Post by nickv on Dec 26, 2007 23:26:50 GMT -8
Well, we all know that Metro, LADOT Transit, Omnitrans, Foothill Transit, and San Diego MTS got their finances hit due to the shortage of transit funding from the state level.
Well, the service cuts and fare hikes I've seen proposed so far appear to be a walk in the park compared to what's going on in Chicago. I know this might be old news, but the national press didn't really get this story out so well; I just discovered it after doing some transit research on CTA's rail lines.
Per the CTA, the agency is forced to do the following on 1/20/2008 if nothing is done at the state level:
1. Cut 84 of its 154 bus lines; that's over half of the number of routes.
2. Remove 700 busses from its fleet.
3. Lay off more than 2,400 employees.
4. Shut down 3 of its 8 garages.
The CTA is fighting for funding to avoid these cuts. Contact your state [Illinois] legislators and tell them how important mass transit is to you. Go to SaveChicagolandTransit.com for more information.
Details of the fare and service changes can be found by clicking on the links below.
Fare and Service Information:
Proposed fare structure effective January 20, 2008 (PDF)
Proposed service changes effective January 20, 2008 (PDF)
Proposed 2008 CTA Budget (4MB PDF)
SaveChicagolandTransit.com was organized by The Transit Riders’ Alliance, a grass-roots non-profit organization founded in 2007 to advocate for improved and expanded mass transit in Northeastern Illinois and throughout the state.
I'll keep a watch on this story and let you know what happens.
...............................
Chicago mass transit: A system at a crossroads
By TOM GERMOND
Article published on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007
CHICAGO - In the city of big shoulders, dozens of passengers manage to squeeze their way onto the commuter train.
No time to waste. The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals will play in a couple of hours at Wrigley Field, and pregame partying abounds. The fans keep piling onto the train, oblivious to the automated message played throughout the train for the passengers’ benefit:
“There’s another train behind this one.”
And another and another, part of the county’s second largest transportation system with more than $1 billion annual budget. The Chicago Transit Authority’s trains provide about 500,000 customer trips each day.
Pat Steimel came from St. Louis with his buddies to watch the Cardinals. They flew into Midway Airport and took the commuter train for convenience.
“I like it,” Steimel said. “It drops us off wherever we want to be.”
Michael McCormick has lived in the suburbs of Chicago for 25 years and rides the area’s trains frequently.
“I do it just because I don’t like driving in traffic,” he said.
Though he doesn’t go to Cubs games, if he wanted to go to Wrigley Field, he said he’d ride the elevated trains.
“It’s a good system,” he said.
A system that’s said to be at a crossroad.
According to a state auditor general’s report, “it comes as no surprise to anyone that the Northeastern Illinois Mass Transit agencies are in serious financial trouble.”
This year, the Chicago Transit Authority and two other systems that link the city to the suburbs by bus and rail faced operating shortfalls this year of more than $226 million.
Mass transit has made an indelible imprint on Chicago. The CTA has about 2,000 buses that operate more than 154 routes and 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about 1 million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. CTA’s 1,190 rapid transit cars operate over eight routes and 222 miles of track.
CTA officials said that public transit provides access to jobs and spurs economic growth by attracting businesses to locate to areas where its services are offered. In addition, the system provides an alternative to driving, reducing traffic congestion and lowering emissions.
The Transit Riders’ Alliance, a nonprofit grassroots organization established in 2007 to advocate improved mass transit throughout the state, urged residents of the area to contact legislators to end “24 years of poor funding for one of the nation’s most important regions.”
Efforts to get the Illinois General Assembly to pass a comprehensive transit funding bill in recent months that called for a 0.25 percent increase in the regional sales tax for the Regional Transportation Authority’s six-county area failed.
Consequently, the CTA had considered suspending service on 39 bus routes, raising fares and laying off 600 employees in October, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich offered a grant of $21 million that would allow the agency to hold off planned actions needed to balance its 2007 budget.
CTA officials announced that the agency will be able to maintain its existing service and fare structure until the end of the year while the state Legislature works to provide a long-term funding solution for transit.
But it’s game day.
The transit crisis is hardly on the minds of the sea of Cubs and Cardinal fans as they pour out of the train station at Wrigley Field and exchange glances with ticket sellers and buyers.
Some of the dealers bide their time and wait for the right buyer to come along.
At least for now, there is another train behind this one.
Article published on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007
Well, the service cuts and fare hikes I've seen proposed so far appear to be a walk in the park compared to what's going on in Chicago. I know this might be old news, but the national press didn't really get this story out so well; I just discovered it after doing some transit research on CTA's rail lines.
Per the CTA, the agency is forced to do the following on 1/20/2008 if nothing is done at the state level:
1. Cut 84 of its 154 bus lines; that's over half of the number of routes.
2. Remove 700 busses from its fleet.
3. Lay off more than 2,400 employees.
4. Shut down 3 of its 8 garages.
The CTA is fighting for funding to avoid these cuts. Contact your state [Illinois] legislators and tell them how important mass transit is to you. Go to SaveChicagolandTransit.com for more information.
Details of the fare and service changes can be found by clicking on the links below.
Fare and Service Information:
Proposed fare structure effective January 20, 2008 (PDF)
Proposed service changes effective January 20, 2008 (PDF)
Proposed 2008 CTA Budget (4MB PDF)
SaveChicagolandTransit.com was organized by The Transit Riders’ Alliance, a grass-roots non-profit organization founded in 2007 to advocate for improved and expanded mass transit in Northeastern Illinois and throughout the state.
I'll keep a watch on this story and let you know what happens.
...............................
Chicago mass transit: A system at a crossroads
By TOM GERMOND
Article published on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007
CHICAGO - In the city of big shoulders, dozens of passengers manage to squeeze their way onto the commuter train.
No time to waste. The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals will play in a couple of hours at Wrigley Field, and pregame partying abounds. The fans keep piling onto the train, oblivious to the automated message played throughout the train for the passengers’ benefit:
“There’s another train behind this one.”
And another and another, part of the county’s second largest transportation system with more than $1 billion annual budget. The Chicago Transit Authority’s trains provide about 500,000 customer trips each day.
Pat Steimel came from St. Louis with his buddies to watch the Cardinals. They flew into Midway Airport and took the commuter train for convenience.
“I like it,” Steimel said. “It drops us off wherever we want to be.”
Michael McCormick has lived in the suburbs of Chicago for 25 years and rides the area’s trains frequently.
“I do it just because I don’t like driving in traffic,” he said.
Though he doesn’t go to Cubs games, if he wanted to go to Wrigley Field, he said he’d ride the elevated trains.
“It’s a good system,” he said.
A system that’s said to be at a crossroad.
According to a state auditor general’s report, “it comes as no surprise to anyone that the Northeastern Illinois Mass Transit agencies are in serious financial trouble.”
This year, the Chicago Transit Authority and two other systems that link the city to the suburbs by bus and rail faced operating shortfalls this year of more than $226 million.
Mass transit has made an indelible imprint on Chicago. The CTA has about 2,000 buses that operate more than 154 routes and 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about 1 million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. CTA’s 1,190 rapid transit cars operate over eight routes and 222 miles of track.
CTA officials said that public transit provides access to jobs and spurs economic growth by attracting businesses to locate to areas where its services are offered. In addition, the system provides an alternative to driving, reducing traffic congestion and lowering emissions.
The Transit Riders’ Alliance, a nonprofit grassroots organization established in 2007 to advocate improved mass transit throughout the state, urged residents of the area to contact legislators to end “24 years of poor funding for one of the nation’s most important regions.”
Efforts to get the Illinois General Assembly to pass a comprehensive transit funding bill in recent months that called for a 0.25 percent increase in the regional sales tax for the Regional Transportation Authority’s six-county area failed.
Consequently, the CTA had considered suspending service on 39 bus routes, raising fares and laying off 600 employees in October, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich offered a grant of $21 million that would allow the agency to hold off planned actions needed to balance its 2007 budget.
CTA officials announced that the agency will be able to maintain its existing service and fare structure until the end of the year while the state Legislature works to provide a long-term funding solution for transit.
But it’s game day.
The transit crisis is hardly on the minds of the sea of Cubs and Cardinal fans as they pour out of the train station at Wrigley Field and exchange glances with ticket sellers and buyers.
Some of the dealers bide their time and wait for the right buyer to come along.
At least for now, there is another train behind this one.
Article published on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007
