Metra's Overhauled Fare System Takes Effect In February

CHICAGO — Commuters who rely on Metra to get to and from work and other residents who use the train to travel to or from Chicago will see changes to how much they pay to ride beginning in February, Metra recently announced.

The new fare structure will go into effect on Feb. 1 and is part of a $1.1 billion operating budget that was approved last week. Under the 2024 budget, the new fare structure – which was first presented this summer – will take prices back to pre-pandemic pricing and will also change other aspects of how riders are billed.

Under the plan, Metra pricing will either be cheaper or equal to what it was ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other changes to the pricing plan also include:

• Replacing the existing 10-zone distance-based structure with a simplified four-zone structure. Under that plan, the new zoning plan includes pricing for one-day tickets, weekend day passes and monthly passes. Downtown stations will be assigned to Zone 1 and outlying stations will be assigned to Zones 2 through 4 based on a combination of distance from downtown, service patterns, and ridership characteristics on each line, which vary, Metra said. Pricing can be found here.
• Discontinuing the promotional the $6 and $10 Day Passes and $100 Super Saver Monthly Pass
• Replacing the 10-Ride Ticket with a Day Pass 5-Pack available only in the Ventra app
• Discontinuing “incremental fares” — a surcharge to travel beyond the zones indicated on a ticket.

The operating budget incorporates a revision to the Metra fare structure that was proposed this summer, Metra announced last week. The operating budget projects Metra will start the year at 47 percent of pre-pandemic ridership and finish the year at about 54 percent of pre-pandemic levels, officials said. This results in a projection of $243.9 million in system-generated revenues, which can be linked to mostly fares, Metra said.

To cover the rest of its budgeted operating costs, Metra will use $560.4 million in regional sales taxes and $223.7 million in federal COVID-relief funding.