TM and Everyone:
I checked further into the comparisons that Tommy Meehan posted and I will add some more fares and options:
First - the fares that TM posted for Mount Kisco - Metro North Zone 6 are as of March 22,2015 MNCR fare chart:
Monthly: $356.00; Weekly (Saturday to Friday) $114.00; Ten Ride Peak $104.25; Ten Ride Off Peak $80.00;
Peak One Way $16.25 in advance and $22.00 on board; Off Peak One Way $12.25 in advance and $18.00 on board.
These fares compare to LIRR Zone 9 fares from Babylon, Deer Park and Northport which are $338.00 Monthly;
$108.25 Weekly (Saturday to Friday); Peak Ten Trip $152.50; Off Peak Ten Trip $93.50; Peak One Way $15.25 in
advance or $21.00 on board; Off Peak One Way $11.00 in advance or $17.00 on board. MTA OW and RT tickets
are valid for 60 days and both ten ride variations are good for 6 months from the date of sale.
SEPTA fares from Doylestown - Zone 4 have some interesting variations: $6.50 is the Weekday One Way to CCP
or $8.00 on board. On trains arriving in Center City Philadelphia after 7:00pm there is a Evening/Weekend one way
ticket available for $5.00 in advance or $7.00 on board. Ten Ride tickets are sold as a "strip" of 10 for $62.50.
- Weekly and Monthly "Anywhere" Passes:
Weekly and Monthly "Anywhere" (in the SEPTA System) cost $53.00 and $191.00 respectively. These passes
cover both Zone 4 and Zone NJ (Trenton and West Trenton, NJ) fares at all times. SEPTA Weekly passes are
valid from Monday to the following Sunday. On board fares are charged regardless if there is or is not an open
sales office available before boarding. All SEPTA OW and 10 ride tickets are good for 6 months from sale date.
For off peak riders the lower priced Zone 3 pass has "Anywhere" privileges during off peak hours on weekdays
which are trains arriving in Center City after 9:30am and leaving before 4pm or after 7pm which are priced at
$44.00 and $163.00 respectively.
ALL Weekly and Monthly SEPTA passes of all types have "Anywhere" privileges on weekends and major holidays.
SEPTA also sells the option of the one day Independence Pass for $12.00 for a individual and $29.00 for a family
which is very competitive for Zone 4 riders. The only restrictions are that they are not valid on trains arriving into
Center City Philadelphia before 9:30am on weekdays and travel to the two zone NJ stations cost $5.00 extra.
These are valid for unlimited use on all SEPTA services for the day that they are used. The Independence Pass
can be bought on board from a Conductor without penalty and will either be a cash fare reciept which can be
exchanged at a ticket office - or the pass itself if the train crew member is carrying them for sale.
SEPTA fare zones are much larger then METRA's in mile size - for example Zone 4 on the Lansdale-Doylestown
Line takes in 12 miles from North Wales (mile 22) to Lansdale (mile 24) and the entire 10 mile Doylestown Branch.
For more SEPTA fare information:
http://www.septa.org/fares" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Download the Fare Brochure - where much of what I have posted is available.
As an equivalent on METRA Zone E passes or higher could be valid anywhere on Metra's system during off peak
hours and all monthly passes could be valid to any stations on weekends similar to the Weekend Pass is honored.
It is good to see that the Heritage Corridor route is coming into its own remembering its history beginning as the
GM&O and ICG "Plug" train evolving into RTA and then Metra operation. This route may well be able to support
increased weekday service and maybe even weekend trains perhaps similar to how the Southwest Service grew.
MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS