The Regional Transportation Authority backed legislation during last month’s legislative veto session that gives its three agencies a three-year holiday from the usual 50 percent farebox recovery mandate — the requirement that rider fares cover half of operating costs for the three combined systems. After that, it may be time to reevaluate how rider fares should fund public transit, especially since the pandemic may have brought permanent changes to how people work and commute.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.