The 25-cent fare increase recently proposed by the Chicago Transit Authority should help pay for improvements to Evanston El stations, including a $50.5 million renovation at the Howard Street station, officials said.
The cost of riding the El trains or buses would increase from $1.50 each way to $1.75. Administrators hope the increased revenue will cover the $30-million shortage in the CTA’s budget, according to a press release.
It stated that renovations to the local stations at Howard and Main Street are scheduled to begin in 2004. At Howard workers will build a wheelchair-accessible station entrance and turnstile area, as well as new paths between existing platforms. They also will complete general renovations to the viaduct and station.
A path will be added from the new parking garage and bus terminal to the station, and new facilities will be built for the maintenance and red line operations departments.
“The project is expected to be complete in 2007 and will bring major overall improvements and boost ongoing neighborhood revitalization efforts,” CTA spokeswoman Anne McCarthy wrote in an e-mail.
The CTA also plans to begin repairing the Main Street viaduct in mid-2004, a project that will take about a year to complete, McCarthy wrote. The CTA committed to fixing the viaduct, a concern to Evanston residents, in 1999.
The projects at both Howard and Main are part of a $801.3-million capital-improvement plan, which will be the CTA’s largest ever. The project also includes extensive renovations to the blue and brown lines.
Despite the fare increase and residents’ concerns, students probably will not be more likely to get U-Passes unless they show a renewed interest in the program overall, a Northwestern spokesman said.
At a meeting with CTA and Pace officials on Sept. 25, Evanston residents said they would like to see NU students get U-Passes to increase Evanston’s ridership and give the CTA more incentive to improve local service.
The U-Pass program allows full-time students to have unlimited use of the CTA’s bus and rail system. About 74,000 students in the Chicago area participate in the program, McCarthy wrote. This number includes graduate students at NU in business, law and journalism.
Alan Cubbage, NU’s vice president for university relations, said the university looked into getting U-Passes last year but decided the passes didn’t seem appropriate for undergraduates.
“(U-Passes) are really designed for people who ride the CTA every day, ” Cubbage said. “Most of our students don’t use the CTA on a daily basis.”
At Loyola University the fare increase will enhance the value of the U-Pass, which costs Loyola students a mandatory $74 per semester, said Dixie Bennett, who oversees the program there.
The price of U-Passes will not increase, since contracts remain in effect through 2005, according to McCarthy.
Weinberg sophomore Lesley Hollis said she would like to have a U-Pass if it would lead to improvements in CTA service for Evanston, but she did not think most students would benefit from it.
“I don’t feel like people go downtown every weekend,” said Hollis, who added that she typically uses the CTA every other week.
