Metra Rail Help (Union: buying, prices, design)

[mattywo85]

I was looking to purchase a 10 ride for the metra and obviously the further away from Union Station you get the more expensive it is. If I just buy a 10 ride at Union, can I still use it to go anywhere or is there some difference in buying it at Union and some other further out location?

[reppin_the_847]

There is no difference between buying the 10-ride ticket at the Union Station, other downtown stations, or outlying stations in the city or suburbs. What DOES make a difference is the actual zone that you purchase the ticket for. For example, a G-Zone or H-Zone ticket will certainly cost a lot more than a B-Zone or C-Zone ticket. You'll need to consult the Metra website (metrarail.com) to determine which zone you'll need to purchase based on your origin & destination. If you ever use the 10-ride to go beyond your designated zone, I believe you can simply just pay the difference (I think it's like $1 per extra zone and .50 per each additional zone beyond the first extra).

Originally Posted by mattywo85

I was looking to purchase a 10 ride for the metra and obviously the further away from Union Station you get the more expensive it is. If I just buy a 10 ride at Union, can I still use it to go anywhere or is there some difference in buying it at Union and some other further out location?

[mattywo85]

So the 10 ride you buy is only good for the zone you buy it in?

[Ace Rothstein]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

So the 10 ride you buy is only good for the zone you buy it in?

Or zones further in. So if you guy a zone D ticket you can ride anywhere within that that zone or zones A through C.

[oakparkdude]

When you buy a ticket you specify the two endpoints of travel. This is true whether its a single use, 10 ride, or monthly pass. The greater the distance traveled, the higher the cost of the ticket. It doesn't matter where you buy the ticket (ie you can buy a ticket for travel between zone A and zone D at any ticket booth anywhere in the Metra system. You can even order tickets online.)

[emathias]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

...
It doesn't matter where you buy the ticket
...

Exactly - Metra would have to be pretty stupid to sell the same ride for different prices at different stations. They may not be perfect, but they're not stupid.