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Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Editorial: Chicago's transit agencies want you to panic. They don't explain the whole truth.
What is a rider's responsibility to a transit agency? Pay your fare and show courtesy to fellow travelers and hard-working staffers. That's all. Riders are customers, after all. But if you listen to our panicked transit agencies, that list of rider requirements now includes frantically lobbying Springfield for $1.5 billion in additional money to prevent the so-called fiscal cliff. If you don't obey Chicagoland's Regional Transportation Authority, you're unleashing a variety of horrors, including 'devastating service cuts that would leave 1 in 5 Chicago riders without the use of transit for their regional commute,' no Pace bus service on weekends, vastly reduced Metra service, and innumerable other undesirables. 'This isn't just a transit crisis — it's a regional emergency,' insists RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden in a mailer that came our way. 'If the General Assembly does not act this spring, hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will wake up in 2026 without a way to get to work, school or medical appointments.' And, like all supplicants in Springfield, the agency likes to use the phrase 'fully funded,' as if there was general agreement as to how much subsidy transit should receive. The message is clear: If the trains don't show up anymore, it's the fault of Springfield and transit customers who did not listen to those who understood the crisis. Not the fault at all of the people in charge of actual transit. This level of panic stoking, of course, does not come cheap. The Tribune reported last month that Metra had agreed to pay its lobbyist 'as much as $4.65 million in part for work related to a looming transit budget crisis,' a head-spinner given how that big bill surely contributed to the same crisis it was supposed to fix. What the mailers don't say is that the Chicago area's transit agencies aren't alone in their financial trouble. Other cities share their dilemma. Why? Well, here's what McKinsey had to say last winter: 'Transit agencies in the United States are at an inflection point,' the consultants wrote in a clear-minded report. 'Ridership — along with revenue generated from fares — remains, on average, significantly below pre-pandemic levels. Costs continue to rise as agencies … pay more to expand services and adopt innovations that are demanded by riders. Aging infrastructure is creating growing maintenance backlogs. Meanwhile, federal subsidies, which helped many agencies stabilize their operations and workforce during the disruptions caused by the pandemic, are expected to largely expire in the coming year.' There's the problem in a nutshell: Riders have not returned in part due to hybrid work schedules, maintenance costs have been deferred, and the federal COVID money is running out. Meanwhile, the Chicago Transit Authority now is spending a stunning $5.1 billion on the Red Line extension (RLE). If you look back at the second paragraph of this editorial, you'll see that big ask of Springfield is a mere $1.5 billion; less than a third of the cost of an extension that, while worthy on an equity basis, is unlikely to attract hordes of new riders, especially if there are new service cuts. Of course, the reason the extension is going ahead is because it attracted $1.9 billion in federal money that could not have been applied to actually operating a CTA line. Welcome to the wacky world of transit funding. Money for politically attractive extensions but no money for actually running the trains on those lines. Look also at the $1.9 billion (also bigger than the RTA's ask) the state put into track improvements for a 'higher speed' Amtrak line to St. Louis. That achieved modest improvements in journey times when fright trains don't interfere and we've enjoyed riding that service, which beats driving. Yet there are only four trains a day in each direction. But the Red Line extension cost overages are something else. Transit advocate Nik Hunder laid it out late last month on the Substack known as 'A City That Works.' 'First, this project is disastrously expensive,' he wrote. 'The RLE will be the most expensive transit project per mile and most expensive per new passenger gained in North American history.' Here are the stunning details, per Hunder: 'When the CTA first pitched this project … in 2009, the original cost estimate … was only $1.09B (not adjusted for inflation). The estimated cost remained at $1.09 billion until 2016, when the price doubled to $2.3 billion. In 2022, it shot up to $3.6B, which is partially attributed to inflation and rising construction costs (though those increases were not to the tune of $1.3B). After the CTA received notice in 2023 that it was in line for $1.9B in federal funding, the cost estimates for the project continued to rise and quickly. In March 2024 it was $3.6B. In July it was $3.9B. In August, it was $4.3B, then 12 days later it was $5.3B and finally in October, it reached $5.75B. A 60% increase in seven months.' Ergo, anyone with basic math skills can see that the federal money now is covering an ever-smaller percentage of the total cost, which likely means saddling the CTA with enormous amounts of ongoing debt, even as other CTA lines like the poor Forest Park section of the Blue are plagued with lengthy slow zones for want of track improvements. Mayor Brandon Johnston constantly defended his embattled former CTA chief by saying Dorval Carter was great at getting federal money. What he never mentioned was how that money was paying for an ever-smaller proportion of the project. The CTA has said it will increase service this spring on some lines, but few Chicagoans think there are enough reliable trains, certainly not compared with London's Victoria Line, where trains arrive like clockwork every two minutes. It's crazy to extend a system when the existing system is in such disrepair. Hunder again: 'Local media only reported the updated values as part of the overall news about the CTA's progress in securing federal funding. … Celebrating the total value of a project is becoming a troubling trend in Chicagoland. Rather than evaluate an infrastructure project based on its value to communities, local officials are evaluating projects on how much they are willing to invest in disadvantaged communities regardless of whether it is cost effective and leaves an acceptable debt burden to those same communities and the city at large.' Amen to that. But what are ordinary Chicagoans who believe a great city needs effective public transportation to do? How do you show your disgust at all of the above and yet also prevent a situation where you cannot take a convenient bus or train? McKinsey's report actually suggested that some of these deficits are ballooning to the point where local and even state governments can't plug the hole, even if they wanted to do so, not something you hear from the RTA. But the consultancy also outlined some of the things that both Springfield and ordinary riders should demand right now, all of which suggest that merely begging legislators for money won't change much: 'Boosting non-farebox revenue, achieving more efficient results from operating budgets, and making better-informed choices about capital expenditures can all be ways to help strengthen transit agency balance sheets — while also accelerating the service availability, frequency, reliability, and quality improvements that riders value the most,' McKinsey wrote. That can be as simple as getting staffers to hustle so standing times for buses and trains are reduced (a chronic problem in Chicago and yet also a way to improve public safety) and more closely matching service to post-pandemic patterns of demand. It could involve transit-oriented development of agency-owned land, selling air rights to private developers, unloading office space, selling more parking, firing chronically absent staffers, vastly improving retail operations at stations, consolidating administrators and administrations, building better inter-line connections to boost ridership, offering premium express routes and focusing bosses' efforts not on just asking Springfield for money but on partnering with developers and actually building economic activity around transit modes. All are great McKinsey-esque ideas, some of which are being pursued, to a point. But in the case of Chicago, it's getting mighty hard to argue that a well-informed choice about capital expenditures was made by the CTA. We may be solving one fiscal cliff only to deal with another down the line. One final point. There is no inherent requirement that Chicago transit be run by the city of Chicago or one of its existing agencies. McKinsey also points out that big cities don't always directly run their own transit agencies and sometimes outsource to more able managers. We'll end with the smart transit advocate Illinois Rep. Kam Buckner on this matter: 'Want to energize Springfield?,' he wrote to the RTA on X. 'Don't pressure us. Impress us. Show us a plan. Show us discipline. Show us that the priority is riders — not optics. We don't need a marketing campaign. We need a turnaround.' Exactly. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
Chicago Tribune
27-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Chicago's transit agencies want you to panic. They don't explain the whole truth.
What is a rider's responsibility to a transit agency? Pay your fare and show courtesy to fellow travelers and hard-working staffers. That's all. Riders are customers, after all. But if you listen to our panicked transit agencies, that list of rider requirements now includes frantically lobbying Springfield for $1.5 billion in additional money to prevent the so-called fiscal cliff. If you don't obey Chicagoland's Regional Transportation Authority, you're unleashing a variety of horrors, including 'devastating service cuts that would leave 1 in 5 Chicago riders without the use of transit for their regional commute,' no Pace bus service on weekends, vastly reduced Metra service, and innumerable other undesirables. 'This isn't just a transit crisis — it's a regional emergency,' insists RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden in a mailer that came our way. 'If the General Assembly does not act this spring, hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will wake up in 2026 without a way to get to work, school or medical appointments.' And, like all supplicants in Springfield, the agency likes to use the phrase 'fully funded,' as if there was general agreement as to how much subsidy transit should receive. The message is clear: If the trains don't show up anymore, it's the fault of Springfield and transit customers who did not listen to those who understood the crisis. Not the fault at all of the people in charge of actual transit. This level of panic stoking, of course, does not come cheap. The Tribune reported last month that Metra had agreed to pay its lobbyist 'as much as $4.65 million in part for work related to a looming transit budget crisis,' a head-spinner given how that big bill surely contributed to the same crisis it was supposed to fix. What the mailers don't say is that the Chicago area's transit agencies aren't alone in their financial trouble. Other cities share their dilemma. Why? Well, here's what McKinsey had to say last winter: 'Transit agencies in the United States are at an inflection point,' the consultants wrote in a clear-minded report. 'Ridership — along with revenue generated from fares — remains, on average, significantly below pre-pandemic levels. Costs continue to rise as agencies … pay more to expand services and adopt innovations that are demanded by riders. Aging infrastructure is creating growing maintenance backlogs. Meanwhile, federal subsidies, which helped many agencies stabilize their operations and workforce during the disruptions caused by the pandemic, are expected to largely expire in the coming year.' There's the problem in a nutshell: Riders have not returned in part due to hybrid work schedules, maintenance costs have been deferred, and the federal COVID money is running out. Meanwhile, the Chicago Transit Authority now is spending a stunning $5.1 billion on the Red Line extension (RLE). If you look back at the second paragraph of this editorial, you'll see that big ask of Springfield is a mere $1.5 billion; less than a third of the cost of an extension that, while worthy on an equity basis, is unlikely to attract hordes of new riders, especially if there are new service cuts. Of course, the reason the extension is going ahead is because it attracted $1.9 billion in federal money that could not have been applied to actually operating a CTA line. Welcome to the wacky world of transit funding. Money for politically attractive extensions but no money for actually running the trains on those lines. Look also at the $1.9 billion (also bigger than the RTA's ask) the state put into track improvements for a 'higher speed' Amtrak line to St. Louis. That achieved modest improvements in journey times when fright trains don't interfere and we've enjoyed riding that service, which beats driving. Yet there are only four trains a day in each direction. But the Red Line extension cost overages are something else. Transit advocate Nik Hunder laid it out late last month on the Substack known as 'A City That Works.' 'First, this project is disastrously expensive,' he wrote. 'The RLE will be the most expensive transit project per mile and most expensive per new passenger gained in North American history.' Here are the stunning details, per Hunder: 'When the CTA first pitched this project … in 2009, the original cost estimate … was only $1.09B (not adjusted for inflation). The estimated cost remained at $1.09 billion until 2016, when the price doubled to $2.3 billion. In 2022, it shot up to $3.6B, which is partially attributed to inflation and rising construction costs (though those increases were not to the tune of $1.3B). After the CTA received notice in 2023 that it was in line for $1.9B in federal funding, the cost estimates for the project continued to rise and quickly. In March 2024 it was $3.6B. In July it was $3.9B. In August, it was $4.3B, then 12 days later it was $5.3B and finally in October, it reached $5.75B. A 60% increase in seven months.' Ergo, anyone with basic math skills can see that the federal money now is covering an ever-smaller percentage of the total cost, which likely means saddling the CTA with enormous amounts of ongoing debt, even as other CTA lines like the poor Forest Park section of the Blue are plagued with lengthy slow zones for want of track improvements. Mayor Brandon Johnston constantly defended his embattled former CTA chief by saying Dorval Carter was great at getting federal money. What he never mentioned was how that money was paying for an ever-smaller proportion of the project. The CTA has said it will increase service this spring on some lines, but few Chicagoans think there are enough reliable trains, certainly not compared with London's Victoria Line, where trains arrive like clockwork every two minutes. It's crazy to extend a system when the existing system is in such disrepair. Hunder again: 'Local media only reported the updated values as part of the overall news about the CTA's progress in securing federal funding. … Celebrating the total value of a project is becoming a troubling trend in Chicagoland. Rather than evaluate an infrastructure project based on its value to communities, local officials are evaluating projects on how much they are willing to invest in disadvantaged communities regardless of whether it is cost effective and leaves an acceptable debt burden to those same communities and the city at large.' Amen to that. But what are ordinary Chicagoans who believe a great city needs effective public transportation to do? How do you show your disgust at all of the above and yet also prevent a situation where you cannot take a convenient bus or train? McKinsey's report actually suggested that some of these deficits are ballooning to the point where local and even state governments can't plug the hole, even if they wanted to do so, not something you hear from the RTA. But the consultancy also outlined some of the things that both Springfield and ordinary riders should demand right now, all of which suggest that merely begging legislators for money won't change much: 'Boosting non-farebox revenue, achieving more efficient results from operating budgets, and making better-informed choices about capital expenditures can all be ways to help strengthen transit agency balance sheets — while also accelerating the service availability, frequency, reliability, and quality improvements that riders value the most,' McKinsey wrote. That can be as simple as getting staffers to hustle so standing times for buses and trains are reduced (a chronic problem in Chicago and yet also a way to improve public safety) and more closely matching service to post-pandemic patterns of demand. It could involve transit-oriented development of agency-owned land, selling air rights to private developers, unloading office space, selling more parking, firing chronically absent staffers, vastly improving retail operations at stations, consolidating administrators and administrations, building better inter-line connections to boost ridership, offering premium express routes and focusing bosses' efforts not on just asking Springfield for money but on partnering with developers and actually building economic activity around transit modes. All are great McKinsey-esque ideas, some of which are being pursued, to a point. But in the case of Chicago, it's getting mighty hard to argue that a well-informed choice about capital expenditures was made by the CTA. We may be solving one fiscal cliff only to deal with another down the line. One final point. There is no inherent requirement that Chicago transit be run by the city of Chicago or one of its existing agencies. McKinsey also points out that big cities don't always directly run their own transit agencies and sometimes outsource to more able managers. We'll end with the smart transit advocate Illinois Rep. Kam Buckner on this matter: 'Want to energize Springfield?,' he wrote to the RTA on X. 'Don't pressure us. Impress us. Show us a plan. Show us discipline. Show us that the priority is riders — not optics. We don't need a marketing campaign. We need a turnaround.'
Axios
24-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
"Unprecedented cuts": Chicago could see major public transit cuts, RTA warns
The parent agency for mass transit in the Chicago region says it needs help from Springfield. And fast. Driving the news: RTA Chicago, which oversees CTA, Metra and Pace, issued a warning Friday that all three agencies will face "unprecedented cuts" if the General Assembly doesn't allocate more state money to it before the end of session in May. Why it matters: Transit leaders have foreshadowed the more than $770 million fiscal cliff expected next year, but this is the first time specific service cuts have been detailed to this extent. RTA says cuts will leave one in five Chicagoans without transit for their daily commute, no weekend service for Pace riders and the loss of nearly 3,000 transit-related jobs. The agency warns those changes would just be in the first year and likely exacerbate. State of play: The price to avoid all the service cuts and affiliated damage is an additional $1.5 billion for the annual operating budget, according to RTA. This year, RTA's budget is about $4.1 billion with about 17% of that coming from the state. Nearly 30% of New York City's mass transit budget comes from state dollars, and state dollars fund about half of Philadelphia's budget. What they're saying: "It's a regional emergency," RTA executive director Leanne Redden said in a statement. "If the General Assembly does not act this spring, hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will wake up in 2026 without a way to get to work, school or medical appointments with continued uncertainty in future years about their transit services." The other side: "Through seven Illinois Senate Transportation Committee Hearings with approximately 30 hours of testimony, we have heard directly from business, union, environmental, and good government groups along with numerous local elected officials about the importance of funding our public transit system," state Sen. Ram Villivalam tells Axios in a statement. "Members of the Senate Transportation Committee have been clear. There will be no funding without reform … we aim to deliver legislation that ensures an improved level of service, a governance system that holds the delivery of that service to account, and adequate funding." Zoom in: Reform is in line with what RTA wants too, spokesperson Melissa Meyer tells Axios. "Revenue and reforms are needed to achieve the transit system our region wants and needs," an RTA memo from Friday says. Reforms outlined include transit agencies providing RTA with quarterly reports on service quality and directing any new funding beyond filling the budget gap toward improving and expanding service — not for administrative or management positions. Between the lines: Villivalam and other lawmakers introduced the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act last year which would combine CTA, Metra, Pace and RTA to create a more streamlined system with one budget rather than the fragmented revenue and expenditures that come with four agencies. Yes, but: Leaders of those agencies have largely opposed the legislation. The bill is not assigned to a committee as lawmakers meet with stakeholders to make any necessary changes before advancing it, a spokesperson for Senate Democrats tells Axios. By the numbers: 500,000 CTA riders could be without a bus stop as CTA estimates 74 of its 127 bus routes would be cut. At least half of the CTA's eight rail lines would see service cuts. Weekday Metra trains would run once per hour and every two hours on weekends. Weekend Pace bus service would be reduced. Pace's ADA-transit would run but shrink by more than 60% on weekends. What's next: CTA workers are canvassing Wednesday during morning and evening rush hours at Damen, Jefferson Park and Forest Park Blue Line stations, as well as at the Howard and 95th Street stations to raise awareness of potential cuts.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chicago's ‘doomsday' transit crisis: Major service cuts loom without funding
The Brief Without additional funding, key transit routes in Chicago could be cut or altered by next year, affecting thousands of commuters. The RTA faces a $770 million shortfall in 2026, which could lead to major service reductions on CTA, Metra, and PACE, including cuts to train lines and bus routes. Lawmakers have until the end of May to secure funding, or services for riders with disabilities and other commuters may be severely impacted. CHICAGO - Essential public transit services could be derailed by an unprecedented fiscal cliff, unless additional funding is secured—and fast. Officials with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)—which oversees finances and funding for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, and Pace—revealed that a $770 million annual budget shortfall is on track to take effect in 2026. What we know Transit officials say they have been warning for years that the budget will face a gap when COVID relief dollars run out. Now, officials are calling the $770 million shortfall a 'doomsday' scenario, which would result in significant cuts to the CTA, Metra, and Pace. "We're going to face some pretty devastating transit cuts across our region," said RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden. "People won't have reliable ways to get to work." Redden estimates that widespread cuts would cause one in five city workers to lose their daily commute. The crisis could result in service elimination on four of eight "L" train lines, while closing or reducing service to roughly 50 rail stations. CTA bus routes would shrink by more than 50 percent. Plus, early morning and late evening Metra trains could be cut, along with Metra Electric's Blue Island Branch. The cuts would also have major implications for riders with disabilities, who rely on paratransit services. Pace would stop operating on weekends, weekday wait times would increase, and late-night service would be reduced on 62 routes. These drastic cuts would cause a ripple effect in all corners of the city and suburbs. Officials say it would take years to undo the damage this causes. What they're saying Xavier Potts, a member of the RTA Citizens Advisory Board, said the cuts would be devastating for many riders. "I'm lucky that the options to travel from where I am are robust as it is. But, there's so many individuals within the city, areas within the city where the CTA is their connection to the rest of the city. It's their lifeline," Potts said. "Especially people on the South and West Side. They have one rail line, a couple of busses with schedules that are already pretty few and far between." Potts, who is a recent UIC graduate, says students will also face extreme difficulties when it comes to getting to and from class. "This isn't just a transit crisis—it's a regional emergency," said RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden. "If the General Assembly does not act this spring, hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will wake up in 2026 without a way to get to work, school or medical appointments with continued uncertainty in future years about their transit services. This doomsday scenario can still be avoided as long as our state partners vote to fully fund transit operations before it's too late." Redden adds that fares would also increase, and a decrease in ridership would lead to additional problems. "For those people who never get on a bus or train, think about it in terms of all those extra cars on our already congested highways," Redden said. "The traffic congestion in our region will just become untenable. It just has this sort of cyclical effect of sort of driving everything down. Again, not an outcome that we want for our region." What's next If the Illinois General Assembly secures proper funding by the end of its spring session, trains and buses will continue running as scheduled. Lawmakers have until the end of May to find a solution.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
RTA outlines ‘doomsday' transit cuts if budget gap isn't filled, including slashing bus and train lines
More than half of Chicago's bus routes could be eliminated, at least parts of four 'L' lines could shut down and Metra weekday service would be slashed to once an hour under a transit doomsday scenario. Those are some of the cuts under consideration if lawmakers fail to plug a $771 million budget gap expected to hit the region's four transit agencies as soon as next year, when COVID-19 relief funding runs out, the Regional Transportation Authority said Friday. Also on the table are fare hikes and job losses. The potential cuts represent a worst-case scenario if none of the budget hole is filled. The reductions would dramatically slash service across the CTA, Metra and Pace, limit access to buses and trains across the city and suburbs and bring dire economic consequences to the region, the RTA warned. 'People have to understand what the consequences are of not filling the funding gap,' said RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden, calling the effects of the potential cuts 'devastating.' The agency outlined the situation as debate in Springfield heats up over the future of transit. Transit agencies and advocates have pushed to boost funding, while lawmakers have said their focus is first on the way transit is overseen. Two bills under consideration by the General Assembly address oversight, with one calling to consolidate the CTA, Metra, Pace and the RTA into one entity, and another, backed by a coalition of labor groups, aiming to boost coordination among the existing agencies. The RTA, for its part, has acknowledged that reform of transit is needed and supports measures similar to the labor-backed bill. Chairman Kirk Dillard has called for a stronger RTA that would coordinate fares, service and construction projects among city and suburban bus and train agencies. He has also proposed fare hikes, savings from the new oversight model and more state funding to generate more money for transit. But funding remains a pressing issue, RTA officials have said. They and other advocates have pushed to not just close the budget gap but go further and find $1.5 billion in new money to overhaul the system. With the extra money, transit could grow and efforts already underway could expand, like a CTA plan to run buses every 10 minutes on key routes or Metra's work to run more trains throughout the day rather than focusing on commuting hours, RTA officials said. CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen previously said additional money also could allow trains to run every six minutes and overnight service to expand. Failure to plug the budget hole, on the other hand, could lead to dramatic cuts. And planning could start this summer if lawmakers fail to act by the end of the legislative session, agency officials said. The CTA, Metra and Pace would begin planning for service cuts as part of their budget processes and would be required to give public notice on proposals to slash service or raise fares. That could happen through the summer and fall, for changes to begin taking effect in 2026. 'You cannot really balance this kind of budget gap with service reductions,' said Maulik Vaishnav, senior deputy executive director of planning and capital programming at the RTA. 'There has to be full eliminations on the table.' More specifics about routes and lines that could be affected would be identified during the planning process. In the meantime, the transit agencies have warned of the scale of the potential cuts. On the CTA, service could be cut on all or at least some branches of half of the agency's train lines, and 50 stations could close or see service slashed. Trains could run 10% to 25% less often, and as many as 74 of the agency's 127 bus routes could be eliminated. Metra service could be cut by 40%, and trains would run once per hour on weekdays and once every two hours on weekends. Early-morning and late-evening trains could be eliminated, and service could stop running entirely on a branch of the Metra Electric line that runs to suburban Blue Island, cutting off access to seven stops. The BNSF line, Metra's busiest, could be cut from 91 trains per day to 44. Cutting Metra service could be especially challenging because it would take years to bring back, the RTA said. Metra shares tracks with freight railroads, which makes changing service complex, and the agency could lose staff to the other railroads who would be difficult to replace. Pace suburban bus service also would see steep cuts, affecting shift workers who rely on the buses to get to jobs and residents who use buses for medical appointments and errands. All weekend Pace service could be cut. Routes that now run every 15 to 20 minutes could run every half-hour, and buses that now run every 30 minutes could have their wait times double. Service after 8 p.m. would end on 62 routes. Paratransit service for people with disabilities is federally mandated, but the service area could be cut by more than half on weekends, the RTA said. The cuts would leave communities without transit, with the CTA bus eliminations alone cutting off access for 500,000 residents, the RTA estimated. They would also bring consequences for the entire region. The cuts could mean $1 billion in lost wages annually for the Chicago area as access to job opportunities is lost, according to the RTA. Almost 3,000 transit workers could be laid off. And the budget shortfall could kick off a cycle of funding shortages and service cuts as fewer people ride. Traffic congestion also could skyrocket as more people buy cars instead of turning to transit, worsening emissions and air quality and causing gridlock that would make travel times 30% longer, according to the RTA. 'The whole network ends up being devastated and ends up providing workers with many, many fewer commuting options,' Redden said. 'So it becomes less of a viable service for them to use.' The RTA is not advocating for a source of funding for transit, Redden said, though the agency has analyzed 11 potential options, including tweaking sales taxes, congestion pricing and increasing vehicle registration fees. The RTA also pointed to what it described as decades of underfunding as a contributor to the looming budget shortfall. Illinois funds 17% of transit operations, while New York covers 28% and Philadelphia covers 50%, the RTA said. The state also reimburses only 4% of the cost of paratransit services and 14% of the cost of free and reduced-fare programs for seniors and disabilities, the RTA said. Though the service cuts outlined Friday paint a dire picture for transit in the Chicago area, Leerhsen, at the CTA, has said the agency is working to ensure they never happen. At a board meeting this month, she said raising the alarm was part of the plan. She also pledged to consider equity when detailing potential cuts, making sure certain communities would not see disproportionate cuts. 'I don't want people to worry here at CTA that that will happen, because we're on the case and we're working hard to make everyone understand the importance of transit,' she said.
