Dive Brief:
- Chicago area residents may see up to a 40% cut in public transit after the Illinois state legislature failed to cover an estimated $770 million funding gap starting next year.
- The Regional Transportation Authority of Northern Illinois, which oversees financing and planning for three Chicago-area transit agencies, warned in March it faces a fiscal cliff in 2026 as pandemic-era relief funds run out.
- The Illinois General Assembly ended its spring legislative session May 31. It could take up the funding issue later this year, but that may be too late to avoid service cuts, according to an emailed statement from the RTA.
Dive Insight:
While the RTA along with many other transit agencies received federal funding during the COVID-19 pandemic to help them get through a downturn in ridership, those funds are rapidly running out. The RTA warned as early as 2022 that its agencies would hit a fiscal cliff in 2026. Those agencies include the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra commuter rail and Pace suburban bus services.
The proposed cuts could eliminate almost 3,000 transit jobs, the RTA said. On Sunday, the Labor Alliance for Public Transportation said in a statement that “transit riders and workers alike are left concerned about the future of our communities.” The labor group added that it would “continue to fight for the public transportation system that all Illinoisans deserve.”
The RTA said in a March news release that it would begin planning for cuts “immediately following the end of session if sustainable funding is not secured.” Service on at least four CTA rail lines could be suspended on all or a portion of their routes with train frequencies across the network cut by 10% to 25%. As many as 74 of its 127 bus routes could be eliminated. Metra commuter rail service would be cut by 40% and all weekend service on the suburban Pace bus network could be eliminated, the RTA said.
“CTA, Pace and Metra will now start planning 40% service cuts for their systems because they legally cannot plan service based on funding they aren't certain to have,” an unidentified spokesperson for Better Streets Chicago, a transportation advocacy group, said in a video post on BlueSky.
While RTA begins planning service and job cuts, it said it would continue to work with the legislature.
“We are grateful for the months of work of the General Assembly toward both funding and reform for the region’s transit system,” the RTA said Sunday. “It’s clear that many in both the House and Senate support transit, and our intention is to build on that shared support to identify the funding needed to avoid devastating cuts and disruption for everyone in Northeast Illinois.”
