CTA monthly passes go from $86 to $100

This is an insane hike!  As someone who works for a non-profit, this is an outrageous expense for me.  In winter months I find it unbearable to ride my bike to work, but it appears riding a bike is quickly becoming the more reasonable way to travel, despite comfort. 

Is it just me, or is Chicago becoming way too expensive to live comfortably in?  I just had to downsize to a studio because I could no longer afford my 1 bedroom. 

Ah, inflation....

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on November 29, 2012 at 6:45am

Good morning Manny :-)

 

Nobody wants to pay more...for anything. Me too.  I take both CTA and Metra Prices are rising on both. I am not happy. One thing I will not do is take out my anger on the employees  who are doing their job.  I am annoyed at seeing union workers get blamed for everything from slow buses to missing twinkies and expensivve pensions.  These people bargained for what they get and increasingly its not such a great bargain. They work hard and in general know more about their job, their bus, their machine than the suits who make the rules.  Price is high? Be pissed off.  Don't be pissed off at union workers.  In an era  where low paid employees give increasingly bad service (often because they are ill trained by not much better paid or trained middle managers)the reality is that better compensated employees (and CTA employees do not make a pile of money) generally give much better customer service. For every bus driver slamming on the brakes there is another who is considerate of the little old lady who needs more time to get on the bus. As a cyclist I have often had a pleasant game of leap frog with a CTA bus that is much more considerate and safe than my interaction with other vehicles.
 
Manny Fuentes said:

Good Morning, Duppie. :)

Since I work in a "customer service" career field, I do always smile and greet the bus drivers, and go out of my way to smile and greet the train conductors (since my 9 yr old is usually with me when i ride CTA, and I try to set the RIGHT example for him to follow).

And just because a person says "good morning" AT you doesn't mean they were talking TO you, or even give a rat's rear end about the way they returned your greeting.

 

You do realize that the bus drivers/train conductors union protects their people? They don't have to be friendly at all. They do not get "incentive based" pay raises. They don't get paid to greet you or care about your issues. They get paid to drive the bus or the train. Ensuring that they don't have an accident is their main responsiblity. You don't believe me? How many times has the bus that you have been riding on been speeding along it's route, and then all of a sudden it has to brake hard? Did the driver turn around and ask any of the passenger if they were okay? I mean, I have seen standing elderly passengers thrown to the floor, and the bus driver just continues on driving. The elderly are too embarassed to say anything.

Now, I DO tell younger able-bodied people to give up their seats for the elderly or handicapped. Do you? Even if they are not the ones assigned for them? I do.

Heck, did you know that a bus driver can not "make" you pay your fare? They can only "request" that you pay your fare.

I know, I know...your saying " then the driver can just keep the bus stopped until the individual gets off !"......Sure they can. AND make every other fare-paying passenger late or miss connections. Not gonna happen.

So, you see, until CTA and the drivers/conductors union get a taste of their own medicine, they are not going to care.

As far as the city goes...Rahm is right. You have a choice. Take your car or ride public trans. Either way, you are still going to pay the city. Either for parking or for fares. it's your choice.

My choice is my bicycle. And so far, I am good with that. It's almost free.

 

I sincerely hope everyone has a great day, and I hope to see you all at the Critical Mass tomorrow !!!

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Manny

Duppie said:

Have you tried being nice to the bus drivers? How about a well meant "good morning!" when you enter? They are the first words I say when entering a bus. The last words before I exit are typically "Thank you. Have a good day!". I hardly ever meet unfriendlly bus drivers.

I am going to take a guess and say that those two things are related.

Manny Fuentes said:

Not to mention the shitty and un-friendly "customer service" from the bus drivers? If they are so miserable at their $20/hr plus jobs...maybe they need to quit and find something that they can be happy at.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 29, 2012 at 7:08am

Well said, Dave.  There are plenty of good transit employees out there who want to do their jobs well and treat other people decently.  I've certainly had bad encounters, but I've also had a lot of positive ones, such as CTA employees in station kiosks jumping right up to open the gate when they saw me coming with a bike, bus drivers who went the extra on courtesy and good service, drivers who did a great job of sharing the road and communicating well when we were sharing a lane, etc.  The good employees deserve our recognition and thanks.

David Barish said:

Nobody wants to pay more...for anything. Me too.  I take both CTA and Metra Prices are rising on both. I am not happy. One thing I will not do is take out my anger on the employees  who are doing their job.  I am annoyed at seeing union workers get blamed for everything ...bargain. They work hard and in general know more about their job, their bus, their machine than the suits who make the rules.  Price is high? Be pissed off.  Don't be pissed off at union workers.  In an era  where low paid employees give increasingly bad service (often because they are ill trained by not much better paid or trained middle managers)the reality is that better compensated employees (and CTA employees do not make a pile of money) generally give much better customer service. For every bus driver slamming on the brakes there is another who is considerate of the little old lady who needs more time to get on the bus. As a cyclist I have often had a pleasant game of leap frog with a CTA bus that is much more considerate and safe than my interaction with other vehicles.

Permalink Reply by Tim S on November 29, 2012 at 7:11am

Um... the new rates are in line with other major metropolitan cities.

Comparison
- NYC - 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard -Cost: $104 / 7Day - $29
- Toronto - Monthly Metropass - $128.50 cdn / 7 Day - $37.50
- SF - Adult "A" Fast Pass®, $74.
- DC - 28-Day Fast Pass $230 / 7 Day - $57.50 (OUCH!!!)
- London - $81 gbp (129 usd)

We are in line with other major cities around the world... well except for DC.

Any way you slice it it is cheaper than car payment, gas, insurance, parking and maintenance.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on November 29, 2012 at 7:19am

Kevin, don't you know that old people have better long-term memory than short-term memory?  But just to confirm myself, I found this web site that says full fare from 1961 to 1966 was 25 cents:  http://www.chicagobus.org/history

And to add some comparison to gasoline prices of the time, a gallon of gas in 1962 cost 31 cents:  http://www.ask.com/questions-about/Gas-Prices-in-1962

Thanks for the CPI info!
 
Kevin C said:

From 1962 to 2011, the Consumer Price Index has increased 745% (2011 is the last full year data available). Applied to a $0.25 CTA adult fare (assuming your recollection is accurate), a CTA adult fare would be $1.86 today (versus the $2.25 actual for a 900% increase).

Lisa Curcio said:

When I was under 12, the bus fare was 12.5 cents (Hey! where is the "cents" sign on my keyboard?!?)  We had to buy tokens.  Adult fares were a quarter.  There were still electric buses, but the streetcars were gone ;-).  In 50 years (where the heck did that time go?) the fare is up to $2.25.  One of you folks who understand this stuff should figure out how that compares with price inflation in general.
 
Don said:

*****

 

Does anyone else remember the days of tokens?  You could buy packs of them that looked like rolls of dimes.  . . .

Permalink Reply by Don on November 29, 2012 at 7:43am

DC is tough to compare because the Metro has distance-based fares and operates like a combination of CTA and Metra.

SF is in the same boat since BART is distance-based as well.  So that pass only covers the city limits...no SFO, no Oakland, etc.

NYC and London have far more extensive systems than Chicago.  

Toronto is a good comparison - though their subway system isn't extensive, they have a really good network of trams.  And they still use tokens...


Tim S said:

Um... the new rates are in line with other major metropolitan cities.

Comparison
- NYC - 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard -Cost: $104 / 7Day - $29
- Toronto - Monthly Metropass - $128.50 cdn / 7 Day - $37.50
- SF - Adult "A" Fast Pass®, $74.
- DC - 28-Day Fast Pass $230 / 7 Day - $57.50 (OUCH!!!)
- London - $81 gbp (129 usd)

We are in line with other major cities around the world... well except for DC.

Any way you slice it it is cheaper than car payment, gas, insurance, parking and maintenance.

Permalink Reply by Megan B on November 29, 2012 at 8:01am

I bike 2-3 time a week to work spring - fall and rarely in the winter.  I've been getting the unlimited pass ride using pre-taxed funds from my paycheck each month, so even though I don't use it as much when it is warmer, it was close to being a wash on expenses when compared to paying per ride. 

With the cost of the unlimted pass going up, but not the cost per ride, I'm going to switch over to the Chicago Card Plus in the spring and have a lower amount taken out each month.  Like others suggested, the money will collect over the warm months, and I'll dip into it more in the cold ones. 

In the end, I will probably be spending less on public transit than I do now, and I'll have extra encouragement to bike more and stay healthy!  I hope this encourages more biking among others too.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 29, 2012 at 8:43am

I visited Toronto recently and used transit there on that visit and others.  For full comparison, their cash fare is $3.00 and a 1-day pass is $10.50.

Don said:

...Toronto is a good comparison - though their subway system isn't extensive, they have a really good network of trams.  And they still use tokens...


Tim S said:

Um... the new rates are in line with other major metropolitan cities.

Comparison
- NYC - 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard -Cost: $104 / 7Day - $29
- Toronto - Monthly Metropass - $128.50 cdn / 7 Day - $37.50
- SF - Adult "A" Fast Pass®, $74.
- DC - 28-Day Fast Pass $230 / 7 Day - $57.50 (OUCH!!!)
- London - $81 gbp (129 usd)

We are in line with other major cities around the world... well except for DC.

Any way you slice it it is cheaper than car payment, gas, insurance, parking and maintenance.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on November 29, 2012 at 11:58am

My Wife and I visited Toronto this summer as well, and used nothing but their public transport. 'Riding the Rocket' is a very pleasant experience. It's much cleaner and nicer than the CTA, for sure. 

I think it's hard to compare rates. Ontario's minimum wage is also $10.50 an hour..what I like is that their day pass may be $10.50, but it includes 2 people, or 2 adults and their 4 children. If you price it per ride, that's an outrageous deal. But, tax structure is different in Canada, and they can probably swing it. 

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on November 29, 2012 at 5:43pm

Sorry Doug, Chicago is the Second city, although population wise, it's really 3rd, but our state is number 1 in its unfunded pension liability, so we have that going for us, at least.

Douglas Iverson said:

Bear in mind that the state of Illinois is the most corrupt state and Chicago is the third most corrupt city. C'mon Chicago. You can do better than that. You need to be the most corrupt city in the most corrupt state.
Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on November 30, 2012 at 1:03am

¢

just an fyi: on a Mac the "cents" sign is <OPTION> 4 

(the number for that shares the dollar sign $)

you might try ALT 4 on a Windows machine.

¢

Lisa Curcio said:

When I was under 12, the bus fare was 12.5 cents (Hey! where is the "cents" sign on my keyboard?!?)  We had to buy tokens.  ...
 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 30, 2012 at 1:37am

Their day pass is good for one person on weekdays.  On weekends and holidays, it covers 2 people or a family group.  Very nice deal.  The closest thing we have here is Metra's weekend pass, which allows unlimited rides for one adult with up to 3 children all weekend for $7.  

Jim S said:

My Wife and I visited Toronto this summer as well, and used nothing but their public transport. 'Riding the Rocket' is a very pleasant experience. It's much cleaner and nicer than the CTA, for sure....their day pass may be $10.50, but it includes 2 people, or 2 adults and their 4 children.

Permalink Reply by RQ on November 30, 2012 at 7:12am

Gas prices should directly correlate to bus fares, so I think it makes sense for the rates to go up (I don't think it's the city is gouging people), but since public transit is the transportation method available to most lower income people, any rate hike is going to resemble a regressive tax. To offset that, we should raise taxes on drivers to make up the difference and keep fares low. I am all for making it more inconvenient and expensive for people to choose a transportation method that just doesn't make sense in an area as dense and urban as Chicago. In the end, in the mayor's words, it's your "choice" – you can drive or take the bus. But we can also drive revenue for the city and encourage people to make the right choice by hitting them at their wallet.

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