New $100 'Super Saver' Monthly Pass Offers Unlimited Metra Rides

CHICAGO — Rail travel in the Chicago region this summer will be more affordable than ever compared to driving around a gas-powered automobile, thanks to a Metra pilot program offering flat-rate monthly passes valid across the entire network.

The new "Super Saver" passes will cost $100 per month for most adults and $70 for children, students up to 12th grade and eligible seniors. They will be available for July, August and September.

Metra Executive Director and CEO Jim Derwinski said the Super Saver passes are a great deal for riders.

"For the price of a tank of gas, or a trip to a baseball game, you can travel all over the Chicago area on Metra for a month,” Derwinski said in a statement. “High gas prices already make Metra an affordable option versus driving, but this new monthly ‘Super Saver’ pass makes the choice even clearer.”

Prices for the existing Metra monthly unlimited pass ranges from $95.25 for Zone A to $294.75 for Zone M. Passholders are permitted unlimited travel across all zones only on Saturdays and Sundays, according to Metra representatives.

The new passes will look the same as the regular monthly passes, but conductors will be aware that all monthly passes are valid for travel across all zones.

“Metra’s recovery from the pandemic requires that we look at all the options on the table to reinvent our service by listening to My Metra riders, creating new schedules, and exploring fare incentives that allow riders to return or try our system at affordable rates,” Derwinski's statement continued.

"We’ve been fortunate that regional sales taxes, which support our operations, have remained strong," he said, "allowing us to use some of our federal COVID-19 relief funding in more creative ways that directly benefit our riders.”

Riders on the Metra Electric and Rock Island Lines can purchase unlimited $70 passes through the Fair Transit South Cook pilot program, although those passes will only be valid on those two lines.

The $6 day pass, which offers travel within up to three zones a day, and the $10 day pass, valid for unlimited travel, will remain unchanged, according to Metra officials.

Super Saver monthly passes for July are set to go on sale June 20. They can be purchased through the Ventra app or from ticket agents.