Don't both the City and the meter company have authority to ticket street parking violators?

I'm pretty sure that's the case, because I needed something ticketed in my alley and there were two different types of people patrolling the spots in front, and the City worker told me only City employees could ticket in the alley and the others could only ticket in the alley.

^ I don't think the meter company has jurisdiction over anything beyond the metered spots. Occasionally they could theoretically serve as eyes and put calls into the City as a courtesy about violations though.

You're right, I misspoke. CPM makes money on the spaces, tickets go to the city. Both CPM and City of Chicago provide assistance to us when people illegally park in our loading zone in front of my building, but only when we request it.

Now there will be a $2.75 surcharge on blue lines trips from ohare. Way to encourage transit usage.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/11/...pose-hikes-to/

Still about 30 dollars cheaper than the cheapest cab ride

I don't have a problem with this. It hits a lot fewer people than raising the overall fare, and it's still a lot cheaper than a taxi - although I can see more couples taking a cab now instead of riding the train, especially if they're not going all the way downtown.

Also in the article:
I somehow doubt that kids are being truant because fares are 85 cents instead of 75 cents. Seems like a silly change.

Im utterly perplexed by these fare changes. Why are they hitting 30 day riders the hardest? Its like a 16% increase for them. And all the while keeping single rides the same price. In what world are you actually penalized for buying things in bulk? I would not at all be surprised to see use of those passes drop, which would seem to run counter to the CTAs goals.

Also, does someone know if the 30 day pass fare increase will also hit those who use a Chicago Card Plus as a monthly pass?

Well at least single ride trips in from the Airport would be reasonable to most out of towners. I'll hate paying it as a local but taking the DC Metro and SF BART this would still seem reasonable in comparison.

Time to stock up on those One-Day and Three-Days for friends visiting!

I'm currently a Chicago Plus Card Pay As You Go member since I live downtown and bike to work so I guess I'm safe for now. But for monthly pass holders this really really sucks.

The price drop for children is silly. I'm sure next years truancy stats will show no correlation.

I doubt the fare increases will create substantial modal switch in commuting. Even if you already own a vehicle but commute by train and decided to ditch your monthly pass, you'd still be paying $300 or more to drive and park in the loop. Many companies also subsidize CTA passes, so there will be a bit of cushion there

But hey, bicycling is always free and federal benefits cover cost of bicycle repairs and maintenance

Well I always take a taxi from the northside to the nearest blue line to the airport. I just pay as I go for the CTA. So, it would almost be the same price to take a taxi all the way now. Not to mention the greater baggage storage, comfort, and convenience of door to door service with a taxi. Or like you say couples or friends going together. Its a bigger impact than you might think.

Now if they extended the Brown line to Jefferson Park I would rather take the train to O'hare. Hopefully someday. :)

To/from anywhere on the north side, a taxi fare to O'hare plus tip will run in the $35-60 range each way; even just getting from O'hare to Jefferson Park (one of the farthest northwest neighborhoods in the city) is an 8 mile trip that will run in the range of $20-25 each way... maybe I'm misinterpreting your meaning here?

Woww--those are big increases. I wonder if they did any studies on potential effects on ridership?

There is no price change *to* the airport, only for trips starting at the airport station.

I doubt it will have a significant effect, if any at all. Last year Metra raised its fares (77% on monthly) and ridership did not suffer.

I doubt there will be much of an effect on ridership. I always thought the monthly pass at $86 was too low.

Why would that be too low? If you're a daily commuter on weekdays (2 rides a day), if the fare is 2.25 that means in a typical month you would barely break even. Im sure people use them on the weekends too, but I doubt with the same frequency.

The CTA isnt going to fix their inherent massive structural problems by constantly hitting up the ridership.

I use mine every weekend.

I am a little pissed about the percentage increase in the one day. I buy them often. I won't stop buying them but I may use my Metra pass more often.

thats great. im just saying that even assuming you do, the cost savings has just been significantly reduced.

this would all make more sense to me if single fares had been increased too.

Well, how much cost for 3-days pass? Is that $20? It's too expensive! This is ridiculous!! We just pay $14 for 3-days passes. What about discounted price for Seniors or Disability?

They won't by never raising fares, either. Costs go up. Despite fares already being 80% higher than they were 20 years ago, as a portion of national average income, CTA fares have fallen over the past 20 years. And relative to inflation they've risen a bit below average. Not by much, but you can hardly expect them to never raise fares when their costs go up.