Metra riders rush to buy passes before 25 percent fare hike
BY KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter kjanssen@suntimes.com January 31, 2012 2:06PM
Kristen Serna talks about the Metra price increase after purchasing tickets in Union Station Tuesday, January 31, 2012 | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times
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Updated: March 2, 2012 8:13AM
Irritated commuters rushed Tuesday to buy Metra tickets before fare hikes averaging 25 percent go into effect Wednesday.
But they could not buy more than a month’s worth of discounted 10-ride passes, thanks to a Metra policy designed to prevent stockpiling.
“I don’t think it’s right,” Leslie Pilkington, 56, said as she prepared to fork out an extra $15 for 10 rides between Elgin and her downtown job. “If the tickets didn’t expire at the end of February, I would have bought lots more.”
Metra says the fare increase is necessary to plug a $53.6 million budget gap and to fund infrastructure improvements.
In the past, 10-ride tickets were good for a year. But all tickets sold between November 11 and Tuesday expire Feb. 29. Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said in previous years customers had “stockpiled” the passes before price rises came into effect but “we couldn’t afford that this year.”
Commuters lining up to buy passes at Union Station Tuesday were frustrated but resigned to the changes.
“It’s to be expected,” law student Kristen Serna, 26, said as she waited to buy passes for her ride between Grayslake and downtown. “Nobody likes to pay more, but there are things that bother me more in the world.”
Mike Maxwell, 30, was unhappy to see his monthly ticket increase from $63 to $86, but he said, “It’s still way cheaper than putting gas in my car, so I’ll just have to deal with it.”
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