Latest news with #NorthernIndianaCommuterTransportationDistrict
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
South Shore Line fares increasing July 1 in first jump since 2018
Fares for South Shore Line riders will increase an average of 10% on July 1 after a 4-1 vote by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton voted no Wednesday, explaining he had more questions about it before he could support it. General Manager and President Michael Noland said the fare increase comes after the railroad has depleted its savings following the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We have not had a fare increase on this RR since 2018,' he said. Planned increases were skipped when the pandemic caused ridership to plummet. As the railroad went to the Statehouse looking for additional funding, Noland said, state officials asked, 'What are you doing with respect to self-help?' The railroad has been conservative with its operating expenses and partnered with labor unions to find ways to reduce expenses and turn that into wages, he said. Still, a fare increase was needed. Noland said the fare increase will bring in about $1.25 million to $1.5 million in additional revenue annually. The fare increase is a big jump, at an average of 10%, but it's been a long time coming. The consumer price increase has gone up 'something like 35%' since 2018, he said. Future fare increases are likely, perhaps 5% every other year beginning July 1, 2027, if inflation is around 2.5% per year, he said. The railroad held five public hearings on the fare increases in April and May and solicited comments in writing and by email as well. 'We received feedback. No one ever raises their hand and says please, please, please raise our fares,' Noland said. The hearings in Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph counties didn't draw any attendees, Director of Strategic Planning and Grants Kelly Wenger said. 'We did not have a tremendous opposition to it,' Noland said. In implementing the fare increase, the railroad is eliminating its buy-one-get-one-free promotion for monthly tickets. 'We heavily discount our monthly tickets,' which have historically been the railroad's bread and butter, Noland said. 'They're still important riders to us,' but ridership trends are changing. The pandemic taught companies that employees working at home could still be productive. Fewer people working in an office five days a week means fewer riders each day. Now a lot of workers are in the office just two or three days a week, Noland said. They're not necessarily working 9 to 5 in the office, either. Some just need to be there in time for a 9:30 a.m. staff meeting and can leave earlier, affecting rush hour demand for trains. 'The monthly ticket doesn't make sense to them. They're not getting the value out of it,' Noland said. Instead, they might opt for a 10-ride or 25-ride ticket. With the new fare structure, a 10-ride ticket is discounted 10% over the single-ride rate. It previously was discounted 5%. A 25-ride ticket now will be discounted 20%, rather than 10%. The monthly ticket price is going up 10%. 'We're going to keep it. We're not going to get rid of it,' Noland said. It will be up to riders to decide which ticket best serves their needs. The railroad's overall ticket sales have jumped 32.4% for the first four months of this year, compared to the same period last year. One-way tickets are up 33.2%, and monthly tickets are up just 8%, the lowest increase of any type of ticket. 25-ride ticket sales are up 11.6% and 10-ride tickets are up 11.7%. The railroad offers reduced-price fares for senior citizens, active duty military, children under 13 and riders with disabilities. In addition, up to three children 13 and under can ride free when accompanied by a parent on weekend, holiday and off-peak weekday trains. Wenger, whose many duties include compliance officer for Title 6, which affects low-income and minority communities, said they're not adversely affected by the fare increase, based on 2024 ridership data. Hudson Lake, the one community showing a disparate impact for the new fare structure, was based on insufficient response for that community. Only one person responded to the survey. 'Hudson Lake on a good day has four riders,' Noland said. The last passenger count was three, Wenger said. 'We must have lost someone somewhere along the way.' On-time performance has improved dramatically in the past year even as more trains are operating. Weekly trains reporting on-time performance increased 142% and trains arriving within 10 minutes of scheduled arrival time are up 85%. Noland, looking at a chart on the performance increase, remarked, 'I wish my stock portfolio looked like that.' The board discussed potential impacts on ridership from external events. If the state decided to turn the Borman Expressway into a toll road, that 'likely would drive, from an economic standpoint, ridership to the South Shore Line,' Noland said. 'That shifts their mentality: Maybe you know what, I'm going to take the train,' he said. When the Dan Ryan Expressway was under construction, ridership hit an all-time high. Board chair Lyndsay Quist, who heads the Indiana Department of Transportation, said her agency did some preliminary work when the General Assembly talked this past session about tolling on the state's expressways but hasn't submitted a formal request to the federal government yet.
Chicago Tribune
08-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
South Shore riders complain of late, packed trains; railroad considering 10% fare increase
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District got an earful from a handful of riders Tuesday night at the last public hearing on a proposed 10% fare increase for South Shore Line passengers. The fare increase would be the first since 2018, the riders were told in the meeting at Hammond Public Library. Riders complained about packed trains and late trains, among other issues. 'On top of doing away with the BOGO, you're increasing the fare,' one rider said. The buy one month, get one free promotion was begun as a way to boost ridership when the COVID-19 pandemic caused ridership to tank, Director of Strategic Planning and Grants Kelly Wenger said. One of the riders said she boards the train at Hammond and disembarks at 57th Street in Chicago. 'I'm barely on the train 20 minutes,' she said, but the new fare would be $203 a month. 'That's a lot of money just to go from Hammond to 57th Street,' she said. Even with parking, a monthly ticket from Metra would be cheaper, she said. Allen Hammond, NICTD's grant developer and administrator specialist, said Metra owns the stations the South Shore uses in Illinois and determines the fares on that side of the state line. 'You have a monthly fare, but in all reality, you also have specialized fares' with Metra, Hammond said. Metra riders can buy a ticket for an entire day, and it's a flat fee. 'That one fare basically pays it all.' The South Shore has fares for one way, 10 or 25 rides, or monthly. Reduced-price fares are available for senior citizens, active duty military, children under 13, and riders with disabilities. In addition, up to three children 13 and under can ride free when accompanied by a parent on weekend, holiday and off-peak weekday trains. For a rider boarding at Portage/Ogden Dunes or Dune Park, the one-way fare to Millennium Park would rise to $10 each way, a $1 increase, with the reduced rate at $5, a 50-cent increase. A monthly ticket would be $277. Hammond noted that unlike the South Shore, which hasn't raised fares in seven years, Metra does so every year. That's why the 10% fare increase seems so high, he said. NICTD General Manager and President Michael Noland has told the railroad's board that fares should be raised more frequently, at smaller increments, to keep up with increased operating costs. 'Basically, the fare increase is strictly for operations,' Hammond told the riders Thursday. 'We have salaries and stuff of that nature that has to be paid.' Recent and ongoing construction projects aren't a factor, he said. The railroad, state and federal government have been pouring money into capital improvements, starting with adding a second track between Gary and Michigan City to speed trains and add capacity. The Monon Corridor expansion is set to begin operating from Dyer to Chicago later this year. A third major construction project, at about $250 million, will add a fourth track to ease the bottleneck on Metra's system. NICTD will gain a dedicated platform at the 57th Street station for South Shore passengers as part of that project. One rider who boards at East Chicago said her train is late every day. Wenger said the railroad's on-time performance has improved dramatically. Another rider complained of crowded trains. 'Coming home in the evening, when I get on at 57th Street, we're packed in like sardines,' she said. 'Sometimes I've gotten on the train in the evening, and it's two cars, and we're all packed in there.' Hammond promised to pass those observations along to the railroad folks who determine how rail cars are deployed to make sure they're aware of that situation. Wenger said the railroad has received roughly the same number of in-person comments as 2018 when the last fare increase was approved. There are more emails now, but that could be attributed to the South Shore offering more virtual options to riders since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she said. At NICTD meetings earlier this year, Noland said the railroad's rainy day fund had run dry. The Indiana General Assembly agreed to give the railroad $40 million over the next two years to help keep the trains running through 2027. 'This was a pretty tough session from a budget standpoint because of the fiscal forecast,' Noland said Tuesday night. 'Everybody understood there was going to be a need to do something,' he said, so legislators agreed to give a two-year aid package. By 2027, the railroad will have been operating two years along the new Monon Corridor route as well as the expanded service along the traditional Lakeshore Corridor, giving better ridership and fare revenue numbers. 'Hopefully, by that time the economy will be red hot,' Noland said. The proposed 10% fare increase showed legislators that passengers would help, too. 'We're seeing month-over-month ridership increases,' Noland said. Public comments on the proposed fare increase are still invited by email, at comments@ until Monday.
Chicago Tribune
01-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
South Shore fare hikes coming; state aid sought to continue operations
A previously announced 10% fare increase for South Shore Line passengers is expected this year, to be followed by future price hikes to keep up with inflation. The 10% increase could be approved as soon as the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board's May meeting. General Manager and President Michael Noland briefed the board Monday on the need to avoid a fiscal cliff after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the railroad's coffers along with ridership. 'Because of the loss of ridership, there also was a corresponding loss in revenue,' he said. The railroad is also seeking state assistance as the Indiana General Assembly drafts its biennial budget this month. 'We will get some kind of funding this year' from the state, Noland said, but just how much remains to be seen. The Legislature has an April 29 deadline to complete its work, including passing the 2026-2027 budget. The 10% fare increase, now going through the approval process, is intended as a way to not just increase revenue but also to show state officials that the railroad is doing its share to improve its bottom line. Railroad officials have had 'great meetings' with legislative leaders and the governor's office, Noland said. 'I'm cautiously optimistic.' 'We have burned through our rainy day fund,' he said, so a cash infusion is needed to keep operating and begin to rebuild reserves. Before the pandemic, the railroad had enough cash reserves to cover eight to nine months of operating costs, Noland said. During the pandemic, ridership plummeted during the stay-at-home order. While it's growing again, it hasn't reached pre-pandemic levels. More than 200,000 riders used the train in January 2019, with about 125,000 riding it in January 2025, according to a chart shared with the board Monday. That's a significant boost over January 2024, when the double-track project still required busing passengers to Gary's Metro Center station. March data was of course not available Monday, but ridership numbers for the St. Patrick's Day parade and dyeing the Chicago River will show March to be a good month for riders, Director of Capital Investment and Implementation Nicole Barker said. In 2023, the events drew 4,680 riders, growing to 4,930 in 2024 and 11,109 this year. Barker also serves as the railroad's marketing director. As the railroad improves its on-time performance, Noland looks forward to the railroad being able to boast about its on-time performance. When the double-track project was completed enough to start putting more trains in service last May, on-time performance was dismal, Noland acknowledged, at around 25% to 30%. 'There was not a single moment of recovery time in the schedule,' he said. The railroad tweaked the schedule and saw on-time performance improve to 55% to 60%. Since the newest schedule took effect on Feb. 18, performance is even better, often at 100% for rush hour trains, he said. 'We really have come a long way. We're not done,' he said. 'The low-hanging fruit is all gone.' 'Our goal is to be consistently at 90%. We're very close to that,' Noland said. 'It's going to bleed right into increased ridership,' he said. As the double-track service became operational, Noland communicated often with riders to update them on the railroad's progress and seek public input.
Chicago Tribune
27-01-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
South Shore fare hikes coming this year; budget cushion has worn thin since pandemic
Fares for riding the South Shore Line are expected to increase an average of 10% later this year to make up for the financial hit the railroad has taken since the pandemic began. In addition, state legislators will be asked to kick in an additional $26 million, President and General Manager Michael Noland said Monday. 'That would get us to a healthy point,' he said, for the next 10 years. The railroad hasn't increased fares since 2018, he said. Were it not for the pandemic and the big hit on ridership public transportation has taken since the work-from-home movement began, the South Shore Line would have been in good financial shape with existing fares, Noland said. The railroad had cash reserves of six to eight months of operating expenses prior to the pandemic, he said. 'We have used that cushion to maintain ourselves,' so those reserves need to be built back up, Noland said. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board, which oversees the railroad, approved a 2025 business plan Monday that factors in both the fare increase and the requested cash injection from the state. The Indiana General Assembly is drafting its two-year budget now. Before the fare increases are implemented, the railroad will hold public hearings in the four counties it serves – Lake, Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph. The actual fare increases will vary as the railroad factors in the impact on disadvantaged populations, Noland said. Currently, senior citizens, children and individuals with disabilities are offered half-price fares. 'We had planned regular fare increases prior to COVID, and then the floor was ripped out from under us,' he said. 'No one around the country has put in fare increases in the face of the drastically declined ridership, but given the fact that things have been pretty much stable, the stabilization of the ridership experience, and we put in the new service, we think it's time that we start some series of fare increases.' Inflationary pressures far exceeding the ticket price have hit the railroad, too. 'We, like almost every other commuter property in the country and many other transits, are at the point where we're at a fiscal cliff,' Noland said. 'This is not new because our revenues have been so depleted because of lower ridership.' 'We have spent down our cash reserves to the point where without some kind of structural change in revenue from the state we will be at a point where our ongoing operations are threatened,' he said. Noland's team began talking with leadership in the Indiana General Assembly in 2023 to discuss the situation. Legislators want riders to bear at least some of the burden of refilling the railroad's coffers. Noland isn't certain he'll get the $26 million he's seeking from the state, but he hopes to get a big cash infusion. Meanwhile, the railroad is watching expenses. Labor contracts have been settled for the next several years, so the railroad has a much better idea what operating costs will be over that period. Noland hopes the launch of the new West Lake Corridor service later this year, along with expanded operations resulting from the double track project along the lakeshore route, will also boost revenues. He's carefully watching news about workers being ordered back to the office to see how that will affect demand for commuter rail service. Off-peak and weekend ridership is strong, so Noland is planning an additional weekend train to accommodate it.
