CTA Tattler

Kevin said: So far I'm happy with Google -- even if some of the news is not quite CTA related.

How ironic.

Under the feed title is this notice:

"The feed providing these headlines is not available."

"even if some of the news is not quite CTA related"

This brings up an delightful irony: CTA also means Commodity Trading Advisor, which is the securities registration an individual or firm must have in order to advise customers on or participate in the trading of futures contracts. The Chicago Transit Authority may have gotten some questionable advice from the Commodity Trading Advisor that suggested they execute that contract that locked in diesel at $3.80/gallon for a year. CTA vs. CTA: it's almost like Spy vs. Spy in Mad Magazine.

I love that Circle Line article. "An initial plan includes measures to rebuild the Paulina Connector on Chicago's Near West Side and let Douglas-branch Blue Line trains run independently to the Loop", eh? Has Adrian G. Uribarri been living under a rock these past few years? The Pink Line has been in operation for, what, three years now? Some "journalism".

A funny part of the fantasy is Durbin's office saying $6 million is

"a key component of the city's transportation strategy for the 2016 Olympics."

[The Sun-Times Monday reported that in some case, taking the Metra is cheaper than the CTA. As pointed out, it's one of those "yes, but" stories.]

I saw that there was a minor hubbub over this, and I don't know why. It seems to me that under a very limited set of circumstances, the Metra should be cheaper than the CTA. And that's pretty much what the case is: if you live in the immediate vicinity of select Metra stations within the city limits, you'll have a cheaper ride.

It's all good.

this is great news about the circle line. rumor in washington is there may be a second stimulus bill by august, in which case having preliminary engineering work done now is KEY to making this a shovel ready project.

The "Metra can be cheaper" story missed a big point - if you're just going one stop on Metra at rush hour the conductors frequently don't have enough time to take your money. So it ends up being significantly cheaper than the CTA.

That said, the CTA has MANY more stations that also connect you to buses with a transfer. Comparing the two is pretty ridiculous.

I've gone from Clybourn to Evanston on the UP North numerous times without encountering a conductor. They've been a little more diligent lately. I think Metra assumes that most rush hour riders are travelling on a monthly. It seems like they base their farebox on prepaid fares like monthlies and 10-rides and basically run the weekend service as a free trolley. Sometimes it's difficult even to purchase a weekend unlimited ($5 for riders over 12) without tackling a conductor.

Thank goodness the issue of Metra fare evasion comes up. It is a BIG problem, and Martha's right: they assume everyone's riding on a pass, when they're not. If CTA had even one-tenth the fare-evasion that Metra has, the pols and media would totally freak-out. Metra gets cut SO much slack in this region--it's crazy (and totally predictable).

Apparently, Metra still gets to add new service, too, despite a massive regional transit operating deficit (see here: http://www.swnewsherald.com/news_frontpage/2009/03/030609olbv_metra.php
) All paid for by YOU, the taxpayer through some nutty RTA program, that, by the way, would otherwise go to pay for existing transit operations, like CTA.

By the way: that Circle Line is a bunch of baloney--who is promoting it at the Federal Level? The CTA? Doubtful. Hmmm. I wonder who?

The problem is, JMan, it's not really fare evasion if the carrier doesn't even attempt to collect. It's really fare avoidance on the part of the service provider.

You're absolutely right. If CTA allowed half the people to ride without paying that Metra does, there would be people screaming bloody murder. Before someone brings up the individual with multiple expired farecards who finally wears out the bus operator, forget it. The amount CTA loses by not collecting from these riders is minuscule compared the the number that Metra allows to ride free daily and I'm not even talking about those over 65 on Blago's Gravy Train.

I agree. There are so many people that don't pay on some Metra trains, that you feel like a sucker for paying sometimes.

Also, when will they get out of the stone ages and let you buy your ticket from a machine? Buying from operators at Union Station is always backed up and completely inefficient. Is this a union thing that bars machines?

I saw a show at Ravinia last summer and the Metra train was so jam-packed that everyone rode free in both directions. It was the first time I went to Ravinia, so I dunno ... maybe this happens all the time.

I remember in about 1996, back when the CTA was still on tokens, you could ride free from Jarvis all the time. The station attendant, if he or she wasn't outside smoking, would just wave you in.

"Is this a union thing that bars machines?"

That's a large part of it. Another is the zoned fare system and the fact that many stations could not accommodate the fare collection apparatus that would force riders to use a farecard at entry and exit. The railroads that Metra contracts with (i.e Union Pacific, BNSF, Milwaukee Road) bear exhorbitant labor costs by hiring conductors, which are then paid for by the funding sources that support Metra. Add on top of that the huge amount of money that is lost in fares that are not collected and it turns into millions a year. Yet, Metra is viewed as the paragon of fiscal virtue compared to CTA, which it is in some respects, but certainly not in matters of farebox recovery.

I know we've veered off course but what are the odds of Metra joining the late 20th century and accepting credit/debit cards?

Yes, I don't mean machines that collect fare, but simply dispense them. This is an easy solution. And then you could use credit cards as was just mentioned. It's ridiculous you have to pay a person.

Metrolink in LA has fare machines at the platforms. You purchase either the single ride tickets or you validate a ten ride ticket there.
I just can't understand why Metra won't do the same?
I ride about once a week either from Rogers Park to the Loop or RP to Wilmette. About one in three rides not conductor comes around.
Often they are three or four stops behind in collection & many of the fares are cash in non-rush hours..

Ride the Metra Electric and you have to buy your tickets from machines. The tickets dispensed by those machines can be used on any other Metra line. So the machines exist but for some reason they're not used on any other lines.

I ride Metra from the South burbs to Hyde Park. I always get my ticket checked on the way in and probably 3 in 10 going home, as the conductors have already made a pass through the train by the time it gets to 57th. I could save money and buy 10 ride tickets but I want to be a good citizen so I but a monthly pass. I know other people aren't so obliging and imagine there's a great deal of revenue lost

The Electric District has machines because it used to have entry gates:
http://sbcglobalpwp.att.net/w/i/willvdv/farearcs.html
They've actually gone backwards compared to other transit systems.

Metrolink in Los Angeles operates on a proof-of-payment (POP) system. This is a very different concept from traditional ticketing -- basically, the honor system, but with enforcement. If you're caught without a ticket, you get slapped with a hefty fine. Tickets are timestamped so they expire even if they are not collected.

Most new commuter rail systems use proof-of-payment to reduce labor expenses. Very few legacy commuter rail systems have been able to switch, since they are unionized.

Caltrain was able to switch, but they were only able to get away with it because of their unique situation: (1) They own the tracks (2) They contract out operations to Amtrak. As a result, the union had no leverage, because Caltrain could just decide to bring in a new operator.

Metra is not in this unique situation. Metra owns and operates several of its routes, which makes it vulnerable to direct union pressure. It contracts out some routes to UP and BNSF, but unfortunately, these are routes where UP and BNSF own the tracks. Therefore, they would not be receptive to having a different company take over operations. This means that there is union leverage over UP and BNSF.