Forced to choose among five painful packages of service cuts and fare hikes, the Chicago Transit Authority board opted Wednesday for a surprise sixth plan certain to put the crunch on rush-hour commuters: a modified Sunday transit schedule that would operate seven days a week.
Officials said the plan, which also includes laying off about 2,000 CTA employees, will take effect July 17 unless state lawmakers boost transit funding to close a $55 million deficit in the agency’s more than $1 billion 2005 budget.
Under the plan picked Wednesday, most CTA express bus routes and the Purple Line Evanston Express “L” trains would be scuttled, and some fares would rise to $2.
More than 50 bus routes that don’t run on Sundays would be eliminated from weekday service, resulting in severe overcrowding and up to hourlong waits for buses. Another 35 bus routes would be cut on Saturdays.
“How am I going to get to work?” asked Samantha Lynch, 19, a Truman College student who lives in Rogers Park. “I guess there’ll be a lot more standing around. I might start driving to school.”
The board’s unanimous vote came as a special House committee in Springfield released a report supporting the CTA’s long-held contention that the Chicago region’s 22-year-old transit funding formula is outdated and should be reformed.
The report by the House Committee on Mass Transit found there is little relationship between the distribution of sales tax revenues and the level of service Pace, Metra and the CTA provide in Chicago, suburban Cook County and the collar counties.
CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown said the last-minute proposal for the slightly expanded Sunday schedule was aimed at retaining some semblance of the agency’s core service while inflicting the least harm on the 30 percent of CTA customers who do not have other transportation.
Still, CTA officials predict a mass exodus from the system among commuters who own cars or live near Metra lines.
Brown said she was offended by accusations, including from Gov. Blagojevich, that the CTA was more focused on frightening transit riders than finding solutions to its financial plight.
“We are not standing up here to see who blinks first,” Brown insisted.
Before the vote, Blagojevich urged the agency’s board to reject any of the service-cut plans and support his proposal to impose $65 million in computer software taxes on businesses that could be spent on mass transit statewide.
Critics have accused the agency of taking its problems out on the public–first with threatened service cuts that were postponed in January and now with deeper cuts in July–instead of cutting more management and administrative positions and finding other cost savings.
“Why should people support spending more for inadequate service? The public is being held hostage,” said Jackie Leavy, executive director of the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, a civic watchdog organization.
The impact of the proposed cuts would be felt hardest by commuters traveling downtown, especially people who now ride on express routes, many of which do not operate on Sundays. All downtown rush hour shuttle bus routes would be eliminated.
Some vehicles would be added during the rush periods and the regular Sunday morning start times tweaked to begin earlier on weekdays. But passenger waiting times would soar 68 percent on average, officials said.
Passenger dissatisfaction with a 36 percent cut in weekday CTA bus and rail service would cost the agency more than 100 million rides a year, or 25 percent of the total rides, transit officials estimated.
Late-night bus and rail service, set to disappear under other scenarios, would continue to operate, but at reduced levels.
Cash-paying bus and train riders–who make up about 27 percent of CTA customers–would have to fork over $2 per ride, a 25 cent increase, and would no longer be able to purchase transfers. The fare would remain $1.75 for bus riders who use the regular magnetic-strip transit cards.
Rail customers who use the magnetic-strip cards would pay $2–a move designed to encourage more riders to purchase Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus “smart cards,” weekly passes or 30-day passes.
The fare increases would not affect CTA customers who use those passes or the smart cards. A minimum of $20 would need to be added to a Chicago Card or a Chicago Card Plus, instead of $10 currently, to receive a 10 percent bonus.
Reduced fares paid in cash by senior citizens, students and people with disabilities would increase to $1 from 85 cents, and transfers would be unavailable to them.
Countdown to doomsday
September 2004
– CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown blocks the Regional Transportation Authority’s proposed 2005 funding and calls for a reworking of a
22-year-old formula that distributes subsidies to CTA, Metra and Pace.
– CTA President Frank Kruesi threatens a doomsday scenario for transit service if the state doesn’t bail out the agency.
October
– Agency rolls out campaign to earn public support for more funding, including signs/ads, announcements on the bus and Internet lobbying.
– 150 riders come out and blast the CTA at the first public hearing on the $55 million in potential service cuts.
November
– Legislative leaders reject the RTA’s request to boost 2005 funding to the three transit agencies (CTA, Metra and Pace) by $134.5 million.
– Gov. Blagojevich proposes helping the CTA by ending a tax break for some corporations on computer software, a move he says could mean as much as $54 million for the transit agency.
– Citing the budget crisis, CTA nixes the “Holiday Train.” The train is revived in December after public outcry.
December
– State lawmakers urge CTA officials to hold out for more state funding in the spring session. CTA’s “Gridlock” budget passes, but service cuts are deferred until July.
January 2005
– CTA begins preparing for possible major service cuts and hires a consultant to analyze and to replot service at much lower levels.
March
– Agency announces five contingency plans if the state doesn’t come through with additional funds.
– Deputy Gov. Bradley Tusk sends a letter to the CTA board scolding them for not working harder to lobby for the computer software tax plan suggested by Blagojevich.
April
– Krusei and Brown hold a news conference to outline their plans to get more public subsidies, but not at the expense of Metra or Pace. Metra and Pace officials are not invited to participate.
– Mayor Daley urges state lawmakers to provide transportation subsidies to CTA and prevent drastic service cuts and/or a fare increase.
– Public hearing held April 7 to gather feedback on the five plans. Speakers roundly reject them all.
Wednesday
– CTA board chooses a modified Sunday schedule that would operate seven days a week.
May
– General Assembly is expected to act on whether to provide the CTA with more funding.
July
– Service reductions would begin July 17. An increased-fares-only scenario would begin July 1.
Eliminated bus routes
1 Indiana Hyde Park
2 Hyde Park Exp.
X3 King Drive Exp.
X4 Cottage Grove Exp.
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7 Harrison
17 Westchester
19 United Center Exp.
24 Wentworth
25 West Cermak
26 South Shore Exp.
X28 Stony Island Exp.
37 Sedgwick/Ogden
39 Pershing
48 South Damen
49A South Western
X49 Western Exp.
53AL South Pulaski Limited
54A N. Cicero/Skokie Blvd.
X55 Garfield Exp.
55A 55th/Austin
55N 55th/Narragansett
56A North Milwaukee
59 59th/61st
62H Archer/Harlem
64 Foster-Canfield
69 Cumberland/East River
85A North Central
86 Narragansett/Ridgeland
90N North Harlem
93 California/Dodge
96 Lunt
100 Jeffery Manor Exp.
108 Halsted/95th
120 NW/Wacker Exp.
121 Union/Wacker Exp.
122 Illinois Cntr./NW Exp.
123 Illinois Cntr./Union Exp.
125 Water Tower Exp.
127 NW/Madison
129 West Loop/South Loop
130 Grant Park Treasures
134 Stockton/LaSalle Exp.
135 Clarendon/LaSalle Exp.
136 Sheridan/LaSalle Exp.
143 Stockton/Michigan Exp.
144 Marine/Michigan Exp.
148 Clarendon/Michigan Exp.
156 LaSalle
157 Streeterville
165 West 65th
200 Main Shuttle
201 Central/Ridge
205 Chicago/Golf
206 Evanston Circulator
REDEYE ON THE SPOT
What do you think of the CTA’s backup plan? How would it affect your commute?
“That’s crazy. No one will ever get to work on time. I would start walking. … My lease is up, maybe I’ll move.”
–Glenn Robertson, 25
Gold Coast
“That sucks. I have to take the ‘L’ because my car isn’t working and it costs too much to park downtown anyway. … The Sunday schedule is so slow. That’s why I drive [to work] on Sundays.”
–Sheila Resurreccion, 24
Ravenswood, physical therapy technician
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“It’s unwise. This is a divided city and I think that will make it even more divided. … I live in Lakeview, but not everyone is so conveniently located to downtown.”
–Keene Hudson, 36
Lakeview
“It’s already bad. I waited for 40 minutes Saturday for the 147. It seemed like there were no buses. It was so sparse.”
–Christian Anderson, 20
North Side, student
“The thing about the Sunday schedule, if it runs on time I’d be happier than the service I have now. … The Brown Line is frequently 10 minutes late anyway. If they could fix it so they’re on time every day, at least I would know that I would make it to work and my classes on time for once. Right now it’s a huge inconvenience.”
–Cavan Moon, 24
Lakeview, UIC student
“It upsets me because economically it impacts me a lot. … Time to me is money. I’m probably going to be using my bike more.”
–Harmony Bond, 23
North Side
“I’ll probably just take more cabs. … It would be an inconvenience [but] a lot of people really depend on the trains, like parents with lots of kids.”
–Leslie Manuilow, 25
Gold Coast
“That would totally impact my life. Before graduate school I was at a job, and I worked in Northbrook, and I had to drive every day … Driving was a pain, and I always wanted to find a job in the city.”
–BJ Castro, 25
Wrigleyville, MBA student
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