Chicago Transit System Three Day Unlimited Pass for $9 GROUPON

http://www.groupon.com/deals/chicago-transit-authority-cta-3?utm...

Well darn. I was just there this weekend!!! But I used the METRA. But would of been nice to get on the CTA if it was available then! First time in Chicago and it was a sweet downtown!

This seems a little harsh? Near the bottom:

Only valid recipients of Groupon email offer are permitted to purchase. Deal cannot be purchased with promotional codes, gift codes, or Groupon Bucks. If you violate these terms, Groupon will refund your purchase and close your Groupon account.

ach1199 said:   Many Chicagoans who take the CTA transportation are not happy today as the daily fare pass increased by about 74% starting today.

Most daily commuters usually have 30 day pass, which went up 16%. Usually, the people who use the daily pass are visitors. The fare increase affected multi-ride holders. The regular single rate is still the same as it was before.

From HPOST:
Last month, the CTA approved increasing the price of all of its multi-ride passes. As of Monday, one-day passes will cost $10 (instead of $5.75), three-day passes will go from $14 to $20, weekly passes from $23 to $28 and 30-day passes will now cost $100, a $14 increase.

The base, single-ride CTA fare will remain unchanged Monday and will continue to do so through 2015, though Blue Line riders departing from O'Hare International Airport and paying with either cash or by buying their ticket from a machine will now have to pay a $5 one-way fare rather than $2.25. Anyone using a Chicago Card linked to a multi-day pass will also be exempt from the new $5 O'Hare fare for six months beyond Monday and O'Hare workers will be permanently exempt from the new O'Hare surcharge.

When in Chicago, just remember to always wear your flack jacket and helmet and keep your head down.

dpid said:   ach1199 said:   Many Chicagoans who take the CTA transportation are not happy today as the daily fare pass increased by about 74% starting today.

Most daily commuters usually have 30 day pass, which went up 16%. Usually, the people who use the daily pass are visitors. The fare increase affected multi-ride holders. The regular single rate is still the same as it was before.

From HPOST:
Last month, the CTA approved increasing the price of all of its multi-ride passes. As of Monday, one-day passes will cost $10 (instead of $5.75), three-day passes will go from $14 to $20, weekly passes from $23 to $28 and 30-day passes will now cost $100, a $14 increase.

The base, single-ride CTA fare will remain unchanged Monday and will continue to do so through 2015, though Blue Line riders departing from O'Hare International Airport and paying with either cash or by buying their ticket from a machine will now have to pay a $5 one-way fare rather than $2.25. Anyone using a Chicago Card linked to a multi-day pass will also be exempt from the new $5 O'Hare fare for six months beyond Monday and O'Hare workers will be permanently exempt from the new O'Hare surcharge. I know you just copied that from the Huff Post and the Huff Post copied it from somewhere else, but whoever wrote the paragraph about O'Hare is completely clueless about how transit in Chicago works.

First, it is impossible to "pay with cash" at a CTA train station. The turnstiles do not accept cash. But you may use cash to buy a ticket called a "Transit Card" from a vending machine located in every train station (including O'Hare).

Next, it is impossible to link a Chicago Card with a multi-day pass, that option does not exist. However, a Chicago Card Plus may be used as a 30-day pass (and only a 30-day pass). All 30-day passes, whether on a Chicago Card Plus or a separate magnetic-stripe card are permanently exempt from the surcharge. It is not possible to buy a Chicago Card or Chicago Card Plus at the airport.

Until July 1, 2013 all Chicago Card cards and all Chicago Card Plus cards (including Chicago Card Plus pay-per-ride cards) are exempt from the O'Hare surcharge.

Until July 1, 2013, the only forms of payment subject to the surcharge are full-fare magnetic stripe Transit Cards.

rushhound said:   cyfan said:   When in Chicago, just remember to always wear your flack jacket and helmet and keep your head down.

Don't hate! It's not like Chicago has a murder problem or anything. Oh wait........

The Deadliest Global City

Among what are considered Alpha world cities, Chicago has the highest murder rate -- higher even than the Third World metropolises of Mexico City and Sao Paolo.

Here’s how we rank in murders per 100,000 among cities we consider our peers, based on a projected murder total of 505 for this year.

Singapore 0.4
Tokyo 0.5
Hong Kong 0.6
Berlin 1.0
Sydney 1.0
London 1.4
Toronto 1.7
Amsterdam 1.8
Paris 4.4
New York 6.0
Los Angeles 7.5
Mexico City 8.0
Moscow 9.6
Sao Paulo 15.6
Chicago 19.4

We could be doing worse: Caracas, Venezuela has a murder rate of 130 per 100,000. But its undeniable that the Windy City is under seige.

That list is incomplete. For example D.C. is an alpha world city on the same level as Chicago and it's 2010 murder rate was over 20 in 2010, and consistently higher than Chicago's. The author of that article is picking and choosing to make their point. Just FYI.

Actually, I find this interesting. I can understand it when restaurants and massage parlors use Groupon-- bring in new customers, even if you only break even or lose money, and hope to get some repeat business later. Transit agencies, though? They're not expensive, and if you're interested in their service you know where to find them.

On the other hand, it makes a certain amount of sense. Locals who use Groupon may not overlap a great deal with the population of regular CTA riders, so introducing them to the system for three days may get them to keep coming back in the future. Then there's tourists-- and anyone who buys the deal is probably more likely to come to Chicago as a tourist, which is probably worth $10 to the city just for the advertising. And some of them will never get around to using the deal anyway.

Hm. Actually it seems pretty smart.