people try to pay in nickels. However, I'm worried about a few things:

To recharge Chicago Cards (and transit cards), one must use CTA farecard machines, which are only located at CTA stations (at least that I know of). There's a lot of the city, however, that isn't near the stations. If cash fares become more expensive, many riders will have difficulty in finding places to charge or recharge their cards. Even in Hyde Park, where I live, I've often been forced to pay bus fares in cash when my Chicago Card has run out.

The Chicago Card Plus, which automatically deducts funds from a user's bank account rather than requiring periodic deposits, is only a partial solution. Many Chicago residents, especially poorer people, do not have bank accounts---and may have trouble tying up even the $10 required to get the Chicago Card bonus.

Thus, I would argue that the changes to the fare structure should be accompanied by the installation of new transit card/Chicago Card machines throughout the city. I'm not sure what would be the most effective location for these---possibilities include supermarkets, currency exchanges, public facilities like libraries and post offices, or something else altogether. However, the changes to the fare structure behoove the CTA to make these machines easily accessible to all (or at least more) Chicagoans.

Similarly, while targeting tourists is a favorite ploy of municipal governments (see, for example, the taxes on hotel rooms and rental cars), the shift toward Chicago Cards would fall particularly heavily on temporary visitors. This could perhaps be offset by an increased promotion of the CTA's short-term visitor passes in and around heavily-touristed areas, and perhaps by making these passes available in any transit card machine.

Sam: Good point about the fare machines for recharging regular Chciago Cards. I know certain Jewel and Dominick stores already have fare machines but not all of them. Plus, certain areas of the city are far away from these stores as well. I like the idea of places like libraries and post offices for fare machine locations. Of course, more fare machines means more maintainence costs...

jrock said>>

How many rich white guys even have Chicago Card Plus? How many rich white guys mingle with the masses on CTA? The rich white guys are willing to pay for the CTA only because it keeps poor people off their roads. Who pays more isn't important to them, as long as it keeps enough of the unwashed masses off LSD and the express lanes on the Kennedy.

We do have a special rich white guy pass that allows us to travel on a special subway. If you would of came to the last monthly meeting of rich white guys, you would of heard of the detail of this new system. Personally, I like the dining car but my friend like the hot tub. It is hard to form a conspiracy if you don't go to the meetings.

jrock, I administer the Chicago Card Plus plan at my company and can testify that the majority of the users are not rich, white guys. Maybe you just think that anyone who is white and male must be rich? If so, it might be time to reevaluate your racial stereotypes.

I think the key is to educate people about the cards. During new hire orientations, I spend at least 5 minutes explaining the Chicago Card Plus program. I am amazed at how many people think that they are required to have a credit card in order to have a Chicago Card Plus. These simple misunderstandings keep many people from using these programs.

Additionally, my company pays for the initial $5 card fee. It was easy to convince management that this was a good idea since the company saves money on payroll taxes and will recoup that cost in a couple months at most.

Matt, I think that's fabulous. However, the key is getting companies to sign on. I do, but I have one friend who works for a large law firm who gets a $20 monthly transit check from her company. That's it. And since it's a transit check, she has to take that somewhere (Jewel? I have no idea) and buy a $20 card, which does not come near paying for her monthly transit. The reason this company does it this way is because this is what they've always done. Another friend who works for a medium-sized social service agency gets no transit benefit at all. I would assume most of the waiters and janitors and other laborers who depend on the CTA get nothing either. Nor are they always able to scrape up $80 at the first of the month to buy a 30 day pass. A lot of those people probably do pay cash at least part of the month, and they're the ones who will be hurt by this fare increase.

it's great that you adminster your company's transit card system. For some of us, it's more of a hassle to try to save that extra $5-10/mo. I'd rather take advantage of the other perks of my job like leaving early when there's nothing to do, taking 2 hour lunches, taking a day off to play a round of golf or two during the month, and have the company pay for my monthly cellphone bill. All right time for another perk....nap time :)

The Trib is reporting the CTA is looking at adding places to recharge cards:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0510120281oct12,1,1462205.story?coll=chi-news-hed

A feature of the Chicago Card that the CTA doesn't publicize is the negative balance.

It provides a last ride as long as there is some value remaining on the card, which carries a negative balance to be repaid the next time that the card is reloaded.

It would be nice if there was a single Chicago Card that you could recharge both online and at stations, rather than having to choose. If it's going to stay that way, though, I agree that there need to be more places to recharge cards.