On the bus, you can pay for the one-way ticket in cash. The exact change is required (no change is provided). In 1911, under the direction of utility magnate Samuel Insull, the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust (CER) brought together the four L-type companies, although they still maintained different identities. At that time, several important changes were introduced in the tariff structure.
Before this time, when a passenger traded a car from one company for that of another company, a second fee of five cents was required. After 1913, the CER established the direct route system (between the north and south sides) and instituted Universal Transfers, a free interline shuttle service for trips within the city. The doors that separated the sections of the different companies from the Loop platforms were removed and the Lake Street transfer station was erected to facilitate transfers where the Met elevators and 26% of Chicago's Oak Park crossed Lake and Paulina. The transfer station was not yet ready until a few weeks after Universal Transfers came into effect, so until its completion, blue transfers were issued to walk between the Lake Street station of the Met and the Wood Street station of the C&OP.
A transfer allows two additional trips to be made within two hours of the date of issue. Connections between railway routes are free of charge. The full transfer fee is 25 cents, the reduced one is 15 cents. All transfer cards, public transportation cards, and reduced-fare permits allow you to keep track of additional trips.
Passengers using cash and chips can purchase a transfer card only when paying their base fare. The transfer card is only issued at the time the base fee and transfer fee are paid in cash or with chips. The expiration time, date, vehicle or station number, and type of transfer card are printed on the back of the transfer card. In its last law before being replaced by the Illinois Commerce Commission in 1921, the Illinois Public Utilities Commission made this tariff structure permanent.
