Metra Black Out Dates 2010

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 6, 2010 at 11:29pm

Yeah it REALLY bothers me when Metra complains about money problems and yet 1/4 of the time they never ask for my ticket. And during the Ravinia rush hour they don't have a chance to collect money from virtually anyone.

H3N3 said:

Didn't see any on the train. Also noticed an odd lack of vigilance on the part of the employees in terms of collecting fares.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 6, 2010 at 11:38pm

I've actually never had that happen before.
Wondering if anyone can help-- I've put a $5 bill in an envelope with a note explaining that it's for my travel today, but I'm not sure who to address it to?

Julie Hochstadter said:

Yeah it REALLY bothers me when Metra complains about money problems and yet 1/4 of the time they never ask for my ticket. And during the Ravinia rush hour they don't have a chance to collect money from virtually anyone.

H3N3 said:

Didn't see any on the train. Also noticed an odd lack of vigilance on the part of the employees in terms of collecting fares.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Maher on September 7, 2010 at 4:11am

It was the 8:24 p.m. Rock Island, Joliet Station.

Anne Alt said:

Which line?

Bob Maher said:

I tried to take a bike on Metra last night but was told, "No bikes this Saturday or Sunday."

Suck.

Not too bad for me - I biked the 10 miles back home and drove in, but there were two other cyclists who were stuck for the night.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 7, 2010 at 6:41am

Was this yesterday? I needed to get downtown with my bike. Waited at 95th St. and got an announcement that the train was running late "due to heavy passenger loading." In others - hardly any cars open, packed in like sardines. I ended up taking the red line north and didn't even bother trying Metra for the return trip.

I hope that the Beverly portion of your day was enjoyable.

RP said:

Found myself down in Beverly at the end of a long day of exploring, and was going to take Metra back from 91st Street. I listened to the station speaker no less than four times, talking about Jazzfest: a long schpiel about no alcohol on trains after 7pm, then a few very short syllables which, by the third listen, I was pretty sure said "and bikes are allowed".

Nevertheless, when the train arrived, the conductor was all like NO BIKES. And I'm all like WHAAAAAT.

And then I'm all like, screw you, Metra. The Red Line takes me straight home anyway without any transfers anyway. And where else am I likely to have a rambling conversation with some loud angry dude about his crackhead girlfriend?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 7, 2010 at 6:48am

At least some of the downtown stations (if not all) have boxes near the ticket windows to drop in envelopes w/payment for 10-ride or monthly passes by mail. They have one at LaSalle St. station. That might get your money and message to the right place.

For all the times they DON'T collect fares on the Rock Island, I wonder how much better our service could be with that extra money. Perhaps they could have another conductor and open another car or two so that conditions are actually somewhat civilized instead of hellishly crowded.

BTW, when I was on the red line from 95th to the Loop yesterday, it was uncrowded, relatively quiet and fairly pleasant except for the sections where the track is rough. It was a little busier coming back, but still reasonable. The 3 mile ride home into that headwind was another story.

H3N3 said:

I've actually never had that happen before.
Wondering if anyone can help-- I've put a $5 bill in an envelope with a note explaining that it's for my travel today, but I'm not sure who to address it to?

Julie Hochstadter said:

Yeah it REALLY bothers me when Metra complains about money problems and yet 1/4 of the time they never ask for my ticket. And during the Ravinia rush hour they don't have a chance to collect money from virtually anyone.

H3N3 said:

Didn't see any on the train. Also noticed an odd lack of vigilance on the part of the employees in terms of collecting fares.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Roy on September 7, 2010 at 9:14am

My email from On the Bilevel after Blues Fest...
Also a conductor on the Milwaukee West Line this past Friday told me that the UP-NW are NOT acutally Metra employees. And that they work for the freight carriers. Is this true?


Mr. Carrier
You are correct, small folding bikes in a protective cover do not fall under the Blues Fest ban. The conductor does have some discretion here; the policy says "Folding bicycles in protective covers are permitted on all trains at all times but should not block train aisles or doorways." But it doesn't sound like you were doing that here. I'm forwarding your e-mail to UP so they can make sure their conductors know
the rules.
Michael Gillis
Metra Media Relations


Message: I have a folding bike and a protective cover for it. I was boarding the train at Mt. Prospect the weekend of Blues Fest. The conductor informed me that there were "No Bikes allowed". I had called the Friday before, and was told I would be able to travel with my bike. He did kindly let me ride to my destination. But I want to be clear what the policy is on folding bikes on trains with protective covers is.

Thank you, Lee

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 6, 2010 at 6:59am

On the UP lines (North, Northwest, West), it's my understanding that crews are Union Pacific employees. On the Rock Island and Metra Electric, they're Metra employees. Not sure about Southwest Service, Heritage Corridor, Milwaukee District North and West or North Central Service.

Cameron Puetz said:

I know that the crews on the BNSF line work for BNSF, not sure which other lines are that way. To anwswer your question, yes some conductors are Metra employees and some work for the freight railroads.

Lee Roy Carrier said:

My email from On the Bilevel after Blues Fest...
Also a conductor on the Milwaukee West Line this past Friday told me that the UP-NW are NOT acutally Metra employees. And that they work for the freight carriers. Is this true?


Mr. Carrier
You are correct, small folding bikes in a protective cover do not fall under the Blues Fest ban. The conductor does have some discretion here; the policy says "Folding bicycles in protective covers are permitted on all trains at all times but should not block train aisles or doorways." But it doesn't sound like you were doing that here. I'm forwarding your e-mail to UP so they can make sure their conductors know
the rules.
Michael Gillis
Metra Media Relations


Message: I have a folding bike and a protective cover for it. I was boarding the train at Mt. Prospect the weekend of Blues Fest. The conductor informed me that there were "No Bikes allowed". I had called the Friday before, and was told I would be able to travel with my bike. He did kindly let me ride to my destination. But I want to be clear what the policy is on folding bikes on trains with protective covers is.

Thank you, Lee

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 6, 2010 at 7:13am

After my problem during Jazz Fest, when security and a conductor tried to deny me boarding with my folding bike, I wrote to Metra Customer Service about it. Yesterday I got a response. Here's the guts of it.

"In previous years, bicycles were banned during the Jazz Festival weekend, but in 2010 it was decided to allow bikes on trains during that period. When the information was relayed to various departments, there was some sort of mis-communication which resulted in some of the onboard personnel reverting back to the prior year requirements.

I am truly sorry for all the people that were not allowed to transport their bicycles on the Rock Island District during the downtown event.

In reference to your being allowed to ride your bicycle closer to the cars used for boarding on the platform, ... not allowed due to safety factors ... It is our goal to try and keep all of our commuters safe."

I wrote back, thanking him for his response but clarifying one misunderstanding.

"I believe that you misunderstood what I said about wanting to get my folding bike closer to the open train car doors before folding and bagging it. I understand the safety reasons why riding in stations is not allowed...

What I was asking to do was walk my bike down the platform before folding it to carry aboard. I have done so many times on both rush hour and off-peak trips, keeping the bike clear of other passengers. I did so today at 95th St. and LaSalle St. stations during morning and evening rush hour without incident."

I thanked him again and offered my hope that Metra would continue to strive for better service for all passengers.

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