This week, the RTA announced intentions to seek more control over partner transit agencies as funding and service constraints continue to threaten regional public transit. And on Wednesday afternoon, RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard discussed the RTA’s “Transforming Transit” initiative — a $1.5 billion vision to create a fully funded, seamless, and accountable transit system that will be able to serve everyone in and around the Chicago area —during a luncheon at the City Club of Chicago.
"I'm thrilled as a life rider of the CTA to present the RTA vision for the future of our transit systems," Dillard said during his City Club of Chicago presentation. "With the 2025 legislative session in Springfield now underway, we are at a political moment to think big and fix the chronic underfunding and disjointed governments that have plagued our transit system for too long. There is no time to delay because the consequences of inaction are dire."
Transforming Transit is designed to change the state of transit funding and governance ahead of the 2025 legislative session, Dillard explained. As it stands, a $770 million gap represents 20% of the regional operating budget for Metra, Pace and the CTA. Unprecedented service cuts and fare increases would have to be enacted if the Illinois legislature is unable to seek a funding solution by the end of its spring session this May — an issue that’s impacting transit systems across the country, in addition to Chicago-area transit agencies.
"Our regional transit system has been drastically underfunded for decades,” RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden said separately in a press release on the proposal. “While systems in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia get up to 50% of their funding from their state governments, state funding here makes up about 17%. We know our riders deserve world-class service. To provide it, we need to secure sustainable funding."
Working alongside CTA, Metra, Pace, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and other advocacy organizations, the RTA proposes using $1.5 billion in new annual operating funding from state and local sources to fill the budget gap and other efforts, such as increasing ridership, stimulating the economy, and mitigating climate change.
With Transforming Transit, the RTA believes that wait times could be reduced as much as 50% by adding frequency to existing routes, route extensions, routes on weekends and off-peak hours, and new routes. More frequent, reliable, and expanded service would benefit riders, saving them time and money and allowing them new travel options and connections across the region, RTA leadership believes.
Some of the results from the Transforming Transit initiative could include:
- City rail wait time of 3-6 minutes
- City rapid bus wait time of 4-8 minutes
- City local bus wait time of 6-12 minutes
- Regional rapid bus wait time of 7-15 minutes
- Regional rail wait time of 15-30 minutes
- Regional local bus wait time of 20-30 minutes
Transforming Transit would restructure the region's transit governance by maximizing the impact of operating funding to ensure an improved transit network for all riders. The RTA will work with CTA, Metra, and Pace to achieve efficiency and cost savings. One way the RTA proposes to do that is to use operating funding to fill the budget gap while improving and expanding services versus using funds for administrative or management positions. The RTA estimates $50 million a year in overhead efficiencies and a fare increase of 10% would generate an additional $50 million.
Instead of the current model of distributing responsibilities across several agencies, the RTA proposes that one agency — the RTA itself — handle the most important system-wide issues: fares, service quality, and capital investment. Currently, state law does not allow the RTA to engage in these interconnected areas, nor give it the authority to implement changes and improvements throughout the year. Transformative Transit would create a regional fare policy, regional service standard, enforcement mechanisms, and capital project prioritization based on RTA evaluation and level of need.
"Placing these responsibilities with the RTA will improve riders' experience and boost accountability across our transportation network," Dillard said. "A stronger RTA will allow CTA Metra and Pace to focus on what they do best — that's day-to-day operations — and they won't have to be bothered with some of the things the RTA is willing to take on."
Another change would be combining many free and reduced fare programs, which could lead to additional enhancements like a single, unified regional app that would allow access to easy, simple-to-understand fares and discount programs across the various transit agencies. Future investments in rider information solutions could also lead to better digital signage at transit stations and stops that would include relevant arrival information.
Transforming Transit would also set minimum performance standards for safe, reliable, and efficient transit services in different regions. Some standards include coverage, hours, and frequency regarding mode and geography. Funding would be partially allocated by operators' ability to meet these standards, such as by the RTA allowing third-party operators to fill service gaps by providing vouchers for first and last-mile gaps or canceled service.
The final part of the plan would be to evaluate all the major capital projects using key metrics like impact on accessibility, job access, equity, and climate — which means that the RTA could lead projects that cross operator and geographical boundaries. This level of efficiency, coordination and refined criteria in which RTA conducts its planning, budgeting and operations could help it win scarce federal grant money.
