Promoted

This article also appears in Streetsblog Chicago cofounder Steven Vance's personal blog Steven Can Plan. He also runs the local development data website Chicago Cityscape.

Recently the Regional Transportation Authority, the agency that oversees the CTA, Metra, and Pace, released a Transit-Friendly Communities Guide to encourage development that's accessible to public transportation. Earlier this week, the RTA held a webinar about the guide for municipal officials, urban planning professionals, and the public. It included success stories of creating equitable transit-oriented developments, and tips on how to use best practices from the handbook to foster ETOD in other communities.

A combination of governance and operational reforms could deliver the transit system riders deserve

Update 12/13/25, 11:40 PM: GOGO Charters spokesperson Jonathan Schneider recently provided the following statement. "GOGO Charters is still planning to launch intercity bus services. We're working towards a launch in late 2026 and are currently building our operations and fleet to meet the heightened daily demand.  To achieve this, we've just made a purchase announcement of 30 new motorcoaches."

The CTA recently announced it's launching a "Frequent Network" with ten-minute or shorter headways all day, seven days a week. The initiative includes 20 high-ridership bus lines citywide dubbed "Frequent Routes," starting with eight lines mostly located on the South Side. Some transit advocates say they're excited about the new initiatives, and have their fingers crossed that the increased service will be dependable, and free from the much-loathed "bus bunching" phenomenon.

And here's how to make the program more equitable. Bring back 50 percent fine discounts for lower-income drivers, and a 11 mph ticketing threshold – with a 25 speed limit.

As previously reported by the Daily Herald's Marni Pike, it's come to light that Metra hired a team of outside lawyers to conduct an internal investigation of its Police Department that cost almost $1.57 million. The investigation took place due to anonymous complaints made to the commuter railroad about "disparate treatment" of employees at the force. According to a follow-up article by the Chicago Tribune's Sarah Freishtat, these allegations included "workplace sexual relationships, harassment of female officers, racism, special treatment of some officers and inconsistency in police policies."

Streetsblog Chicago is a sustainable transportation news and advocacy website, not a publication that typically covers finance. So it's not really my role to opine on whether it was a smart fiscal decision for the City Council to approve an $830 million bond deal to pay for transportation infrastructure. But let's look at how the narrow 26-23 vote went down last Wednesday; some arguments against and for the financing by alders; and reactions from walk/bike/transit boosters.

Last month, the grassroots transit advocacy group Commuters Take Action held a retirement party for controversial CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. While he did go out on a high note by securing $1.9 billion from the feds for the $5.7 Red Line Extension, he was highly unpopular with many riders due to the system's issues with unreliable service, crime, and sanitation. So the celebration was a tongue-in-cheek affair, and needless to say, the guest of honor was a no-show.