(A) On July 7, 2011, Governor Quinn signed into law Public Act 97-0085, amending the Regional Transportation Authority (“RTA”) Act (70 ILCS 3615/1.01 et seq.), to encourage the increased use of technology to enhance the customer experience and increase transit ridership. One requirement of the legislation is for RTA to develop an enhanced interagency transfer fare policy by January 1, 2013. The legislation states that the policy should address the price of interagency fare products, as well as the allocation of revenue generated by the sales of interagency fare products.
(B) RTA has a vested interest in ensuring interagency fares provide value to transit customers as well as transit operators. Interagency fare products that are affordable and convenient to customers can help RTA achieve its priority goals of enhancing the customer experience and maximizing the use of the transit system. An interagency fare policy that grows ridership and revenue, and distributes interagency fare revenue equitably between agencies, is critical to the financial health of CTA, Metra and Pace.
(C) The implementation of open standards fare payment makes the time right for RTA to recommend a comprehensive regional interagency fare policy. The new Ventra system requires CTA and Pace to enter into a new intergovernmental agreement related to interagency fare products and revenue allocation. Metra’s on-going effort to develop a vision for the future of fare collection on their system indicates that they see potential for enhancing the way they do business.
(Res. MET 13-06, passed 2-15-2013)