Ridge99: January 2024

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

social bike ride on Sat. 2/3

Femmes & Thems does casual, social bike rides in areas across the city. They're coming to Beverly & Morgan Park on Saturday.

They describe their rides as "a safe space for women, femme, non-binary and trans Chicagoans to ride bikes together."

If this sounds like just what you're looking for, come out and ride next Saturday.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Metra changes coming on 2/1

In case you missed the recent news, Metra has overhauled their fare structure. I grabbed one of these handouts from the train. These changes are effective on Thursday 2/1.

The number of fare zones is being reduced from 10 to 4. The new monthly pass from Beverly and Morgan Park to the Loop will be a reasonable $75, significantly less than the pre-pandemic cost of around $160.

The info below is about changes related to buying tickets. There won't be ticket agents at any stations as of 2/1, only ticket machines and the Ventra app.

If you are boarding at a station without a ticket machine and you don't use the Ventra app, you can pay cash to a conductor on board the train. If you board at LaSalle or another station with a ticket machine and you want to pay cash on the train, you will be charged a $5 surcharge, though they're waiving that in the early days of this transition.

All ticket options (1-way, day pass, day pass 5-pack, monthly pass, Saturday/ Sunday/holiday pass, weekend pass and regional connect pass) will be available on the Ventra app. Only the 1-way and Saturday/Sunday/holiday pass will be available for cash on the train.

Yes, they're really trying to nudge as many riders as possible to use the Ventra app. The good news is that it's pretty reliable now. I tried it in the early days and got frustrated because it crashed a lot. That rarely happens now.

They're also allowing bikes on all Metra trains now and they're starting to increase capacity for carrying bikes. Click here for more info.

The new fare zone map is below. If you want to see a bigger version, click on the map to go to a bigger version on the Metra web site.

Friday, January 26, 2024

non sequitur Friday

Variations on a theme...

Saturday, January 20, 2024

Polar Adventure Day TODAY (1/20) at Big Marsh Park

If you're looking for a bit of outdoor fun today, check out Polar Adventure Day at Big Marsh Park, noon to 3. Info below.

Friday, January 19, 2024

Metra information sessions about new fare structure

If you ride Metra, either regularly or occasionally, you may want to check this out - either online or in person.

Metra has scheduled informational sessions at all downtown stations to answer questions from riders from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the schedule below:
Jan. 23: Millennium Station
Jan. 24: LaSalle Street Station
Jan. 25: Ogilvie Transportation Center
Jan 30: Chicago Union Station

On a related note, Metra has adopted a Passenger Code of Conduct. Anyone using Metra facilities or trains and who breaks the rules risks suspension of riding privileges and/or confiscation of the fare media. News release here.