The base fare on Metro St. Louis is $1.50. This fare is good for one continuous ride on all Metro St. Louis buses and Metrolink light rail. Metrolink operates on the proof-of-payment system. A ticket must be purchased from a machine at any station. Single ride tickets will come with the current date and time already on the ticket. If two or more tickets are purchased at the same time, they will not be imprinted with the date and time, so each one should be validated just prior to use by a machine at the departure station. Stopovers are not permitted, so if you get off a Metrolink train and back on the next one, you must purchase and validate another ticket.

For OTOL Eagle RailFest 2005, the plan is to first board at the Civic Center station (adjacent to the Amtrak station), and head east to the Shiloh-Scott terminus in Illinois. Then we will head west and ride the line from end to end, finishing up at Lambert International Airport. A third ride will bring us back to downtown St. Louis, for dinner and possibly visiting the Gateway Arch. Depending on our evening activities and where we have dinner, we may require a fourth ride to bring us back to the Civic Center station. Four rides would total $6.00. A reduced fare for kids ages 5-12, and senior citizens, is 75 cents per ride, or a total of $3.00.

However, a Day Pass is available for $4.00. This will cover all of our rides on Metrolink. The Day Pass is good on the date of issuance, midnight to midnight, from a vending machine at any station. Additionally, a scratch-off Day Pass is available by internet, which would only be valid on the day scratched off on the pass. To purchase your Day Pass by internet, click here. However, please allow two weeks in advance of your departure date for the Fest to receive it by mail. Otherwise you can always get one from a machine upon arrival in St. Louis on July 16th.

There is no reduced fare Day Pass; children ages 5-12 and senior citizens must either purchase the $4 Day Pass or pay as they go to get the reduced fare, which should total no more than $3 for four rides.

Your shopping list in review

Assuming you will be with us from our arrival in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon until our departure that evening, this is what you should expect to spend, and how you should obtain it. Obviously, if you are going to participate in fewer activities, or are planning to either join us later in the day or leave the group early, the amount will be lower.

As always, bring enough money to cover your meals.