Chicago Transit Cuts Threaten City Over $771M Budget Shortfall

The Regional Transportation Authority revealed Chicago transit cuts on Friday, targeting buses and trains if lawmakers ignore a $771 million deficit. Over half of Chicago’s bus routes could disappear, and four “L” lines might shrink soon. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

This crisis looms because COVID-19 relief funds vanish next year, hitting CTA, Metra, and Pace hard with reductions. Officials also consider fare hikes and job cuts to bridge the financial gap quickly.

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Experts predict these reductions could cripple transit access across the city and suburbs, hurting the economy. RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden called the potential fallout devastating, urging swift legislative action.

Meanwhile, Springfield debates transit’s future, yet funding solutions stall despite growing urgency from advocates. One bill merges CTA, Metra, Pace, and RTA, while another boosts coordination among them.

RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard pushes for a unified authority to streamline fares, services, and construction projects. He suggests fare increases, oversight savings, and more state dollars to fund transit.

However, officials stress the funding issue persists, seeking $1.5 billion to close the gap and grow services. Extra cash could mean CTA buses every 10 minutes and more Metra trains daily.

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Failure to act might spark drastic cuts, with planning starting this summer if lawmakers delay further. CTA, Metra, and Pace would then draft service reductions and fare hikes for 2026.

Public notices and hearings would roll out through summer and fall to finalize these changes. RTA’s Maulik Vaishnav warned that balancing this deficit requires eliminations, not just tweaks.

Details on affected routes and lines will emerge during planning, but the scale alarms officials. CTA could halve train services, close 50 stations, and cut 74 bus routes entirely.

Metra might drop 40% of service, running trains hourly on weekdays and every two hours weekends. Early and late trips could vanish, and the BNSF line might lose half its trains.

Restoring Metra service would take years due to freight railroad overlaps and staff shortages. Pace suburban buses would also see sharp reductions, impacting workers and residents heavily.

Pace might axe all weekend service, doubling wait times on frequent routes from 15 minutes. Evening service after 8 p.m. would stop on 62 routes, stranding many riders.

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Paratransit for disabled riders could lose over half its weekend area, despite federal mandates. Service reductions would disconnect communities, with CTA cuts alone hitting 500,000 residents.

Economically, the region could lose $1 billion in wages yearly as jobs become unreachable. Nearly 3,000 transit workers might lose jobs, triggering a cycle of falling ridership.

Traffic could surge as riders buy cars, hiking emissions and travel times by 30%, RTA predicts. Redden noted this devastation would slash commuting options for workers across Chicago.

The RTA avoids picking funding sources but studies options like sales tax hikes and congestion fees. Redden blamed decades of underfunding, with Illinois covering just 17% of costs.

CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen fights to stop these cuts, rallying support and prioritizing equity in plans. She vows to keep pushing lawmakers to value transit’s critical role.

Source: www.chicagotribune.com

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