Due to declining on-site ticket sales at its Lake Bluff Station, Metra today announced Union Pacific (UP) will no longer staff the station with a ticket agent as of the close of business Thursday, Dec. 8.
UP’s decision to eliminate on-site ticket sales at Lake Bluff, where more than 600 passengers board each weekday, is part of the railroad’s ongoing effort to align resources with demand. In October, customers at the Lake Bluff Station purchased 271 tickets, the lowest number of tickets sold at all stations staffed by an agent on the UP North Line.
“Technology is changing the way our customers buy tickets,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “About 25 percent of all Metra tickets are now sold electronically through the Ventra App, and we expect that trend to continue to grow in the years to come.”
After Dec. 8, customers who use the Lake Bluff Station will be able to purchase a one-way paper ticket onboard from a conductor at no extra cost. Customers also may purchase tickets from an agent or vending machine at all five downtown stations, online at metrarail.com or through the free Ventra App, available at the App Store or Google Play.
Although the ticket office is closing, customers will continue to have access to the station facility at Lake Bluff.
Metra previously eliminated on-site ticket sales at the Riverside Station on the BNSF Line, the 91st, 95th and 99th Street stations on Metra’s Rock Island Line, Bensenville station on the Milwaukee West Line, 57th Street on the Metra Electric Line, Hubbard Woods on the UP North Line and Harvard on the UP Northwest Line.