CHICAGO COMMUTER RAILROAD FARES - PAST AND PRESENT

This chart shows different fares and types of tickets for the five major commuter railroads prior to RTA, and the unified fares at various times throughout the RTA and Metra history. Dates for the individual commuter railroads are for each railroad's last fare increase, prior to the October 1, 1976 adoption of RTA universal fares, with the fare zones every five miles. The RTA funding crisis of 1981 resulted in higher fares between 1981 and 1984. Also shown are types of tickets, not all railroads offered all types of tickets at all times. "Semi-Mo" is semi-monthly, valid for half of a month. Fares are shown for three different sample distances from Chicago (8, 22, 37 miles), based on the five mile fare zones.

Also listed are the fare penalties for paying a fare on the train, and for the weekend pass.



RAILROAD   C&NW  Milw. CRI&P BN    IC     RTA    RTA    RTA

FARE       May   Oct.  Aug.  Nov.  Dec.   Oct.   Oct.   Feb.
EFFECTIVE   1     1    13    19    14      1      1      1
DATE       1974  1973  1973  1973  1973   1976   1981   1984


8 Miles

One Way     1.00   .90   .95   .70   .85   1.00   2.15   1.95
10 Ride     9.00  9.00  8.45  7.00 -----  -----  21.50  19.50
25 Ride    22.50 ----- 21.10 16.80 20.40  -----  -----  -----
Weekly      7.95  7.25  7.10 -----  7.55   8.10  17.20  15.60
Semi-Mo    14.05 13.20 13.45 ----- -----  -----  -----  -----
Monthly    25.50 24.20 24.45 22.05 25.05  27.00  58.05  52.65


22 Miles

One Way     1.60  1.45  1.35  1.35  1.45   1.45   3.35   3.00
10 Ride    14.40 14.50 12.80 13.50 -----  -----  33.50  30.00
25 Ride    36.00 ----- 32.05 32.40 34.80  -----  -----  -----
Weekly     12.95 11.55 10.80 ----- 12.00  11.75  26.80  24.00
Semi-Mo    22.80 20.65 20.45 ----- -----  -----  -----  -----
Monthly    41.45 37.75 37.20 35.40 40.00  39.15  90.45  81.00


37 Miles

One Way     2.00  2.15  1.90  2.30 -----   1.90   4.50   4.05
10 Ride    18.00 21.50 17.50 23.00 -----  -----  45.00  40.50
25 Ride    45.00 ----- 43.70 55.20 -----  -----  -----  -----
Weekly     16.45 14.25 14.70 ----- -----  15.40  36.00  32.40
Semi-Mo    29.00 25.45 27.95 ----- -----  -----  -----  -----
Monthly    52.70 46.50 49.80 44.00 -----  51.30 121.50 109.35


On Board
Penalty      .15   .15   .??   .10    --    .25    .50    .50


NEXT       Apr.  Oct.  Nov.  Oct.  Oct    Nov.   Feb.   Feb.
FARE        1     1     1     1     1      1      1      1
CHANGE     1977  1976  1979  1976  1976   1979   1984   1986

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FARE       Feb.   Feb.   Jun.   Feb.   Feb.   Feb.   Feb.   Feb.
EFFECTIVE   1      1      1      1      1      1      1      1
DATE       1989   1996   2002   2006   2010   2012   2015   2018


8 Miles

One Way     1.75   1.95   2.05   2.15   2.50   3.00   3.50   4.25
10 Ride    14.90  16.60  17.45  18.30  20.00  27.00  31.50  40.50
Weekly     14.00  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Monthly    47.25  52.65  55.35  58.05  63.45  85.50  99.75 123.25


22 Miles

One Way     3.30   3.50   3.70   3.90   4.50   5.25   6.00   6.75
10 Ride    28.05  29.75  31.45  33.15  36.55  47.25  54.00  64.25
Weekly     26.40  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Monthly    89.10  94.50  99.90 105.30 116.10 149.50 171.00 195.75


37 Miles

One Way     4.45   4.65   4.90   5.15   6.00   6.75   7.50   8.25
10 Ride    37.85  39.55  41.65  43.80  48.05  60.75  67.50  78.50
Weekly     35.60  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Monthly   120.15 125.55 132.30 139.05 152.55 192.25 213.75 239.25


On Board
Penalty     1.00   1.00   2.00   2.00   3.00   3.00   3.00   5.00


Weekend
Pass        5.00   5.00   5.00   5.00   7.00   7.00   8.00  10.00


NEXT       Feb.   Jun.   Feb.   Feb.   Feb.   Feb.   Feb.   Feb.
FARE        1      1      1      1      1      1      1      1
CHANGE     1996   2002   2006   2008   2012   2013   2016   2024
In 2024, Metra significantly simplified its fare structure, eliminating the five mile long fare zones which had existed since 1976. The total number of fare zones was reduced from 13 to 4. Zone 1 consists of the downtown stations, while Zones 2 and 3 and 4 are the outlying stations. The new fare zones were generally determined by distance, but additional factors were used to determine the fare zone boundaries. Generally, Zone 2 extends to approximately 15 miles from downtown., and Zone 3 extends to between 20 and 25 miles from downtown. And Zone 4 is beyond.



FARE        Feb.
EFFECTIVE    1
DATE        2024


Zone 2

One Way      3.75
Day 5 Pack  35.25
Monthly     75.00


Zone 3

One Way      5.50
Day 5 Pack  52.25
Monthly    110.00


Zone 4

One Way      6.75
Day 5 Pack  64.25
Monthly    135.00


Sat or Sun   7.00
Weekend     10.00
A one day pass for each zone is double the one way fare. For travel between locations outside downtown, the lowest fares Zone 2 apply.