Metra on Friday approved a budget for next year that includes an overhaul of the commuter railroad’s fare structure.
The transit agency will nix 10-ride passes and reduce the number of fare zones from 10 to four.
Those changes take effect Feb. 1, Metra spokeswoman Martha Hill said.
That’s when Metra is ending its three-year pilot program that has offered reduced fares on the Electric and Rock Island lines. Metra said it is working on an “evolution” of that program to provide reduced fares to low-income residents of greater Chicago area — Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.
New one-way fares will be equal to or less than the current one-way fares, Metra said.
Metra’s $1.1 billion budget for 2024 is almost 5% higher than this year’s, mostly due to inflation and contractual union agreements, Metra said in a statement.
Other changes in the approved budget:
- Eliminating promotional $6 and $10 Day Passes and $100 Super Saver Monthly Pass.
- Replacing the 10-Ride Ticket with a Day Pass 5-Pack available only through the Ventra app.
- Eliminating “incremental fares” — a surcharge to travel beyond the zones indicated on a ticket.
About $574 million — that’s 63% of next year’s proposed budget — will be spent on construction and repairs.
Metra first suggested the changes this summer as a way to adjust to commuters’ post-pandemic habits. Metra, once a popular mode of transit for suburban 9-to-5 employees, has seen its ridership drop by over half since the COVID-19 lockdown forced people into work schedules with more time at home.
Metra’s budget is based on the expectation that ridership will increase next year to 54% of pre-pandemic levels, up from the current 47%.
