Posted Nov. 13 at 3:05 p.m.

Come Jan. 1, CTA is going to be pocketing more of our hard-earned cash.  The CTA board today passed the fare hike that would bring some rides as high as $2.25, but the good (or better) news is that the increase in CTA passes isn't as steep as originally proposed by the CTA Prez & Co.  The pass hike will be 15% rather than the 20% previously proposed. 

Check out this Trib item to see how hard your pocket will get hit. Update: Here's a clear-cut chart provided by the C to the T to the A, as well. Then, dip over to my fellow blogger Tracy Swartz's "Word on the Street" for some made-up mass transit words that might get you in a better mood.

Do you think there wasn't as much palpable rider outrage about these increases because it's clear the transit agency needs the cash to keep service running?  Or -- as some riders/readers argue-- are we all so mind-numbed from previous Doomsday threats that this latest change seems like a deal by comparison.

Can I stock up on the $75 passes before the hike kicks in?

"GP" says: I believe that you can, but will try and check with the CTA on this. How many are you thinking of getting?

The fare increase is ILLEGAL! Where were the public hearings?

Even when they do have public hearings, there is a single notification poster on each bus, in English or Spanish, not both. The buses I take only have Spanish signs, which means I (as a regular CTA passenger) was never properly notified of any recent CTA hearings.

Are there any lawyers out there who are willing to launch a class-action lawsuit against the CTA?

So, not only did we have to put up with all of the insufferable scare tactic announcements on every CTA bus ride, last year, to compel us all to help Chicago shake down Springfield, but we're getting a rate hike anyway. CTA got its cake and ate it too--Handouts from taxpayers AND rate hikes.

Maybe it's me... but when I wait for the bus, it really angers me that while I'm freezing, I'm about to pay more for that 'privilege.' There's something psychologically disheartening about a fare increase in the dead of winter.

Well, I thought it was a pretty sucky thing for CTA to increase the fares. Then my wife and I went to New Jersey to visit family and came back this Christmas. Well...we found out while we were out there that in New York they're also increasing fares -- to THREE BUCKS PER RIDE!!! And they've been $2 for at least ten years.

We shouldn't complain. Then again, that doesn't mean I'm not going to use my 30-day pass to give someone a free ride every day in revenge...

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