In slightly better news for the CTA, Metra and Pace, the Mass Transit Committee of the Illinois House approved a $452 million funding proposal backed by the Regional Transportation Authority.
Last week, the RTA proposed raising $452 million a year in operating funds for Chicago-area transit by increasing the RTA sales tax in the six-county region by .25 percent--on top of an additional .25 percent increase for the five collar counties--and by raising the real-estate transfer tax in Chicago by .3 percent.
Increasing the state match to the proposed sales and transfer taxes would also generate a portion of the funds.
The transit committee's support for the RTA funding plan is encouraging, but the measure still needs to pass the entire House and the Senate before it can take effect. With the state legislative session looking like it's going into overtime, it's hard to say when the transit funding bill will come up for a full floor vote.
The CTA, Metra and Pace need a combined $226 million by July 1 to balance their budgets, a feat they could accomplish if the RTA proposal succeeds.
Illinois House Democrats passed an 11th hour budget plan last night that doesn't include extra funding for the CTA.
As you've heard about a million times by now, the CTA is threatening to make drastic service cuts this fall to balance its budget, in the absence of new state funding.
The fat lady hasn't sung yet--since the plan still has to pass the State Senate--but so far, it's not looking good.
If the Democrats can't agree on a plan by midnight tonight, the Republican minority will have a chance to weigh in, and there's no guarantee they'll be any more disposed to spending more on mass transit.
The latest round of service cuts and fare hikes proposed by the CTA to balance its budget may sound bad, but apparently, it could have been worse. CTA Chief Ron Huberman discussed the four other Doomsday plans he rejected before recommending to the CTA board that 63 bus routes and the Yellow and Purple Express lines be cut, and fares raised to as much as $3.25.
One plan called for raising fares to $7, but Huberman himself was quick to rule that one out as being "unrealistic."
Of course, some riders are saying the same thing about the contingency plan on the table now.
You can share your two cents with CTA brass at the following public meetings:
Tuesday, June 5, 6:30 p.m.
Sherman Park Fieldhouse
1301 W. 52nd Street
Chicago, IL
Wednesday, June 6, 6:30 p.m.
Michelle’s Ballroom
2800 W. Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL
Monday, June 11, 6:30 p.m.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Student Center East
750 S. Halsted, Room 302
Chicago, IL
Wednesday, June 13, 9:00 a.m.
CTA Headquarters
567 W. Lake, Chicago, IL
Today's column about the worst flights to take out of O'Hare Airport got me thinking about another liability when it comes to air travel: lost luggage.
According to the latest report from the government's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, passenger complaints about mishandled baggage are on the rise.
I've been lucky not to have that happen yet, but I'm reminded of the time my grandma came to stay with us a few years back.
She made it from Jamaica to Atlanta in one piece, but her luggage did not. Two suitcases worth of almost all grandma's earthly possessions just disappeared with no explanation from the airline. We spent two days on the phone with them trying to track the bags down, but we never did. Finally, Delta gave Grandma a $100 reimbursement for her things. But as you can imagine, my 89-year-old grandmother was livid.
Has an airline ever lost your luggage? Tell me about it.
Every year, the Illinois Department of Transportation puts out a list of the 10 intersections that have had the most accidents. The same names usually appear on that list year after year, with a few exceptions. For instance, the junction of Roselle Road and Route 72 in Hoffman Estates has been in the top five for the past three years, coming in first place for fender benders in 2004.
Which intersections would make your list for being the most accident-prone, based on your experience? Are there any that should be redesigned to make them safer for drivers and pedestrians?
CTA President Ron Huberman detailed the CTA's contingency plan to balance its budget without new state funding.
Some highlights:
- The CTA would get rid of the Yellow Line and Purple Line express routes, 63 bus routes and about 840 employees.
- The agency would also roll out a new fare structure that would cost commuters more for traveling during rush hour.
A summary of the proposed changes is on our website.
Do you agree with riders who think this is a bluff, or are you frantically writing letters to your legislators, begging them to save the city's public transit?
At least one source is reporting that Chicago has the highest gas prices in the nation, which, I'm sure, comes as a surprise to no one who's been to the gas station lately. Read the story here.
There have been a lot of dire predictions lately about what will happen if the CTA, Metra and Pace don't get a combined $226 million to balance their respective budgets this year. The latest came from CTA President Ron Huberman, who's working on the CTA's contingency plans if funding from Springfield doesn't come through.
Do you think the state legislature will fork over the money Chicago's transit agencies need to avoid fare increases and service cuts?
I hope you've been following the story">of the CTA bus shooting that killed 16-year-old Julian high school student Blair Holt. I was at the hospital the night Blair died, and the screams that filled the waiting room when his family and friends learned he was gone were heartbreaking.
Listening to people's reactions and scanning some of the blogs, one thing that strikes me is how little outrage I'm hearing. Some people even made jokes about what happened. Others have questioned why this is front-page news.
The answer is, it was a horrific crime that never should have happened.
It doesn't matter if you've never been to this neighborhood or been on the No. 103 bus. It's also not OK to dismiss this as just another gang-related crime on the South Side. A 16-year-old boy was gunned down in broad daylight on a CTA bus. More people could have died with him.
So, why aren't people talking about this?
Do you, as public transit riders, feel safe when you walk onto a bus or train? What would it take to make you feel safer?
Are there any bus and rail operators out there with stories of violent encounters on the job?
By the time you get a parking permit at a handful of suburban Metra stops with lengthy waiting lists, the Summer Olympics may be in town.
Commuters who want to park next to the Naperville stop on Metra's Burlington Northern Santa Fe line have it the worst, with a nearly nine-year wait for reserved quarterly parking.
But other suburbs are almost as bad: Clarendon Hills, 8 years; Lisle and Midlothian, both 5 to 7 years; and Hinsdale, at least five years.
Is parking a problem at your Metra station? How do you cope?
With gas prices flirting with $4 a gallon in some parts of the city, I've gotten to the point where I'm only driving my car when I have to, which is not much. Paying over $50 to fill up a compact car is not a reality I want to get used to. Not when mortgage payments and college loans are already eating up an obscene amount of my paycheck.
But having done a fair amount of stories on high gas prices, I've noticed that everyone has a different threshold for when they'll start making changes to their driving habits because gas prices are too high. One guy I talked to recently told me his was $10 a gallon. What's yours?
Steve Musgrave designs the posters that the CTA gives to riders taking the train to the Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox. He also painted those murals of Cubs players at the Addison Red Line stop.
Another little factoid: Steve's is one of the faces peering out at you from beneath the platform of the Belmont Red Line stop. You know, those colorful, cartoonish paintings of people close to the Ann Sather's on Belmont? Turns out Steve is friends with the man who made them, David Cisco. In fact, Steve's such a fan that he calls the paintings his favorite piece of public art in Chicago.
Today's Ride dealt with the increased likelihood of drivers being ticketed in the local lanes of the Kennedy versus the reversibles. It isn't rocket science: more motorists use the locals and more troopers patrol them, so the odds are higher that you'll get pulled over.
So, admit it. Do you go a little faster than you normally would in the express lanes, figuring you won't get caught? Ever been ticketed? You can use a fake name if you don't want to give yourself away.
The top brass at the Regional Transportation Authority wants the CTA, Metra and Pace to be ready by July 1 to implement "doomsday" service cuts and/or fare increases to balance their budgets if the state legislature doesn't come through with more cash.
I know it sounds like the usual scare tactics, but transit officials insist that continuing the trend of deferred maintenance and shifting capital funds to agencies' operating budgets will have dire effects on riders in the near future. I tend to agree.
Forget the glitzy expansion projects like the Star Line and the Circle Line. If the CTA, Metra and Pace don't have the money they need to keep the current system in good shape--a fact the recent Auditor General's report has confirmed--the day-to-day stuff is only going to get worse.
Trains will have to go slower to make it safely across tracks that aren't being properly maintained (think: taking the Blue Line to O'Hare). Buses that should have been retired years ago are still on the road...just sitting there because they keep breaking down. And people with disabilities who rely on Pace paratransit to have active careers and lives will be fresh out of luck, if funding continues to decline. Get the picture?
Who's to say that everything will go to pot as soon as this year or next, as some officials are warning. I, for one, don't want to wait to find out. Thoughts?
