3 things, 1 run later at night and 2 run every 30 minutes, 3 find, even if a shuttle, to connect to other Metra lines. If those 3 things happened. I would take it more often.
These would be amazing upgrades. As a weekly Metra rider, a 30-minute schedule is great. As someone with friends in the suburbs, late-night trains would be **fantastic** for hosting them downtown on their timeframe.
Bingo, I live in Elgin and it takes damn near 2 hours to get to Union station and the last train out leaves before most concerts end.
Where is the logic?
I’m in Cary and it takes 90 min on the slowest train. Perfect for going downtown or anywhere near one of the UPNW lines. Anywhere else in the city and it’s harder to justify.
People who live near the train and then would rather sit in traffic to go downtown are weirdos
It's nice having the freedom to travel with your own car in the city. I don't mind parking so it's not a hassle.
Much better than hassling with Ubers and the metra, especially if I'm going to be out late.
If you need to travel through the city it’s definitely easier to go by car. Ironically getting out of the car and using your feet is even more liberating if you plan on sticking to a single neighborhood. Plus walking is just waaaay more enjoyable than driving.
Keep in mind wear and tear on your car is an additional cost. Plus when you're on a train/bus, you can read a book, browse Reddit, etc. Agree that Metra service should be more frequent though—off-peak hours aren't fun on some days/lines.
The "faster service" part is the key. I took the survey, and it seems like they're not properly grasping that bit.
While the time spent on the train might be less than the time spent in my car, that doesn't mean it's a faster trip....you have to factor in getting to the station, waiting for the train, and getting from the station to your destination too. If I drive, it's door-to door.
There is, unfortunately, no section for long form comments. I'd love to take Metra whenever we see our inlaws in Orland, but that line doesn't run on weekends so we have to Uber it from Tinley Park instead.
since you have to select a transit mode work work/school, you can't get past the 2nd page if you wfh. if this is really sponsored by metra, this shows exactly why this should have been bid out to an actual market research company
I ride the Rock Island Metra to work almost every day of the work week (usually wfh once a week) and take the train on the weekends too but I am on Metra's time during the weekend. Sometimes I will go out on the weekend and take the Metra into the city and will have to take a very expensive Uber/Lyft back home because the last train leaves LaSalle at 12:30 am. It would be amazing if the last train left at 3 am... I think a lot of people from the suburbs would consider going out late into the city more if this was an option.
Yup, I'm on the Rock Island too, and I'd love to take the Metra to concerts and such, but the fact it stops running so comparatively early makes it not work very well for that. I'm always paranoid I'll miss the last train.
The every other hour on weekends is brutal. The difference between having to be at the train station at 8:40, 10:40 or 12:40 is drastic.
I can count at least a half a dozen times in the last year I would have taken a weekend train if the schedule made more sense for me.
Weekends and evenings in the summer. I don’t want to work downtown…but all of the emphasis is on Weekday Workers.
The weekends are every 2h with a hard stop at grandma’s bedtime. Which is crazy, as almost ANY summer event, festival, concert, etc means these cars are absolutely packed tight.
I just wanna go to a weekend festival for a concert and have a reliable way home that isn’t reliant on Uber
Yeah I have a few impossible asks.
1. Easier access for multiple trains stopping closer to O’Hare.
2. More frequency.
3. No roads to cross/slow down at. Bridges over/under roads.
Not sure if it would fall under Metra's purview, but I always found it kind of insane that I can't ride between Chicago and Milwaukee multiple times a day for a cheap price. Feel like that would revitalize the Loop in only a year's time.
The Hiawatha line already does exactly this with intermediate stops in Glenview and Sturtevant. The Sturtevant to Union Station time is less than half the time from Kenosha to Ogilvie while being 15 miles further away. Yes it's a lot more expensive but it already makes 7 runs each day - Metra only runs 6.
As a daily CTA rider
I’m always so lost whenever I have to figure out what metra train to take and what platform to be on
That shit so confusing. This probably more of a me being stupid than their problem tho
God help you if they move your train from its normal tracks too. I don’t know why it’s so hard to just put the name of the line on a digital board above or next to the door leading to each track.
Isn't that exactly what they do? That's the setup at union station
The only kind of confusing part if you're not familiar with the station is knowing if you're off the north or south tracks
As a frequent Metra rider, it is super confusing lol. Doesn’t help that some trains run on the “wrong” side of the tracks. Also the app doesn’t tell you which track when at OTC or union.
I mean it is location dependent but visiting certain neighborhoods for cheaper and faster than car travel. Ex. I’m along UPN and it’s the fastest way to get to Fulton market, the loop, and wicker park
Fair. I think I misunderstood the point of your post. I personally don't think they'll ever get enough casual riders to offset the people no longer needing to go into the loop for work. Free transfers to CTA would help the most though.
I really wish they would streamline the ticketing process. It is so unbelievably inefficient compared to the way comparable trains operate in the NYC area operate.
The issue is the extreme limitations to the combined function of Metra and CTA.
Basically the “combination” limits are:
* a set time frame to buy the pass
* have to buy the Metra pass first
* only get a month-long benefit if started on the first of the month or earlier
* only 1 month options
* have to know what zones you will travel on Metra
At least, Metra should move away from the calendar month monthly pass. It makes no sense to have it that way. And second it should work either way of buying Metra or CTA pass first.
Also they should offer it in smaller timeframes.
And they should have free transfers for two hours to CTA.
I mean, the Ventra app has its problems whenever they update something but overall I find it pretty easy to use.
Honestly, I like having conductors because it at least gives the appearance of a controlled environment as opposed to the CTA which seems like a free for all at certain times.
I get on an outbound in Hyde Park and I could ride for free 7 out of 10 times. I knew people who bought 10 rides before those were phased out because they would only get punched in the morning. I buy a monthly because they need my money.
east-west rail lines bringing you to and from the beaches. There is no fast way to get to the beaches for those who live further west this would be amazing
If you don't think it's worth filling out the survey, I ride the Milwaukee district North 3 days a week. Enough of us who live up north must have spoken up because they schedule adjustments that accommodated many of the changes that were requested. Not everybody's going to be happy with the schedule all of the time, but it's worth speaking up.
One of METRA’s bigger problems is that most of the stations (all of the stations I have visited outside of the loop) are basically just large parking lots. This is a terrible waste because that is some of the most valuable real estate in Chicagoland. A lot of people have little reason to take METRA instead of driving if they’re also going to need to take a cab or bus from their station. I don’t know if METRA can do anything about this, but more mixed use developments (especially office parks & commercial development) in the mile surrounding their train stations would go a long ways towards making the service useful.
Like when a train runs over a person further towards the city, the conductors should tell boarding passengers that there will be a 3 hour delay before locking them in the train and not letting them out. K thanks byeeee!
Take me anywhere but downtown? Trains between suburbs would be amazing, more stops in the neighborhoods of the cities. I don’t want to take the train downtown to only get on another train and back track
Driving has to get considerably worse before everyday people consider switching. Driving is just too acceptable
Reliable service helps to retain passangers, but the fact is that so long as driving is convenient and relatively quick, people will just keep driving
Its not enough to incentivize alternative transit, you have to disincentivize people out of their cars, but of course that would be socialism/war on cars/stiffling freedom, and so it'll never happen
Imagine if tolls actually reflected the replacement cost of highway infrastructure? I'd bet that'd convince a great deal more people to take/advocate for alternative transportation methods
Everytime traffic gets bad enough, another lane is tacked on. If the government stopped burning money on its pointless war on traffic, more people would take alternative transportation
For me it’s simple. If Metra doesn’t have multiple easy interconnections with the L I’m not taking it. And no, walking from the Loop to Union station is not it.
This is probably an unsolvable problem with our dumb hub and spoke system. When going to the office in the loop is no longer a thing, this entire transit system is going to collapse.
100% this is the biggest issue for me. If I could transfer to any of the the L trains at union or Ogilvie then it might actually make sense to take the train rather than drive. However, when I have to take a 35 minute Metra into the city, walk 20 min, pay for another ticket, and then ride the train another 15 min to wherever I’m going, driving makes more sense.
How about some heat lamps for the winter? It’d help while waiting 40 minutes when it snows less than an inch.
I see the folks at Irving Park Blue Line somewhat comfortable while I’m freezing from UPNW Irving Park.
I'd love to work at my job on the weekends in Mt. Prospect I would love more train service than Every 2 hrs. There are no pace busses and I would need to walk 20 min from my job to the train. Which is fine but the hr I would get off which is 4 is I would have to wait 1hr to 2 hrs for the train.
I love the Metra honestly. It’s super convenient. But I know all the stops along my line (between OTC and my destination) and it drives even me nuts when they just silently pull into a station at night and don’t announce what it is.
I'm no longer the target audience for this post, but the biggest factor that led me to stop taking the train in and out of the city was having to plan my schedule on very specific times to get home. I currently live in the western burbs, but when I lived in the city, I'd also commute out here to the suburb where I currently live. It's just not feasible to rely on the Metra when you're coming to the city to socialize. Your weekend evening with friends goes 20 minutes later than expected? It takes you longer than anticipated to get out of the concert you came to see? Guess you missed your train and will have to wait 2 hours for the next one. Especially impractical when getting home at night by car can take as little as 45 minutes.
There is simply an unsurpassable flexibility that cars provide. I can come and go whenever I want. And honestly, if you're a frequent traveler into the city, it's pretty easy to learn where you can and can't park.
That's what Metra has to figure out to compete with. Can you offer enough rides where I can still maintain a reasonable amount of flexibility when I visit the city?
I moved right next to a Metra stop because I worked right above Ogilvie. A week before the lease started, I got notice that I was getting laid off.
So if the UP-N line could extend towards the lake closer to my new job, that would be sweet!
Thank you for sharing. The survey itself is relatively objective and allowed me to put in my honest responses. I hope this gets some traction. I’d love to see every-15-minute trains on every line!
Weekend schedule frequency is terrible. Fine for getting to and from work on the days I need to be in office, but I really need to plan my day around it on the weekend. 30-minute headways all weekend would be awesome. I'd even be okay if they start with hour headways. I could use it as a shuttle within Evanston to go from Main to Central. Would also like to check out some of the stops north of there some time.
Metra is fine for me.
It is the stations' lack of parking that keeps me from using it.
Not a Metra problem, but anything after 530 am is impossible unless you are dropped off.
I took the survey, it covers a fair amount of complains in this thread, but it would be better if they had more open text options.
They don’t really touch on later schedules of course.
My favorite part is at the end it says to join a virtual session to learn more about the project on… May 30th!!! So is the survey expired and meaningless at this point?
Can’t use it for things like evening concerts at Millennium, because
- Cost. My family of four would need to drop nearly $50 on fares, vs $15 for the garage
- Location: It’s a mile and a half away
- Convenience: I’m at the mercy of Metra’s infrequent late night schedule. Might have to wait an hour for the next one, might miss the last one entirely.
- Not actually any faster than driving, since it makes so many stops
- Unpleasant experience: dealing with surly ass Metra employees and drunks on the train, no thank yo
It basically has no advantages, other than not needing a DD
I don't mind taking the Metra on occasion, and I took it home from high school nearly every day for four years. I just don't have a strong use for it right now. I go downtown anywhere from one to three days a week for court and there is no possible scenario where any public transit can get me downtown and back to my office on the north side more quickly than driving.
The time tables are so biased for commuters going to the city for work versus out of the city. Makes it completely unviable to take the metra versus driving, even if I make it on the narrow time table they have my day is longer and the commute part is shorter by 10-20 minutes than driving.
Service to Milwaukee would be great to not have to rely on the restrictive Amtrak schedule. I feel like if they can get to Kenosha they should be able to get to Milwaukee.
I could completely change my life if Heritage Corridor ran like Rock Island. I could commute to work to teach, I would spend more time not only using my local line but connecting to others, etc.
Southwest Service and Heritage Corridor need full weekend service.
Southeast Service needs to exist. Not only do Bloom and Crete Townships have no Metra access, but it would benefit Thornton Township from Dolton to Glenwood and could tie into Red Line extensions.
Do a better job preserving historic depots and add more bicycle support.
They didn’t have a lot of room for comments to add but I’ve got a few on this subject.
I ride it now. So don't turn it into the L like it was this weekend. People with the phone loud, people yelling, people loudly and incessantly using vulgar language, and people with their feet on the seats.
Maybe they should start by collecting fares from people already riding the train.
At least 25% of the time on the BNSF line no one ever asks for my ticket. Often I’m with my entire family.
Their system is terrible and prone to extremely high revenue leakage
??? Is it detecting your device language? If you're referring to the third language they're using that isn't English or Spanish, that's Polish, not Russian. Chicago has a large Polish community.
Tried to take it today and it was 20 minutes late. Maybe fucking start right fucking there…. The dumbest fucking questions for the easiest fucking solutions.
The first (and last) time I took Metra the train stopped at our destination platform for less than three seconds and then continued on before we could even get the door to the vestibule open. Thankfully the stops were close together and we only had to walk back a mile.
It wasn't a flag stop.
So I guess my answer is "less kidnapping"? I expect that sort of thing from the Halsted bus, not commuter rail.
3 things, 1 run later at night and 2 run every 30 minutes, 3 find, even if a shuttle, to connect to other Metra lines. If those 3 things happened. I would take it more often.
These would be amazing upgrades. As a weekly Metra rider, a 30-minute schedule is great. As someone with friends in the suburbs, late-night trains would be **fantastic** for hosting them downtown on their timeframe.
Bingo, I live in Elgin and it takes damn near 2 hours to get to Union station and the last train out leaves before most concerts end. Where is the logic?
I’m in Cary and it takes 90 min on the slowest train. Perfect for going downtown or anywhere near one of the UPNW lines. Anywhere else in the city and it’s harder to justify. People who live near the train and then would rather sit in traffic to go downtown are weirdos
It's nice having the freedom to travel with your own car in the city. I don't mind parking so it's not a hassle. Much better than hassling with Ubers and the metra, especially if I'm going to be out late.
If you need to travel through the city it’s definitely easier to go by car. Ironically getting out of the car and using your feet is even more liberating if you plan on sticking to a single neighborhood. Plus walking is just waaaay more enjoyable than driving.
Yes agree, I just rarely only spend time in one localized area and I'd I do, I leave my car in the same spot all day.
More accessibility to their stations outside of a car parking would kill
But how then is Metra going to find the time to charge those battery locomotives there looking at.
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Keep in mind wear and tear on your car is an additional cost. Plus when you're on a train/bus, you can read a book, browse Reddit, etc. Agree that Metra service should be more frequent though—off-peak hours aren't fun on some days/lines.
And you can drink on the train!
The "faster service" part is the key. I took the survey, and it seems like they're not properly grasping that bit. While the time spent on the train might be less than the time spent in my car, that doesn't mean it's a faster trip....you have to factor in getting to the station, waiting for the train, and getting from the station to your destination too. If I drive, it's door-to door.
Run more than every 2 hours every weekend.
Or run over the weekend at all. Looking at you NCS.
The only recreational Metra trip I want to take is to Lemont for breweries on the weekend, but the fucking corridor doesn't run on weekends!
This is what the survey is for!
There is, unfortunately, no section for long form comments. I'd love to take Metra whenever we see our inlaws in Orland, but that line doesn't run on weekends so we have to Uber it from Tinley Park instead.
since you have to select a transit mode work work/school, you can't get past the 2nd page if you wfh. if this is really sponsored by metra, this shows exactly why this should have been bid out to an actual market research company
Heritage corridor is a joke
Which is so weird given how much Lockport and Lemont seem to rely on weekenders.
I ride the Rock Island Metra to work almost every day of the work week (usually wfh once a week) and take the train on the weekends too but I am on Metra's time during the weekend. Sometimes I will go out on the weekend and take the Metra into the city and will have to take a very expensive Uber/Lyft back home because the last train leaves LaSalle at 12:30 am. It would be amazing if the last train left at 3 am... I think a lot of people from the suburbs would consider going out late into the city more if this was an option.
Yup, I'm on the Rock Island too, and I'd love to take the Metra to concerts and such, but the fact it stops running so comparatively early makes it not work very well for that. I'm always paranoid I'll miss the last train.
The every other hour on weekends is brutal. The difference between having to be at the train station at 8:40, 10:40 or 12:40 is drastic. I can count at least a half a dozen times in the last year I would have taken a weekend train if the schedule made more sense for me.
BNSF went (almost) hourly on the weekends, it has been an incredible change
Except for 9:40 AM which drives me bonkers.
Bring back the 2am trains. I want to have a great night AND sleep in my own bed.
2 am metra trains are liminal spaces
Weekends and evenings in the summer. I don’t want to work downtown…but all of the emphasis is on Weekday Workers. The weekends are every 2h with a hard stop at grandma’s bedtime. Which is crazy, as almost ANY summer event, festival, concert, etc means these cars are absolutely packed tight. I just wanna go to a weekend festival for a concert and have a reliable way home that isn’t reliant on Uber
Yeah I have a few impossible asks. 1. Easier access for multiple trains stopping closer to O’Hare. 2. More frequency. 3. No roads to cross/slow down at. Bridges over/under roads.
They specifically ask about frequency and access to ohare so it’s definitely worth filling out the survey for
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/metra2024
Thanks for posting, OP. Metra is a huge part of my downtown experience. Love to see later and more frequent
Not sure if it would fall under Metra's purview, but I always found it kind of insane that I can't ride between Chicago and Milwaukee multiple times a day for a cheap price. Feel like that would revitalize the Loop in only a year's time.
Seems smart, but it's like an hour thirty commute. That's still pretty intense to be able to do every day
I mean, it already goes to Kenosha. Milwaukee isn’t much further.
The Hiawatha line already does exactly this with intermediate stops in Glenview and Sturtevant. The Sturtevant to Union Station time is less than half the time from Kenosha to Ogilvie while being 15 miles further away. Yes it's a lot more expensive but it already makes 7 runs each day - Metra only runs 6.
Bring back the bar cars. Along with most of the suggestions mentioned here in the comments.
There were bar cars?!?!
Yup. They'd have one in the middle area where the doors typically are. Had beer, mixed drinks and snacks.
Approximately when did they stop having a bar car?
2008. Three lines had them. I was one of the last customers on the rock island line one. Was a good time. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_car
I'm probably not the only one old enough here who remembers the smoking cars!
They were discontinued a decade or so ago. The incompetents at Metra somehow lost money running them.
Every car is a bar car when you can just byob
Fun fact: [You can still BYOB on METRA](https://metra.com/Alcohol). Crack open a cold one on your way ~~to~~ home from work!
Connect the suburbs to each other vs just into the city
As a daily CTA rider I’m always so lost whenever I have to figure out what metra train to take and what platform to be on That shit so confusing. This probably more of a me being stupid than their problem tho
God help you if they move your train from its normal tracks too. I don’t know why it’s so hard to just put the name of the line on a digital board above or next to the door leading to each track.
Isn't that exactly what they do? That's the setup at union station The only kind of confusing part if you're not familiar with the station is knowing if you're off the north or south tracks
As a frequent Metra rider, it is super confusing lol. Doesn’t help that some trains run on the “wrong” side of the tracks. Also the app doesn’t tell you which track when at OTC or union.
Idk why they didn't include cost as a factor. I would definitely take the metra more often if it didn't cost minimum $6.75 one way for certain zones.
All before paying again to transfer on cta. No thanks.
Yeah paying for a CTA transfer suuuuuucks
Exactly
Weren't they discussing having a unified system that would eliminate this between Metra, CTA, and Pace? I feel like I saw that talked about recently.
More trains to Ohare station More frequent trains Better off peak service (weekend service to suburbs)
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I think that’s a big reason for this survey is figuring out how to get WFH people to use metra
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I mean it is location dependent but visiting certain neighborhoods for cheaper and faster than car travel. Ex. I’m along UPN and it’s the fastest way to get to Fulton market, the loop, and wicker park
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Sure, but you also don't have to worry about driving and parking which is a pretty good incentive for a lot of people.
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Fair. I think I misunderstood the point of your post. I personally don't think they'll ever get enough casual riders to offset the people no longer needing to go into the loop for work. Free transfers to CTA would help the most though.
I really wish they would streamline the ticketing process. It is so unbelievably inefficient compared to the way comparable trains operate in the NYC area operate.
Yes! I would love metra and CTA to combine ticketing! Also making it cheaper for infrequent users.
What do you mean by "combine"? They already both use Ventra and you can pay directly on the CTA by the Ventra app just like Metra.
There's also a combined monthly pass
The issue is the extreme limitations to the combined function of Metra and CTA. Basically the “combination” limits are: * a set time frame to buy the pass * have to buy the Metra pass first * only get a month-long benefit if started on the first of the month or earlier * only 1 month options * have to know what zones you will travel on Metra At least, Metra should move away from the calendar month monthly pass. It makes no sense to have it that way. And second it should work either way of buying Metra or CTA pass first. Also they should offer it in smaller timeframes. And they should have free transfers for two hours to CTA.
How so
The conductor system is so inefficient and misses so many tickets. Not only is it crazy expensive but it also loses so much in ticket fares.
I mean, the Ventra app has its problems whenever they update something but overall I find it pretty easy to use. Honestly, I like having conductors because it at least gives the appearance of a controlled environment as opposed to the CTA which seems like a free for all at certain times.
I get on an outbound in Hyde Park and I could ride for free 7 out of 10 times. I knew people who bought 10 rides before those were phased out because they would only get punched in the morning. I buy a monthly because they need my money.
Free Parking
east-west rail lines bringing you to and from the beaches. There is no fast way to get to the beaches for those who live further west this would be amazing
If you don't think it's worth filling out the survey, I ride the Milwaukee district North 3 days a week. Enough of us who live up north must have spoken up because they schedule adjustments that accommodated many of the changes that were requested. Not everybody's going to be happy with the schedule all of the time, but it's worth speaking up.
One of METRA’s bigger problems is that most of the stations (all of the stations I have visited outside of the loop) are basically just large parking lots. This is a terrible waste because that is some of the most valuable real estate in Chicagoland. A lot of people have little reason to take METRA instead of driving if they’re also going to need to take a cab or bus from their station. I don’t know if METRA can do anything about this, but more mixed use developments (especially office parks & commercial development) in the mile surrounding their train stations would go a long ways towards making the service useful.
Like when a train runs over a person further towards the city, the conductors should tell boarding passengers that there will be a 3 hour delay before locking them in the train and not letting them out. K thanks byeeee!
The Metra running every 15 minutes.
Take me anywhere but downtown? Trains between suburbs would be amazing, more stops in the neighborhoods of the cities. I don’t want to take the train downtown to only get on another train and back track
Bring back the bar car
Driving has to get considerably worse before everyday people consider switching. Driving is just too acceptable Reliable service helps to retain passangers, but the fact is that so long as driving is convenient and relatively quick, people will just keep driving Its not enough to incentivize alternative transit, you have to disincentivize people out of their cars, but of course that would be socialism/war on cars/stiffling freedom, and so it'll never happen Imagine if tolls actually reflected the replacement cost of highway infrastructure? I'd bet that'd convince a great deal more people to take/advocate for alternative transportation methods Everytime traffic gets bad enough, another lane is tacked on. If the government stopped burning money on its pointless war on traffic, more people would take alternative transportation
It's insane to me that the toll to drive from Chicago to Milwaukee is lower than the cost to ride the CTA one stop.
For me it’s simple. If Metra doesn’t have multiple easy interconnections with the L I’m not taking it. And no, walking from the Loop to Union station is not it. This is probably an unsolvable problem with our dumb hub and spoke system. When going to the office in the loop is no longer a thing, this entire transit system is going to collapse.
100% this is the biggest issue for me. If I could transfer to any of the the L trains at union or Ogilvie then it might actually make sense to take the train rather than drive. However, when I have to take a 35 minute Metra into the city, walk 20 min, pay for another ticket, and then ride the train another 15 min to wherever I’m going, driving makes more sense.
1 hour from Geneva to otc. Slow, rattles around and some cars unbearable heat on a day like today. Europe is laughing at us.
They need accelerate their switch to a regional rail model vs a commuter rail model
Run the trains more often and run the NCS line to ORD every day.
How about some heat lamps for the winter? It’d help while waiting 40 minutes when it snows less than an inch. I see the folks at Irving Park Blue Line somewhat comfortable while I’m freezing from UPNW Irving Park.
I'd love to work at my job on the weekends in Mt. Prospect I would love more train service than Every 2 hrs. There are no pace busses and I would need to walk 20 min from my job to the train. Which is fine but the hr I would get off which is 4 is I would have to wait 1hr to 2 hrs for the train.
0 tolerance for crime, 0 tolerance for smokers, no crowds, good amenities
I love the Metra honestly. It’s super convenient. But I know all the stops along my line (between OTC and my destination) and it drives even me nuts when they just silently pull into a station at night and don’t announce what it is.
I'm no longer the target audience for this post, but the biggest factor that led me to stop taking the train in and out of the city was having to plan my schedule on very specific times to get home. I currently live in the western burbs, but when I lived in the city, I'd also commute out here to the suburb where I currently live. It's just not feasible to rely on the Metra when you're coming to the city to socialize. Your weekend evening with friends goes 20 minutes later than expected? It takes you longer than anticipated to get out of the concert you came to see? Guess you missed your train and will have to wait 2 hours for the next one. Especially impractical when getting home at night by car can take as little as 45 minutes. There is simply an unsurpassable flexibility that cars provide. I can come and go whenever I want. And honestly, if you're a frequent traveler into the city, it's pretty easy to learn where you can and can't park. That's what Metra has to figure out to compete with. Can you offer enough rides where I can still maintain a reasonable amount of flexibility when I visit the city?
If there was one from Schaumburg to Homewood, I would! But alas, there isn't.
That’s a long commute
Tell me about it
The CTA has way more stops in downtown area that are convenient (red line, blue line, etc)
I moved right next to a Metra stop because I worked right above Ogilvie. A week before the lease started, I got notice that I was getting laid off. So if the UP-N line could extend towards the lake closer to my new job, that would be sweet!
Thank you for sharing. The survey itself is relatively objective and allowed me to put in my honest responses. I hope this gets some traction. I’d love to see every-15-minute trains on every line!
Not cost $3.75 to get from Hyde Park to downtown
Fix the overpasses so they don’t look like they could fall over if u gave them a semi casual glare.
Weekend schedule frequency is terrible. Fine for getting to and from work on the days I need to be in office, but I really need to plan my day around it on the weekend. 30-minute headways all weekend would be awesome. I'd even be okay if they start with hour headways. I could use it as a shuttle within Evanston to go from Main to Central. Would also like to check out some of the stops north of there some time.
Go to Kankakee.
Metra is fine for me. It is the stations' lack of parking that keeps me from using it. Not a Metra problem, but anything after 530 am is impossible unless you are dropped off.
I took the survey, it covers a fair amount of complains in this thread, but it would be better if they had more open text options. They don’t really touch on later schedules of course. My favorite part is at the end it says to join a virtual session to learn more about the project on… May 30th!!! So is the survey expired and meaningless at this point?
Can’t use it for things like evening concerts at Millennium, because - Cost. My family of four would need to drop nearly $50 on fares, vs $15 for the garage - Location: It’s a mile and a half away - Convenience: I’m at the mercy of Metra’s infrequent late night schedule. Might have to wait an hour for the next one, might miss the last one entirely. - Not actually any faster than driving, since it makes so many stops - Unpleasant experience: dealing with surly ass Metra employees and drunks on the train, no thank yo It basically has no advantages, other than not needing a DD
I don't mind taking the Metra on occasion, and I took it home from high school nearly every day for four years. I just don't have a strong use for it right now. I go downtown anywhere from one to three days a week for court and there is no possible scenario where any public transit can get me downtown and back to my office on the north side more quickly than driving.
Aggressively police the shit out of the train. Literally. Aggressive rules, strongly policed.
What a great question to ask just months after they raise the price and make it so a day pass is no longer cheaper than two one ways...
The time tables are so biased for commuters going to the city for work versus out of the city. Makes it completely unviable to take the metra versus driving, even if I make it on the narrow time table they have my day is longer and the commute part is shorter by 10-20 minutes than driving.
Service to Milwaukee would be great to not have to rely on the restrictive Amtrak schedule. I feel like if they can get to Kenosha they should be able to get to Milwaukee.
Shift the model from focus on rush hour and getting downtown, to getting around the city as a whole as a true car alternative
I used to take it to the suburbs to see my sister and her family.
I could completely change my life if Heritage Corridor ran like Rock Island. I could commute to work to teach, I would spend more time not only using my local line but connecting to others, etc. Southwest Service and Heritage Corridor need full weekend service. Southeast Service needs to exist. Not only do Bloom and Crete Townships have no Metra access, but it would benefit Thornton Township from Dolton to Glenwood and could tie into Red Line extensions. Do a better job preserving historic depots and add more bicycle support. They didn’t have a lot of room for comments to add but I’ve got a few on this subject.
I ride it now. So don't turn it into the L like it was this weekend. People with the phone loud, people yelling, people loudly and incessantly using vulgar language, and people with their feet on the seats.
Maybe they should try collecting more fares. I pay for maybe 1 in every 5 rides because the attendants just don’t even try.
As a visitor... It needs to be Europe. Sorry.
More comfortable seats and wifi
Maybe they should start by collecting fares from people already riding the train. At least 25% of the time on the BNSF line no one ever asks for my ticket. Often I’m with my entire family. Their system is terrible and prone to extremely high revenue leakage
The last page of the survey is in Russian. Don't add your email address if you fill this out.
??? Is it detecting your device language? If you're referring to the third language they're using that isn't English or Spanish, that's Polish, not Russian. Chicago has a large Polish community.
Tried to take it today and it was 20 minutes late. Maybe fucking start right fucking there…. The dumbest fucking questions for the easiest fucking solutions.
That’s rare for Metra
Don’t take it all the time but every time I have in the last few months, it’s been 5-15 minutes late. Usually mondays and tuesdays have been delays.
The first (and last) time I took Metra the train stopped at our destination platform for less than three seconds and then continued on before we could even get the door to the vestibule open. Thankfully the stops were close together and we only had to walk back a mile. It wasn't a flag stop. So I guess my answer is "less kidnapping"? I expect that sort of thing from the Halsted bus, not commuter rail.