Ever hear of free reverse commuting?

In Washington, DC, the MARC and VRE system have a bilateral agreement where one carrier will honor another's monthly pass for reverse commutes during the rush. In other words, if I commute in from the Maryland side but my job is out on the Virginia side rather than downtown, the second carrier will let me ride for free on the second leg of the ride. It doesn't seem like many people would take advantage of this as that's a long day on the train, but does Metra allow this? IE, could I ride in from Joliet on the Rock and back out to Glenview on the MILW-N with only one pass?

I don't see why not. I've done just that a couple times (not for commuting, just visiting someone) - got on the Rock at 103rd, took it downtown and hustled over to Oglivie where I got on a UP-N train to Wilmette. Metra's monthly ticketing system doesn't have any roadblocks that could prevent people from using a pass on all lines, more than once during a day. You're just restricted to the zone letter on the front.

Tadman and Byte: I find the MARC/VRE arrangement interesting because we are talking about two separate carriers here...

Systems like METRA that use generic tickets systemwide all you would need is the higher letter zone monthly that would apply...

SEPTA (Higher numbered zone or Anywhere pass) or the LIRR (higher destination eastern zone) are a possibility here...

MBTA would again simply require the higher zone pass-I have heard that their Zone 8 is their version of an "Anywhere" pass...

Metro-North is a little more complicated since I believe Connecticut zone New Haven Line passes/tickets are not valid on the NY Harlem/Hudson lines...
If you for example commute to a Hudson Line destination via 125th Street or GCT from a Harlem Line station you would need the higher number zone fare...
New York NH line stations (Mount Vernon West thru Port Chester) can be used also - a conversion chart shows what Harlem/Hudson zones would equal to that line's stations for interline or alternate use. MNCR also allows WOH (Port Jervis/Pascack Valley Lines-NY Stations) commutation tickets to be used EOH in the appropriate H/H zones to GCT.

New Jersey Transit is interesting in that you must again have the higher priced ticket to commute between lines via Newark,Hoboken or Secaucus but I remember seeing mentioned that not all tickets can be used on alternate lines...perhaps someone from the NJT section can clarify that if possible...

In closing it is not exactly "free" reverse commuting but simply purchasing the higher price ticket and getting that second section "free"...

Insight and observations from MACTRAXX

This also works with 10-ride tickets as well, though you'd have to notify the conductor in advance. On the first leg, they will either punch "I" (if it's a stopover) or "O" (if transferring downtown, or between local and express trains on MED), then the number is punched on the second train to your destination. Depending on which segment of your trip is longer, you'll need to have a ticket corresponding to that zone; in Tad's example above, he would need a 10-ride that was bought in Joliet (zone H)...

MACTRAXX wrote:Tadman and Byte: I find the MARC/VRE arrangement interesting because we are talking about two separate carriers here...

Systems like METRA that use generic tickets systemwide all you would need is the higher letter zone monthly that would apply...

SEPTA (Higher numbered zone or Anywhere pass) or the LIRR (higher destination eastern zone) are a possibility here...

MBTA would again simply require the higher zone pass-I have heard that their Zone 8 is their version of an "Anywhere" pass...

Metro-North is a little more complicated since I believe Connecticut zone New Haven Line passes/tickets are not valid on the NY Harlem/Hudson lines...
If you for example commute to a Hudson Line destination via 125th Street or GCT from a Harlem Line station you would need the higher number zone fare...
New York NH line stations (Mount Vernon West thru Port Chester) can be used also - a conversion chart shows what Harlem/Hudson zones would equal to that line's stations for interline or alternate use. MNCR also allows WOH (Port Jervis/Pascack Valley Lines-NY Stations) commutation tickets to be used EOH in the appropriate H/H zones to GCT.

New Jersey Transit is interesting in that you must again have the higher priced ticket to commute between lines via Newark,Hoboken or Secaucus but I remember seeing mentioned that not all tickets can be used on alternate lines...perhaps someone from the NJT section can clarify that if possible...

In closing it is not exactly "free" reverse commuting but simply purchasing the higher price ticket and getting that second section "free"...

Insight and observations from MACTRAXX

Everyone: NJ Transit is unique in that you can purchase a monthly/weekly pass that reads between your origin and destination and shows the junction points also-the price will be equivalent to the higher priced leg of the routes used...I tried to edit my post but I decided to quote myself instead...MACTRAXX

doepack wrote:This also works with 10-ride tickets as well, though you'd have to notify the conductor in advance. On the first leg, they will either punch "I" (if it's a stopover) or "O" (if transferring downtown, or between local and express trains on MED), then the number is punched on the second train to your destination. Depending on which segment of your trip is longer, you'll need to have a ticket corresponding to that zone; in Tad's example above, he would need a 10-ride that was bought in Joliet (zone H)...

There aren't any checks and balances to prevent it on a monthly pass, but I don't think it would work between lines on a 10 ride... Conductors recognize the punch marks on their own lines. If they see foreign punches on a 10-ride, I don't think they're going to agree with you on what constitutes a transfer...

eolesen wrote:

doepack wrote:This also works with 10-ride tickets as well, though you'd have to notify the conductor in advance. On the first leg, they will either punch "I" (if it's a stopover) or "O" (if transferring downtown, or between local and express trains on MED), then the number is punched on the second train to your destination. Depending on which segment of your trip is longer, you'll need to have a ticket corresponding to that zone; in Tad's example above, he would need a 10-ride that was bought in Joliet (zone H)...

There aren't any checks and balances to prevent it on a monthly pass, but I don't think it would work between lines on a 10 ride... Conductors recognize the punch marks on their own lines. If they see foreign punches on a 10-ride, I don't think they're going to agree with you on what constitutes a transfer...

I talked this over with a UP/W conductor tonight, and he said that you CAN use them for transferring to other lines, but both trains would have to be either inbound or outbound; you can't use them to transfer between trains downtown as I previously thought. With that in mind, transferring on a 10-ride is pretty much limited to:

* Between local and express trains on MED at 57th St. or Kensington

* At Blue Island between RID and MED

* At River Grove between MDW and NCS

There may be other similar cases, but you get the general idea. He also confirmed what is written on the on the back of my (and every other) 10-ride ticket: Conductors must be notified of stopovers or transfers in advance, so that I" or "O" next to the number is punched first...

Monthly tickets allow you to ride unlimited on any line in any direction between the zones specified on the ticket. If you want to ride beyond the zone on the ticket, you must notify the conductor and pay $1 for the first zone, then 50 cents for each subsequent zone. For example, using a zone D ticket to zone F would cost an additional $1.50 each way.

pretty certain the $1/zone also works for 10-rides. I'll try to ask later this week... enjoying a week of telecommuting (which is why I use 10-rides instead of a monthly).

eolesen wrote:pretty certain the $1/zone also works for 10-rides. I'll try to ask later this week... enjoying a week of telecommuting (which is why I use 10-rides instead of a monthly).

The same extra fee structure does indeed apply to ten rides as well, you'll get charged an additional $1 for traveling beyond the zone on your ticket, but unlike a monthly, it's 25 cents for each additional zone...