Metra pursues better passenger tracking system, rider app

Metra's board on Wednesday approved a $26.7 million contract to replace the agency's antiquated GPS tracking and passenger announcement system.

Clever Devices Ltd. will install a state-of-the-art system that will include a test of automatic passenger-counting technology. If the test on 11 cars is successful, the agency will determine whether to expand the automatic passenger-counting system, or replace or supplement the current manual counting of riders at stations.

The new system will perform various tasks that now are handled by two separate systems that were installed in 2006 and 2010. The system will track train movements, report a train's adherence to schedules, make onboard and platform announcements, send digital information to onboard and platform signs, and communicate operational changes and alerts to customers, Metra officials said in a press release.

"This new system promises to be a major upgrade to the passenger experience," said Metra Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Jim Derwinski. "It will enable us to do a better job of tracking trains and conveying timely, accurate information to our customers, and it will address some of the common sources of complaints about our communication efforts."

Meanwhile, Metra also has released or soon plans to issue an update to the Ventra app for Android and Apple smartphone users that require them to buy mobile tickets with a Ventra account. The update also addresses an issue that was causing the Android version of the app to crash, Metra officials said.

Creating a Ventra account enables users to take full advantage of the app's features while protecting tickets if a smartphone is lost, stolen, damaged or replaced, they said.