Metra estimates show ridership drop in 2015

Metra ridership shrunk by about 2 percent in 2015, early estimates indicate, although income from passenger fares grew by 8 percent, officials said Wednesday.

The shift is partially accounted for by Metra raising fares in February 2015, although the agency had projected only a 1 percent dip as a result. The decrease is by about 1.75 million passenger trips, from 83.4 million in 2014 compared to 81.6 million last year.

The other factor could be lower fuel prices, Executive Director Don Orseno said. But commuter rail is "still a better value (than driving). You get on a train, you can read a book, do work, get into a conversation."

The agency will ramp up a marketing campaign in 2016 to push the value of transit, he said.

Metra planners said they'd continue to dig into the numbers and offer more analysis in February when presenting final ridership numbers. There were 82.3 million passenger trips in 2013.

Metra will enact another fare increase Feb. 1 and possibly raise ticket prices in 2017 to help pay for operating and capital expenses such as new train cars and locomotives.

But administrators noted they were trying to cut costs in 2016 and pointed to reductions in police overtime hours and payouts.

In 2013, police overtime cost Metra $2.25 million compared to $1.66 million in 2014 and $1.53 million last year.

Changes to scheduling to deploy more officers during peak hours and in trouble spots, plus decreasing outside contractors, have saved money, said Police Chief Joseph Perez, who was hired in 2014.

"We still have additional strategies to deploy," Perez said, adding he is working with Cook County officials to reduce the amount of time officers need to spend in court.

Metra also receives more than $620,000 a year in federal subsidies for police overtime, said Perez.