Passenger Trains > Metra asks STB to require UP to allow Metra operations

Metra's filing with the Surface Transportation Board states that its service is "in jeopardy" due to impasse over financial terms of operations transfer.  More information in this March 7 Trains.com Newswire:

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/metra-asks-stb-to-require-union-pacific-to-continue-to-allow-commuter-operations/

Time for a major change of procedures.  Metra should install Ventra ticket/fare card readers on the platforms along with TVMs. 
Conductors should cease ticket checking concentrating on safety, door operations etc.
Metra should hire much lower wage fare checkers to randomly check for tix.  

I am BTW assuming that UP wants out of the employer setup due to some chance of cutting expenses--do they not have to pay RR Retirement costs?   

BrynMawr Wrote:
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>> Metra should hire much lower wage fare checkers to
> randomly check for tix.  
>
Thank you for your support of unionized railroad workers.
 

BrynMawr Wrote:
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> Metra should hire much lower wage fare checkers to
> randomly check for tix.  

Metra should charge its customers more to cover the costs of its contracted employees.  

Typhoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
.  
>
> Metra should charge its customers more to cover
> the costs of its contracted employees.  

Exactly. When voters approved the RTA plan years ago the law said that
the farebox must cover 50%.

In the mean time gas prices have gone up, license plates more than doubled,
tolls out of sight, insurance skyrocketing etc. 

No relief for the vast majority of workers who drive to work
at locations nowhere near a metra line.

 

Englewood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Typhoon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> .  
> >
> > Metra should charge its customers more to cover
> > the costs of its contracted employees.  
>
> Exactly. When voters approved the RTA plan years
> ago the law said that
> the farebox must cover 50%.
>
> In the mean time gas prices have gone up, license
> plates more than doubled,
> tolls out of sight, insurance skyrocketing etc. 
>
> No relief for the vast majority of workers who
> drive to work
> at locations nowhere near a metra line.
>
>  

I doubt they could get to 50%. If they raise fares enough to try to do that ridership would drop. So less trains. And less union engineers and conductors.

Metra should do like Caltrain commuter trains. All ticketing is done via the Clipper Cards. and can be used throughout the Bay Area. Buses. Muni. Ferries. Even cable cars.

For Caltrain tap in and out to calc distance travelled. Everything else just tap in.

Posted from iPhone

Jonny_Chi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Englewood Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Typhoon Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > .  
> > >
> > > Metra should charge its customers more to
> cover
> > > the costs of its contracted employees.  
> >
> > Exactly. When voters approved the RTA plan
> years
> > ago the law said that
> > the farebox must cover 50%.
> >
> > In the mean time gas prices have gone up,
> license
> > plates more than doubled,
> > tolls out of sight, insurance skyrocketing
> etc. 
> >
> > No relief for the vast majority of workers who
> > drive to work
> > at locations nowhere near a metra line.
> >
> >  
>
> I doubt they could get to 50%. If they raise
> fares enough to try to do that ridership would
> drop. So less trains. And less union engineers
> and conductors.
>
> Metra should do like Caltrain commuter trains.
> All ticketing is done via the Clipper Cards. and
> can be used throughout the Bay Area. Buses.
> Muni. Ferries. Even cable cars.
>
> For Caltrain tap in and out to calc distance
> travelled. Everything else just tap in.
>
> Posted from iPhone

Damn those decently paid employees so spoiled suburbanites can get a cheaper ride to work.  Thank you for summing up so much that has been wrong with this country for most the Boomers time in charge.  

Would raising fares 20% make the difference with deal/no deal with UP ? 
 

Englewood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BrynMawr Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >> Metra should hire much lower wage fare checkers
> to
> > randomly check for tix.  
> >
> Thank you for your support of unionized railroad
> workers.

As with the elimination of firemen and brakemen and similar positions, this is about recognizing and using technology that ultimately shoudl be beneficial to ways trains could operate more efficiently for higher output per employee and ultimately to be able to run more trains at the same cost to attract more riders to pay more fares.

The commuter railroad isn't supposed to be an employment program but a transportation program.  Firemen and brakemen should have been able to be transitioned into other positions where they could be more productive for the railroad.  Same thing now with assistant conductors, who essentially do almost no work industrywide with the proliferation of passes and cashless payment methods.  They should be transitioning to being engineers and conductors.

Give the current technology, we should be moving towards different models of on board service and fare collection with fewer employees per train, but more trains, and fewer fare transactions with less time and money handling per transaction and more rides sold per transaction.  There isn't much reason a train should have more than an engineer and a conductor.

Tap on gate off downtown technology needs few employees to sell and collect and highly incentivizes tapping on so that you aren't charged the highest possible fare at the downtown gated station.  Same principle behind EZ Pass.

MARC has traditional fare collection. VRE has POP system with random fare and penalty enforcement. Yet, for a given distance, VRE fares are higher than MARC's.

Posted from Android

Typhoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Damn those decently paid employees so spoiled
> suburbanites can get a cheaper ride to work.
>  Thank you for summing up so much that has been
> wrong with this country for most the Boomers time
> in charge.  

Too general. There are plenty of those awful boomers have been trying to fix this stuff for a long time. Rich people are in charge. They are not necessarily boomers. In fact, in the current billionaire government, I see no boomers in a significant role. People at large are trained to vote for the slickest advertising. The slickest advertising costs a lot of money. That means mostly rich people in charge.

TAW

VRE still has a full complement of assistant conductors, but they're not doing a full ticket lift on every run.

Train crews do perform spot checks for compliance.

Fines are $100 for a first offense, plus court costs. Repeat offenders can face fines up to $500.

If the passenger contests the citation, the conductor or AC has to appear in court, in Alexandria.

According to some old news reports, citations skyrocketed when Keolis took over the contract. It would seem the Amtrak crews were less than diligent in policing fare evasion.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/25 07:41 by Dcmcrider.

Typhoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jonny_Chi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Englewood Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Typhoon Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > .  
> > > >
> > > > Metra should charge its customers more to
> > cover
> > > > the costs of its contracted employees.  
> > >
> > > Exactly. When voters approved the RTA plan
> > years
> > > ago the law said that
> > > the farebox must cover 50%.
> > >
> > > In the mean time gas prices have gone up,
> > license
> > > plates more than doubled,
> > > tolls out of sight, insurance skyrocketing
> > etc. 
> > >
> > > No relief for the vast majority of workers
> who
> > > drive to work
> > > at locations nowhere near a metra line.
> > >
> > >  
> >
> > I doubt they could get to 50%. If they raise
> > fares enough to try to do that ridership would
> > drop. So less trains. And less union engineers
> > and conductors.
> >
> > Metra should do like Caltrain commuter trains.
> > All ticketing is done via the Clipper Cards.
> and
> > can be used throughout the Bay Area. Buses.
> > Muni. Ferries. Even cable cars.
> >
> > For Caltrain tap in and out to calc distance
> > travelled. Everything else just tap in.
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> Damn those decently paid employees so spoiled
> suburbanites can get a cheaper ride to work.
>  Thank you for summing up so much that has been
> wrong with this country for most the Boomers time
> in charge.  

Boomers are no longer in charge. Gen X and Millennials have way more employees in the market place than Boomers.

They’re not riding the trains as much as boomers. They’d rather drive. Can’t force them to pay more.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MARC has traditional fare collection. VRE has POP
> system with random fare and penalty enforcement.
> Yet, for a given distance, VRE fares are higher
> than MARC's.
>
> Posted from Android

Maryland is a blue state that subsidizes Marc more than Virginia which is governed by a Republican.

Btw I’m a firm believer in a no layoff policy. But crew made redundant by technology should transition to other positions as they open.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/25 16:53 by Jonny_Chi.