The Chicago City Council has approved a new budget that includes a new transit funding mechanism that could level the playing field for transit.
"[T]he Chicago City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2018 budget, including a new fee on ride-hailing trips to fund the CTA," reports John Greenfield.
Mayor Emanuel pitched the idea of a ride-hailing tax to help pay for transit back in October. The idea gained the support of the Chicago Tribune editorial board shortly after. Greenfield also voices support for the idea:
The ride-hailing tax represents a sensible approach to leveling the playing field for buses and trains in the wake of recent studies that found services like Uber and Lyft are increasing congestion in cities and reducing transit ridership.
As for the details of the new tax, Greenfield has it covered:
The new tax will add a 15-cent surcharge to the existing city ride-hailing fee of 52 cents per trip, 67 cents total, next year. The surcharge, which will affect Lyft, Uber, and smaller competitors, will be increased to 20 cents, to 72 cents total, in 2019. The city projects this fee will raised $16 million in 2018, which the CTA plans to use on infrastructure improvements, with $21 million expected in 2019.
The article includes more context for the decision and other details of the city's approved budget.
FULL STORY: Council Passes Ride-Share Tax to Fund Transit, CTA Announces $23M in Cuts, Reforms
Op-Ed: Ride Sharing Tax Will Help Poor
Chicago's Mayor Emanuel's proposed tax would be used for the benefit of transit.
Tax Uber and Lyft to Pay for Transit? Chicago Might
The city of Chicago is already taxing rides with transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. Now mayor Rahm Emanual wants to raise those fees and spend the extra money on transit projects.
New Research Connects Land Use to Ride-Hailing Trips
Many of the places in Chicago generating the most ride-hailing trips with services like Uber and Lyft are accessible by transit, according to new research.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association