Chicago Commute Times Could Double Without New Transit Funding

Officials from Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) are warning that traffic in the city’s North Side could “grind to a halt” as funding for transit runs out, reports David Struett in the Chicago Sun-Times.

If the state increases spending by 20 percent, the agencies could add 30 to 40 percent more trains and buses, according to a presentation from the RTA. “A bill working its way through the state Legislature seeks to do something like that. The Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act would pump $1.5 billion a year into the area’s public transit, though legislators first want reforms, such as potentially combining the Chicago area’s four agencies into one.”

Without additional state funding, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace face a $730 million debt after 2026, forcing service cuts that could almost double travel times in some areas. If the agencies are forced to cut service, “The Chicago area could see a $2.6 billion loss in gross domestic product, largely driven by about 27,000 jobs that are lost in the first year.” A study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and MIT found that service cuts could result in a loss of roughly $35 billion in economic activity annually.

The RTA wants state legislators to give it more control over the other three agencies, arguing that “The changes could bring more federal money to Chicago-area transit projects, since federal grants increasingly want to see ‘regional vision and coordination in projects.’” The agencies largely oppose a proposal to consolidate them into one regional agency.