Metra and Pace are celebrating their 40th anniversaries this summer by offering free rides this weekend.
For Evanstonians, this means free rides on the Union Pacific North Line and the Pace buses. The Metra line serves the North Shore suburbs and several Chicago neighborhoods, with some weekend trains going as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin. Pace buses go as far north as Highland Park and as far west as the Northwest Transportation Center near Schaumburg’s Woodfield Mall.
For riders traveling to O’Hare Airport, the offer means a free ride on Pulse Dempster Line/Route 250. The Davis L and Metra station is a major local transit hub; most Pace and CTA bus routes serving Evanston stop either in front of the L station or at the nearby stretches of Davis and Church streets.
Metra was started in June 1984, while Pace was started a month later. Pace spokesperson Maggie Daly Skogsbakken told the RoundTable the transit agency decided to stage the free fare weekend early to coordinate with Metra. Both agencies said they hoped residents who have never used public transit will use the weekend as an opportunity to try them out.
Metra has planned a week of other activities in the lead-up to the anniversary. On Tuesday, June 4, it handed out gifts, including coupons from local businesses, to riders at Ogilvie Transportation Center and other transit centers. Today it’s encouraging riders to share travel photos on social media and on Friday to share their favorite travel destinations. It also plans to launch a museum rail car later this summer, but no further details have been released.
Daly Skogsbakken said that Pace is planning its own activities, which will be announced later this summer.
While both Metra and Pace have struggled to recover their pre-pandemic ridership, weekend ridership has been recovering faster than during the week. According the May 2024 ridership report, the most recent available, Saturday ridership is 92% of pre-pandemic ridership and Sunday ridership is 71% of pre-pandemic levels, versus 57% of weekday ridership.
Union Pacific North Line specifically is doing better than most of the other rail lines. Its Saturday ridership is actually higher than pre-pandemic ridership, while Sunday is 78% of pre-pandemic numbers and weekday is 57%.
Pace indicated its weekend fixed route boardings in March 2024 increased 33% from March 2023 and was up 31% in April 2024 from April 2023.
Metra and Pace were created as part of the reform of the Regional Transportation Authority, which was originally founded to subsidize rail and bus transit services throughout the Chicago area.
The Commuter Division of the RTA Board of Directors held its first meeting on June 8, 1984. The Suburban Bus Division of the RTA was founded July 1, 1984. A year later, the two agencies adopted “Metra” (a portmanteau of Metropolitan Rail) and “Pace” names we know today for marketing purposes.
“Whether you have been riding Metra for 40 years or took your first ride today, we want to thank you,” Metra Executive Director Jim Derwinski said. “And as we look to the past and celebrate four decades of serving the Chicago area’s transportation needs, we are also looking to the future and making plans to continue that service for many more decades.”
“Forty years is a remarkable milestone for any organization. We’ve provided access to transportation through rain, snow, heat waves, and a pandemic,” said Melinda Metzger, executive director of Pace. “We are excited to give back to the communities that have supported us through the years by offering a weekend of free rides. It’s our way of saying thank you and inviting everyone to celebrate with us.”
Metra, Pace offering free rides this weekend is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.