Metra goes plastic at downtown stations

Metra riders who’ve had to wait in line to buy tickets at Chicago Union Station while watching CTA customers zip through purchases at nearby automated machines just got a break.

Metra leaders on Friday unveiled vending machines that accept credit cards to purchase one-way, 10-ride or monthly fares. The machines are up and running at Union Station, the Ogilvie Transportation Center and LaSalle Street Station.

Agency officials acknowledged it was a service long overdue.

“It’s the age of credit,” Metra board Chairman Larry Huggins said. “This should have been done a long time ago.”

“It will be useful and convenient at the end of the month when lines get long because customers are buying monthly passes,” Metra Executive Director Alex Clifford said.

Customers will be directed through a series of screens that help determine what type of ticket and what line is desired. A phone that offers assistance is available 24 hours a day.

The machines accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards. The devices at the downtown stations will not accept cash, and at this point they will not take debit cards or prepaid credit cards, officials said.

There are three machines at Union Station near the Metra ticket booths, two at the track level on the south end and one on the ground floor concourse at Ogilvie, and two at LaSalle Street.

There are no plans to add the machines at suburban stations as of yet.

Meanwhile, Metra along with the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and Regional Transportation Authority are working toward a universal fare card system. A state law requires the agencies to offer such a service by 2015.

For more information on the service or about ticket purchases, visit http://metrarail.com/metra.