# CTA To Add Surcharge To Blue Line Fare Departing O'Hare Station



## fairviewroad (Nov 27, 2012)

Starting in January, it will cost you an extra $2.75 to catch a Blue Line train from O'Hare to downtown. The surcharge will increase the cost of a CTA fare from the airport to the Loop from $2.25 to $5. However, it's only levied on passengers leaving O'Hare station, not those arriving. So if you go round-trip, your total r/t fare rises from $4.50 to $7.25 which isn't terribly bad...but it would be nice if that surcharge got you some extra service, such as an express train.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-11-21/news/ct-met-cta-budget-sub-20121121_1_fare-hikes-fare-increases-cta-riders

The surcharge does not apply to people using passes...only to those paying a cash fare.

[The surcharge will apparently not be levied on Orange Line riders leaving Midway airport..that station is used by many people in the surrounding neighborhood.]


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## Eric S (Nov 27, 2012)

It's worth noting that the plan also involves significant increases in the various (daily, 3-day, 7-day, 30-day) passes as well.


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## SarahZ (Nov 27, 2012)

Whoa. Are they planning to make any kind of exception for all of the people who work there? I can understand a surcharge for the tourists/business people who take the express Blue Line downtown, but to pay that every day simply because you happen to work there and live somewhere along the route (or transfer in the Loop)? That doesn't seem fair.


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## AlanB (Nov 27, 2012)

Sorcha said:


> Whoa. Are they planning to make any kind of exception for all of the people who work there? I can understand a surcharge for the tourists/business people who take the express Blue Line downtown, but to pay that every day simply because you happen to work there and live somewhere along the route (or transfer in the Loop)? That doesn't seem fair.


If you work at the airport and are using the Blue line to get there, then you are most likely buying a pass, be it a weekly or monthly pass. Passes are exempt from the surcharge. Only those buying single ride tickets are getting slapped with the extra charge. This is more about hitting the pockets of the tourists & business people flying into O'Hare and not the workers.


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## fairviewroad (Nov 28, 2012)

AlanB said:


> Sorcha said:
> 
> 
> > Whoa. Are they planning to make any kind of exception for all of the people who work there? I can understand a surcharge for the tourists/business people who take the express Blue Line downtown, but to pay that every day simply because you happen to work there and live somewhere along the route (or transfer in the Loop)? That doesn't seem fair.
> ...


Exactly. In addition to tourists/biz travelers, the surcharge will also affect folks who don't normally ride the El, but will use it to go to the airport in order to save on airport parking costs...also a valid target for a fare increase, IMO.

FWIW, there is no "express Blue Line." All trains are local, and make every stop (16) between O'Hare and the Loop.


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## SarahZ (Nov 29, 2012)

AlanB said:


> Sorcha said:
> 
> 
> > Whoa. Are they planning to make any kind of exception for all of the people who work there? I can understand a surcharge for the tourists/business people who take the express Blue Line downtown, but to pay that every day simply because you happen to work there and live somewhere along the route (or transfer in the Loop)? That doesn't seem fair.
> ...


/facepalm

I completely missed that in the original post. I read it as it would be added to the cost of the monthly pass. :blush:


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## SarahZ (Nov 29, 2012)

fairviewroad said:


> FWIW, there is no "express Blue Line." All trains are local, and make every stop (16) between O'Hare and the Loop.


Oh, I know, but I meant in the future. I figured the surcharge was there to help defray the cost of the express line (once they finalize that and build it). Last I heard, it was in the works. I think it's a great idea.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Nov 29, 2012)

I did find it amusing how officials believe cutting a whole dime from Student Fares will suddenly encourage truants to attend school.


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## tp49 (Nov 30, 2012)

Eric S said:


> It's worth noting that the plan also involves significant increases in the various (daily, 3-day, 7-day, 30-day) passes as well.


I would think this would have some relevance when it comes to passes. Seems the prices of the passes are also going up with some level of significance which would have an impact on those working at the airport and commuting on CTA.


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## Trogdor (Nov 30, 2012)

Sorcha said:


> fairviewroad said:
> 
> 
> > FWIW, there is no "express Blue Line." All trains are local, and make every stop (16) between O'Hare and the Loop.
> ...


The airport express is dead and has been for several years. The downtown station was abandoned before it was ever finished, the platform cut at Washington on the Red Line (closed since 2006 as part of this plan) has been filled back in, and there are no (serious) plans to relaunch the project any time soon.

There were never even any good plans on how/where to build the express tracks, which would be needed for express service, let alone how to pay for the construction.

The airport express was just a huge boondoggle created by a mayor that never seriously gave a damn about transit and pushed through by a board that never understood transit and worried more about appeasing the mayor than about being financially responsible.

[rant over]


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## fairviewroad (Nov 30, 2012)

Trogdor said:


> The airport express is dead and has been for several years. The downtown station was abandoned before it was ever finished, the platform cut at Washington on the Red Line (closed since 2006 as part of this plan) has been filled back in, and there are no (serious) plans to relaunch the project any time soon.
> 
> There were never even any good plans on how/where to build the express tracks, which would be needed for express service, let alone how to pay for the construction.
> 
> ...


Just curious...what do you think it would take to build a _viable_ express service? (Not in terms of $$$...that'd be a wild guess...but in terms of infrastructure).

That is, something that truly functions as an express train, as opposed to a skip-stop service that only shaves a few minutes off the run. Something that

would get you from the airport to the Loop in say, 20-25 minutes instead of the current 40-45 minutes.

Would a few well-placed third-track passing zones do the trick? Only with really, really good signals, etc.

Would it take an entire new set of tracks outside or above the existing tracks. (i.e. sort of like the Purple Line express, only FAST)

Would it take an entirely new right-of-way but still use existing "El" train technology?

Would it take a Metra-style train, perhaps as a spur off the Milwaukee District-West line or the North Central route?

A Shanghai-style Maglev? (Ok, probably not a serious idea)

I realize this is simply a hypothetical question as this point, but stranger things have happened in the world of transit. From the outside,

an express train between O'Hare and the Loop would seem to be such an inherently logical idea. But the devil, as always, is in the details.


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## SarahZ (Nov 30, 2012)

Booooooo. I'd hoped this was still in the works.


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## John Bredin (Nov 30, 2012)

IMHO, Metra would be the best bet for a true airport express to O'Hare. There's already a Metra station of the North Central route on the east side of Mannheim Road, connected by airport parking shuttle bus to the end of the airport peoplemover. And the city Aviation Department recently announced that it's going to extend the peoplemover across Mannheim Road to the remote parking lot and Metra station. Once that's done, an express service from downtown (specifically, Union Station) to O'Hare would require pretty much only more Metra cars to run the additional trains, and *any* express service would require new or additional rolling stock.

The problem with using the Blue Line as the basis for an airport express is that the old Metropolitan/Logan Square L is two-track-only and *exceedingly* hemmed in by buildings on both sides. In particular, the buildings that back onto one side of the L front onto busy Milwaukee Avenue, so (1) the buildings are worth more, all else being equal, and (2) tearing them down would turn a relatively vibrant main street into somewhat of a a wasteland. The tunnels of the "new" (late '60s) Kimball subway and the '40s-'50s-vintage Dearborn-Milwaukee subway are two-track-only so that third-tracking or passing sidings would have to be in essentially new subway, with all that implies about expense. The only place with room to build a third track or passing sidings *without* great expense would be where the Blue Line runs in the Kennedy Expressway median, which is only the northern/western half (roughly) of the O'Hare-downtown portion of the Blue Line; in other words, absent the aforementioned expensive and disruptive L/subway construction, airport expresses would have to do *all* their third-tracking or passing northwest of Belmont.


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## SarahZ (Dec 1, 2012)

Excellent summary. Do you think Metra would have any interest in providing an express train?


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## Trogdor (Dec 1, 2012)

John Bredin said:


> The problem with using the Blue Line as the basis for an airport express is that the old Metropolitan/Logan Square L is two-track-only and *exceedingly* hemmed in by buildings on both sides. In particular, the buildings that back onto one side of the L front onto busy Milwaukee Avenue, so (1) the buildings are worth more, all else being equal, and (2) tearing them down would turn a relatively vibrant main street into somewhat of a a wasteland. The tunnels of the "new" (late '60s) Kimball subway and the '40s-'50s-vintage Dearborn-Milwaukee subway are two-track-only so that third-tracking or passing sidings would have to be in essentially new subway, with all that implies about expense. The only place with room to build a third track or passing sidings *without* great expense would be where the Blue Line runs in the Kennedy Expressway median, which is only the northern/western half (roughly) of the O'Hare-downtown portion of the Blue Line; in other words, absent the aforementioned expensive and disruptive L/subway construction, airport expresses would have to do *all* their third-tracking or passing northwest of Belmont.


This is basically the issue. Plus, in order to do express service properly, you'd need four tracks (not three), and they'd have to run the full length, not just "passing sidings" every here and there.

The Blue Line is already a busy railroad (second busiest line in the CTA system), and throwing in the complexity of switching tracks on a service that already runs a peak headway of about four minutes would destroy the reliability of both the existing service and the express service.

Three tracks would only be good for directional express running, meaning the reverse direction would still have to operate local (which, during rush hour, could very well overload the railroad).

Essentially, you'd need a new right of way to be able to fit four tracks, and you're not going to find that above ground in too many parts of Chicago.

The Metra idea would work better, but still face a few challenges. First would be track capacity at Union Station, particularly during rush hour. Second would be capacity on the railroad between Union Station and A5 (where the Milwaukee West/North Central service splits off from the Milwaukee North/Amtrak service).

As I recall, the running time between Union Station and O'Hare, if run nonstop, is about 25-30 minutes. This would have to be sped up somehow, though I don't know how it could. I don't know how long it takes to ride the O'Hare people mover to the point closest to the Metra station now (I've only ridden that thing once or twice ever, and that was to/from the international terminal, not remote parking), but once you factor in the time to wait for the people mover, the running time to the Metra station, and the time to wait for the Metra Airport Express, you're approaching the 45 minute running time of the Blue Line from O'Hare to Clark/Lake for its existing service. A Metra Airport Express would really only be more convenient (vs. the existing Blue Line) for those going to places west of the river (Union Station/Greektown area). Otherwise, the Blue Line, despite being more crowded during peak periods, is going to get more people closer to their final destinations.

If money were no object, a better answer would be to build a rail station connected to the O'Hare terminal (like the Blue Line is), and a subway connector that actually serves Union Station and circulates around the loop. That way, you'd get a fast, low-hassle ride to downtown, and an easy enough connection to the rest of downtown.


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## PRR 60 (Dec 1, 2012)

Petty larceny, but like PFC's, rental car fees, and hotel taxes, hitting people who do not have a vote in your area is an no-risk move for local politicians. Of course, some Chicago area people also use CTA to and from ORD, so it is not 100% non-residents who will pay. Considering that BART from SFO to downtown is $8.25, CTA for $5.50 is still not a bad deal, and it becomes a great deal when the Kennedy is a parking lot.


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## jebr (Dec 3, 2012)

The fare increases for passes, though, are nothing to scoff at. The one-day pass is getting close to a 75% increase, making simply paying single fares more attractive. Under the current system, if I have more than two trips on the CTA, the pass makes sense. Now that's up to four, and at 5 bus trips (without transfers) it's still break-even. Makes it harder to justify buying a day pass (which means that, on buses, boarding may be slower because there isn't the savings with buying a pass.)


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## Trogdor (Dec 3, 2012)

Boarding on buses may be slightly slower in the short term, but CTA will introduce a new fare system next year that (hopefully) will speed things up. Among the features will be the ability to use credit cards (with smart-card-style chips, such as "paypass" or what have you) to pay fares directly on board.


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## DET63 (Jan 2, 2013)

> Petty larceny, but like PFC's, rental car fees, and hotel taxes, hitting people who do not have a vote in your area is an no-risk move for local politicians.


At one time in our nation's history, didn't some people bellyache about "taxation without representation"?

If they were alive today . . .


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## sechs (Jan 10, 2013)

PRR 60 said:


> Considering that BART from SFO to downtown is $8.25, CTA for $5.50 is still not a bad deal, and it becomes a great deal when the Kennedy is a parking lot.


BART is priced to be competitive with cabs. If money is your object, take the KX express bus for $5.


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## The Journalist (Jan 16, 2013)

I was actually just in Chicago this past week, pre-fare change. Must have gotten one of the last $5.75 one-day passes. It would seem that the one-day pass is essentially only worthwhile now if you're leaving O'Hare and using it multiple times after that...and since you can't buy them there (or can you now? I was coming into Midway) they're pretty much useless now. The rest of the pass prices are going from "really cheap for how extensive the system is" to "average."


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