The CTA Is Piloting Pre-Paid Boarding On The Belmont Bus For Faster Commutes

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jun 2, 2016 4:26PM

Belmont Avenue CTA buses will be the first to try out pre-paid bus boarding, the CTA announced Wednesday.

Commuters on westbound #77 buses will be able to pre-pay to board the bus at the Belmont Blue Line station during evening rush periods (i.e. between 3 and 7 p.m.) beginning June 6. The 6-month-long pilot program is designed to decrease commute times and make the buses more efficient, the CTA said in a press release posted on the transit authority's website. The #77 is one of the CTA's busiest bus routes, with 7 million rides last year, according to authorities. Ppre-paid boarding could help it and other crowded bus routes that suffer from long boarding wait times.

It can take as long as 5 minutes just to board the #77 bus during peak evening hours, even though those buses run every 4 to 5 minutes, and the problem can lead to bus-bunching—that hated phenomenon in which commuters must wait longer than expected for a bus to come, only for multiple late buses to arrive at the stop simultaneously. The CTA might consider expanding pre-paid boarding to other bus routes after seeing the results of this test.

“Mayor Emanuel and I are always looking for ways to improve service for CTA customers and this new pilot will allow us to receive valuable feedback on the potential benefits of prepaid boarding on CTA,” CTA President Dorval Carter said in a statement. “With this pilot, customers pay fares in advance and board buses much like they do boarding the ‘L’ - which get customers to their destinations more efficiently and reduce delays that occur during busy rush periods.”

A quick rundown of how the pre-paid boarding will work: Customers grabbing the westbound #77 at the Blue Line's Belmont Station will be able to tape their Ventra card (or use another payment method) at a fare reader outside a "prepaid boarding area." From there, they'll enter the prepaid boarding area and wait to board the bus. The are will "be defined by temporary fencing," according to the CTA, and will have an overhang protecting it from rain. It will be staffed by CTA employees just like the train stations are.