Over the last decade, Metra has made what I perceive to be an honest attempt to be more forthcoming with its riders. It's especially true particularly in matters regarding the procuring of newer and more reliable equipment, and (more importantly) educating the public with more detail about the funding shortfalls that have led to several fare increases over the last few years, as well as the tenuous relationship between its budget and available funding mechanisms. And naturally, the On the bilevel newsletter has been the main platform through which these and other issues are discussed, and not just serving as a de facto complaint department for riders, although that is still present. Details regarding scheduling and operations are also more accessible, though in my view, there's still some mystery attached to certain aspects of such, perhaps out of necessity.
The increased transparency is also manifested in the monthly publication of detailed delay reports for all lines, where certain trains that fall below the 85% on time threshold for the month are listed, complete with the reasons why. The information is located on the "Metra and transparency" section of their website, and when they first started publishing this, I was a bit skeptical, thinking that they sort of made some of the info up as they went along. Thankfully, I have found this not to be the case, at least along the UP-W, the details given for the delays are based in fact, and roughly aligns with what is heard on my radio. Which makes me inclined to believe the details given for the other lines.
Now, if I could only see more women conductors on UP-W...
--Dorian--