CTA Riders Switching To Pay As You Go Fares, Revenues From Fare Passes Down

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 12, 2013 9:35PM

Chicago Transit Authority’s decision to raise the cost of fare passes has resulted in revenues from fare pass sales declining in the first four months of the year.

Sales of seven-day passes, which spiked from $23 to $28, saw the biggest drop in sales. The Sun-Times reports CTA President Forrest Claypool said at Wednesday’s board meeting riders are making the switch to pay-as-you-go daily fares, which saw no change in cost.

Claypool said CTA revenues are 2.5 percent less than projected, which he said is a drop of water in a $1.35 billion budget and he has confidence the agency will adjust for the losses by not filling vacancies.

The poison pill for riders is soon to come when CTA and Pace roll out the shared fare system Ventra later this year. Riders who don’t make the switch to Ventra could find themselves paying up to $3 for a single-ride rail fare, as CTA is set to charge a 25-cent transfer fee and a “limited use media fee” of 50 cents for disposable single ride tickets when Ventra launches.