Chicago Transit Needs an Upgrade: 5 Universal Features of European City Transit
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This isn't a wish list. These are five standard features of most bus networks in Europe.
Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about RTA
Is $2 Billion Red Line Extension Best Way to Provide Transit in Far South Side?
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The Chicago Transit Authority released a major study today, the next step in the developing project to extend the Red Line southward from the 95th Street terminal to 130th Street in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood. The Environmental Impact Study is required by the federal government before the CTA can ask for funding from the U.S. […]
RTA: Pace and Metra Operate Efficiently But Collect Little Rider Revenue
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The Regional Transportation Authority’s newest report, issued last week, compares the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace, to their respective peers around the country. The report found that the CTA is efficient, relative to rapid transit systems in Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D.C. The RTA also compared Metra, using 2014 performance figures, […]
RTA Report: CTA Runs an Efficient Transit System Compared to Peer Agencies
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This week, rapid transit headaches in Washington, D.C. and the Bay Area highlighted the need for better maintenance of U.S. public transportation infrastructure. However, a new report from Chicagoland’s Regional Transportation Authority suggests that the CTA is in a little better shape than its peers. On Wednesday, the D.C. Metro system was completely shut down for 24 […]
Three Transit Campaigns: Do They Compete or Complement Each Other?
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As the Chicago region grows in population, we’re going to need to provide efficient and affordable transportation options in order to compete in the global economy, and that’s going to require more and better transit. People who live near transit pay less in transportation costs as a portion of their household income, and have better access […]
No Surprise: International Report Says Region’s Transit Not Up to Par
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Last month, a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development validated what Chicago researchers, a task force convened by the governor, and millions of customers have all said for years: Transit in Chicagoland is fragmented, inefficient, and far from adequate to serve the region’s transportation needs. The OECD, a “club of rich countries” that counts the […]
Metra Says It Already Welcomes Ventra (No, Not Really)
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Even though Metra never plans to accept Ventra transit cards for payment aboard its trains, the commuter railroad now claims that it has accepted Ventra all along – and thus already fulfilled a state mandate to adopt Ventra by 2015. Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis told Streetsblog that “we can already accept” Ventra cards, but only in the […]
CMAP Plan Update Includes Sobering Look at Region’s Funding Shortfall
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The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s GO TO 2040 regional comprehensive plan has weathered some major ups and downs in its four-year lifespan. CMAP has received several awards for the plan, which required a huge effort on their part to reach out to local residents and overwrite decades of uncoordinated transportation “plans.” Last year, though, the […]
Bus to Zipcar to Divvy? RideScout App Makes Connecting A Bit Easier
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The number of transportation choices available to Chicagoans continues to grow, particularly as shared options like car-sharing and Divvy bikes become ever more popular. Yet these options can turn the simple act of planning a trip across town into a complicated exercise that requires weighing multiple factors, like cost, convenience, time, and ever-changing availability. RideScout, […]
Today’s Headlines
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NTSB Reports on O’Hare Blue Line Crash Causes, $9.1 Million Damages (ABC/AP, DNA) RTA Chairman Criticizes Quinn’s Transit Task Force, Asks for $5 Billion in Bonds (Sun-Times) CTA Re-Assesses Detours Around Blue Line, Will Post Larger Signs (RedEye) Hit-and-Run Driver Critically Injures Bicyclist in Evanston; Driver Caught (EvanstonNow) Cook County Population Booming, Like Other Metropolitan Cores (MPC) […]
Regional Transit Needs New Funding to Meet $20 Billion Backlog
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Transit systems in Northeastern Illinois face a $20 billion maintenance backlog. Now the question is how to pay for it. Governor Pat Quinn’s Northeastern Illinois transit task force has shown some of the possibilities at the region’s disposal, but hasn’t staked out a position on how to secure the necessary revenue to keep Chicagoland’s track, […]