Chicago's Metra Will Try One-Day Pass

Chicago's Metra transit system charges different fares for different travel distances. A new pilot program will consolidate some stops into zones and offer a day pass for unlimited travel between zones on a given day. "Metra figures the pilot, which will last a year, will cost about $500,000, but the agency hopes that in time ridership will grow and revenues will increase," Mary Wisniewski reports for the Chicago Tribune. The Metra day pass will be sold through the Metra app and would be valid on any line as long as the passenger traveled between designated zones.

The rail corporation which serves Chicago and its suburbs also announced safety updates. "Metra’s busiest line will be the first to have positive train control, a federally mandated technology designed to automatically stop a train to avoid danger if an engineer fails to do so," Wisniewski reports.