Legislators joined the RTA on a tour of the regional transit system on Friday, April 17, 2009 to review the capital funding needs for CTA, Metra and Pace. Amid record-breaking ridership increases and underfunded capital needs, the tour provided an up-close review of trains, buses, paratransit vehicles and stations in need of repair or replacement.
National transit ridership reached its highest level in 52 years last year with 10.7 billion trips, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). The northeastern Illinois transit system broke records across the board (CTA up 5.4%; Metra up 4.2% and Pace up 3.3%).
Out-of-date equipment and an aging transit infrastructure have been left without any funding since 2004. While the transit system will benefit from recent allocations of $414 million from the federal economic stimulus program and $900 million through the state’s capital bill last week, it costs $1 billion annually just to maintain the system in its current state.
The 2008 operating funding and reform legislation stabilized the day-to-day operations of the regional transit system and instituted several key reforms to increase accountability, identify performance measurements and require long-term financial and management planning. However, the legislation did not address significant capital needs of the system. The $10 billion need for transit capital investments has been established through internal reviews conducted by the service boards, managed by outside experts and verified by independent third parties.
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