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The crux of the issue is that while federal aid gave the transit authorities a lifeline when fare-box collections plummeted during the pandemic, they now need to replace that funding, which currently makes up about 20% of operating funding. Rides have returned to about 60% of pre-pandemic levels and the drop in fares is the largest contributor to the anticipated funding gap in 2026, according to the report.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Why just the other day I read here about a possible new Statewide Sales Tax for Chicago Transit problems. Sounds to me like the plan is already made and the article is just window dressing so buckle up downstater’s and prepare for more taxes to support the great Chicago Transit System.
Tax increases, fare hikes, and service cuts to close the public transit funding gap will do nothing to halt the flow of fleeing Illinoisans.
WP Readers, you need to travel on a train in Japan to truly experience public transportation.
A side benefit is you can witness a train cleaning crew in action. Imagine an Indy 500 pit stop for an entire train and you’ll get the picture.
The inside of a bullet train is like a brand new airliner. And I didn’t see anybody smoking dope on them either.
I presume all Japan is like that. Same in Vienna. My daughter was on a work/study thing there this summer. Public transportation, as well as the roads and traffic manners, are all impeccable. Americans should be horrified by how far we’ve declined.
In homogeneous, high trust societies, where individuals respect the social norms, public services tend to be very nice and efficient. In diverse, low trust societies, where significant numbers of people engage in anti-social behaviors, you’re going to get dope smoking and half-eaten chicken wings littering the floor red line el train cars.
Mark, it was 21 years ago and I only took trains in the Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya regions. I was impressed and I thought then as you do now.
Having just visited NYC and Montreal, it is night and day. Montreal’s new trains look generations ahead of CTA’s new trains. All the cars are connected, making it far more spacious and easy to get around. NYC service was also great. Travelling across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, we encountered only one homeless person sleeping across seats. The trains were much cleaner. Short wait times. Never once did we feel not safe, and that includes leaving Coney Island at night.
UBER is killing the CTA.
CTA is its own worst enemy; its employees lackluster work-performance affecting ridership and daily basis. Clean-up your vehicles and stations! Enforce basic comportment and public civilities in both employees and customers. If CTA vehicles were clean and safe, then ridership would significantly increase – back to pre-Covid levels, perhaps higher, given high cost of automobile use in Chicago (gas, parking, insurance, et al).
“…the drop in fares is the largest contributor to the anticipated funding gap in 2026, according to the report.” Hmmm,,, So everyone in Illinois pays more taxes because people who live in the Chicago Metro don’t want or need to ride the CTA’s busses-n-trains. Where, I wonder, does this new tax stand in the long line of all the other new taxes that BJ promised in his campaign? Oh well, no matter. We can always balance a bigger budget in Illinois by ‘borrowing’ a few more billion from the public employee union’s constitutionally guaranteed pension funds. Stick with what works… Read more »
Chicago Transit Riders Have Abandoned The System — Which Is Now A Crime Infested, Drug-Ridden, Chaos Breeding, Piss And Shit Stinking Disaster — But Chicago Transit Agencies Want A Giant Tax Hike/Taxpayer Bailout
According to TransitChicago.com website, a 30 day CTA pass costs $75. It used to be over $100, so why not raise the cost of the 30 day pass back to the $105 it used to cost?
I stopped at metra train crossing today, and a nearly empty inbound train passed us by. My son asked me, true story, “why is that train empty, mommy?”
Metra’s prognosis is not good.
My observation is that Friday Metra traffic is very light, followed By Mondays. Tuesday through Thursday are easily the heaviest, but down from pre-Covid.
Metra probably has more traffic on the weekends than on Fridays.