The Chainlink

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 Don on November 29, 2012 at 8:53am

What's the point?  The General Assembly controls funding, and the suburban/downstate lawmakers don't give a shit about Chicago, let alone the CTA.  So nothing's going to change anytime soon.  The only wiggle room the CTA will have in the near future is on labor/pension costs (80% of the operating budget) and fares.  And maybe hoping for new legislation to force collection of sales taxes from online purchases.

Does anyone else remember the days of tokens?  You could buy packs of them that looked like rolls of dimes.  The monthly pass is a pretty new thing for the CTA, and at $75 then $86 it was worth having for me just for the convenience even if I'm not using it often enough.  But at $100, I'm gonna re-evaluate.

h' said:

We need to start getting mad on behalf of CTA, not at CTA.  Although reading comments from people who rarely use it and don't understand how it's funded and why it has the problems it has is more painful than the usual "the Mayor sucks" rants.

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on November 29, 2012 at 9:25am

For me, the Chicago Card Plus, which is tied to my credit card, works pretty well. When the funding level drops below a point I've set (for me, $40), it automatically charges my credit card to refill, so it never is out of funds and I never have to remember topping it off.  I can switch it from monthly pass to pay-per-use and back again simply by going online to my Chicago Card account.  And it's good for both CTA & Pace buses.  Like others here, I usually do pay-per-use in nice summer weather when I know I'll be walking and cycling more, then switch it to monthly pass for the winter months when I might take an L train to the supermarket or laundromat rather than slog through the slush.  I'll count my CTA/Pace trips over the next month to see if I will just stay on pay-per-use from here on--the Chicago Card lists every ride you take on your account web site, so the analysis is pretty easy. $100/2.25=44.4 separate rides, so I'm guessing the monthly will no longer be worthwhile for me, even in the worst weather.

I think the Ventra card arriving next year will work pretty much the same way as the Chicago Card Plus.

Permalink Reply by We all have an inner Beast... on November 29, 2012 at 10:25am

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 We all have an inner Beast... on November 29, 2012 at 11:09am

Good Morning, h' ! :)

 

 I have been riding the CTA for a long time. My first Super Transfer cost me $1.25, $.25 more than the regular transfer (which only let you ride for 2 hrs from the time it was punched - versus the Super Transfer which let you ride all day.) Those buses were green and spewed volumes of exhaust out of the back maintenance hatch (that never seemed to be closed...always flapping around). I took them to school (Little Village out to Burbank) and whenever I had to go to Sea Cadets or whatever. So, I have some personal experience with the CTA.

  And getting mad on "behalf" of the CTA is not going to help them fix THEIR budget. I bet the higher-ups have had pay raised every year (union mandated) even though the service "stunk" year after year. The trains on the red line are still unkempt during the later hours and on the weekends. I know a few people in the CTA janitorial arena, and they told me that are getting $19 (or more) to start !!! I think that they should get paid for how much they clean up during their shift, and how well it looks.

You get paid for what you do. Not what you should do. Maybe that should be the new CTA's hiring motto. The higher ups should not have pay raises until they get their budget fixed. And THEN, they should still not get them ! After all, it IS part of their job to balance the company's budget.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Have a Great Day, h' !

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Manny

h' said:

We need to start getting mad on behalf of CTA, not at CTA.  Although reading comments from people who rarely use it and don't understand how it's funded and why it has the problems it has is more painful than the usual "the Mayor sucks" rants.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on November 29, 2012 at 11:26am

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 william on November 29, 2012 at 11:34am
oh please. yeah, blame the unions. because the non-unionized service industry is always so friendly.

in regards to public fare increases, get used to it. some movers & shakers are pushing for austerity and to privatize or gut public works. all the while, the 1% are making out like bandits and working people are footing the bill. this is not the fault of CTA or even the mayor.

I'd find a way to make up that extra 20 bucks in your monthly budget. I recently started sharing wifi with my neighbors. Instead of paying comcast 90 bucks a month, my share is now only 10. when the invisible hand punches you, band together with friends & community.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 29, 2012 at 11:41am

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 David Barish on November 29, 2012 at 11:45am

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 12:08pm

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 12:11pm

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 12:19pm

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 12:43pm

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.

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