Metra, Loop building managers join forces to promote safe return to in-person work
"There’s no collaborative tool that can replace in-person networking," Metra CEO Jim Derwinski insisted. "You can’t build a company culture on a video call.”
March 15, 2021
CTA, peer transit agencies urge Biden administration to end local hiring ban
Reagan-era legislation prohibits transit agencies from favoring local firms and workers for infrastructure projects. Lifting the ban could provide new opportunities.
March 4, 2021
How COVID-19 impacted has Chicagoland public transportation workers
During the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 1,874 Chicago area transit workers tested positive for the disease, at least 14 had to be hospitalized and at least 14 passed away.
March 2, 2021
Metra looks back at 2020 ridership, ticket sales as it plans for the future
Essential workers, transit-dependent residents, and bicyclists have made up a higher percentage of riders during the pandemic.
February 25, 2021
Metra is unhappy about the RTA focusing stimulus funds on transit-dependent areas
The CTA would get $361 million, while Metra would get only $83 million, and Pace would get $22 million for fixed-route bus service, plus $20 million for paratransit.
February 22, 2021
Residents call for grocery store, environmental upgrades near future 130th Street ‘L’ station
Residents see the new station as an opportunity to address longtime disinvestment and create job opportunities.
January 29, 2021
RTA plans to focus federal COVID stimulus funding to transit-dependent areas
The Regional Transportation Authority is planning to use federal stimulus funding to support transit services to "to the places and people across the region who most need transit" during the pandemic.
January 25, 2021
Ashland BRT NIMBY Roger Romanelli is fighting IDOT’s plan to relocate the Prairie Path
Romanelli, who helped kill Chicago's plan for bus rapid transit, is now trying to do the same thing with an Illinois Department of Transportation proposal to relocate a section of the Prairie Path.
January 5, 2021
Transit Development Districts will help fund TOD along the South Shore Line
These zones will collect property and income tax revenue to help subsidize infrastructure and development around stations, capitalizing on planned service upgrades.
January 4, 2021
Transit agencies discuss plans for possible “Armageddon” funding scenario
“In the previous [2008] doomsday budget, our deficit was in the neighborhood of $100 million,” CTA president Dorval Carter said. “This is Armageddon-type stuff."
November 25, 2020