Due to declining on-site ticket sales at its Brookfield Station, Metra today announced that BNSF Railway will no longer staff the station with a ticket agent as of the close of business Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Ticket sales have declined at many Metra stations as passengers have switched to online and mobile purchasing. Although the ticket office is closing, passengers will continue to have access to the station facility at Brookfield, where more than 550 people currently board each weekday. The position is being eliminated through attrition.
In November, customers at the Brookfield Station purchased 964 tickets for the entire month ̶ the lowest number of tickets sold at all 14 stations staffed by an agent on the BNSF Line. The sales, which totaled slightly more than $36,922, were the second lowest on the line.
“As our customers have embraced new technology available to purchase their tickets, we’ve continued to look for ways to be more efficient with our limited resources,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “Eliminating on-site ticket sales at locations where sales aren’t high enough to warrant staffing is simply a good business practice.”
After Feb. 7, customers who use the Brookfield Station will be able to use cash to purchase a One-Way Ticket on the train 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.
Metra previously eliminated on-site ticket sales at the Riverside Station on the BNSF Line, the 91st, 95th and 99th Street stations on the Rock Island Line, the Bensenville Station on the Milwaukee West Line, the 57th Street Station on the Metra Electric Line, the Hubbard Woods and Lake Bluff stations on the UP North Line and the Harvard Station on the UP Northwest Line.