The Fact Check

The Fact Check: Is Metra Fudging the Savings Numbers?

Metra put out a special issue of its commuter newsletter to sell its price hike plan to riders. The Fact Check sees if "On the Bi-Level" is on the level.

To sell a proposed fare hike to commuters, Metra recently put out a special edition of its commuter newsletter On The Bi-Level. Here's a look at the part relating to consumer cost. Note: Metra is still fiddling with the fare plan before the Nov. 11 vote, so the numbers here are just the proposal as reflected in the commuter newsletter. You can see a more complete presentation of these numbers at www.metrarail.com. The Claim: A commuter from Zone F (which includes Mokena) will pay $607.98 a month to drive to downtown Chicago compared to $162.25 for a monthly pass under the proposed fare hike. ... Problem 1: Metra compared its monthly rate to Loop parking garages' daily rates. Metra figured the cost of driving for someone who pays $18 a day…

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Cezar Jenkins

8:36 am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

It is very nice. One plus I get from Metra. I can work from the train. I get on the train around 9 and get off of it a little after 5 in the evenings. My "commute" is less than half and hour that I'm not getting paid for.   more ›

METRA UPDATE: 80th Ave. Platform Will Get Squeezed in February

During either the first or second week of February, 60 feet of the 80th Avenue Metra Station platform will go from 7 feet wide to 4.5.

Commuters who take the Metra out of the 80th Avenue station will have a tighter squeeze for a week in February. So Metra can install a metal retaining wall for the new station under construction, a 60-foot stretch of the inbound platform will be cut down to four-and-a-half feet instead of the current seven-foot width, Public Works Director Dale Schepers told the village board’s Public Works and Boundaries Committee meeting Tuesday night. The exact start time is up to Metra and the weather, but the width will be cut for about a week in early February, Schepers said. This means the already-crowded platform of the Metra system’s fourth-busiest station will be squeezed a little tighter in either the first or second week of February. To see the…

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