CTA girding for a new $35 million whack; service cuts loom

Don't repeal the free rides for senior citizens, but modify it so that you have to "qualify" for it. By that, I mean you must make have income below a certain amount. In this way, you still keep most of the people that need the CTA service happy. The people that can afford it will by and large not be offended by the move.

I seem to remember a number of letters in the Tribune from seniors who said they didn't need the free rides and would prefer to pay their own way on a solvent system. Either repealing those freebies or scaling them back in some such way as Chris suggests would be a very reasonable measure. Since we're talking about the Illinois legislature, I agree that that is the one thing we will not see.

Please, please, please introduce a means test. Unlikely that will happen, but it could if seniors themselves led the charge. I think it would be much more palatable to the politicians and their worries about alienating the senior vote if the suggestion of a means test were initiated by seniors themselves. Cheryl has mentioned the seniors in her neighborhood that are not in favor of free rides. I could chat up my father's neighbors at the retirement home with whom I have often discussed Blago's stupidity. Anyone else have any free-ride-resistant seniors in their lives?

The C.T.A. can make money by hosting a paid subscription online computer game version of the agency called"Punch Line."Players could make money in the game by submitting jokes about their agency that were rated by other players,

Cancel the free rides for seniors. A "means test" would be far worse; seniors who were frugal and saved for their old age are loath to subsidize the rest. (Remember how they attacked Rostenkowski over Medicare catastrophic care?)

Just because you're old, doesn't mean you should get a free ride. If poor school children and other poor people can't ride for free, neither should old people. Repeal the free rides for seniors.

In addition to the free rides comments (Quinn says that free rides is good public policy, despite the fact that the state is $9 billion in the hole, and the transit authorities are in no better shape)--

--How about the CTA being on the wrong side of the fuel hedge? Despite the fact that ULSF biodiesel sells at the local gas station for about $2.50-$2.90 a gallon, including taxes, the Financial Report posted under the June Board Presentations says that CTA paid $4.40 a gallon for fuel (tax exempt) and the CFO, in effect, pats herself on the back for being under the budget of $4.50 per gallon. However, since fuel expense for revenue equipment was $8.2 million for April, one can guess that CTA blew $4 million just on that item that month. You would think that it would have some incentive to get out from under that hedge, but apparently not.

--I really doubt that the ARRA funds can be diverted from the uses approved by CMAP and FTA, especially given the construction unions' desire for work.

--You don't see Carole blogging for funding any more, although she does have a post about the APTA rail conference. Maybe she has to do a real job, now that Lehman Bros. is out of business, or maybe the realization as sunk in that you can't tax out of this crisis, no matter how the RTA tried last year. Getting back to Quinn, maybe he should learn that message. The only way out is to encourage economic growth.

P.S., no links since I lost some of them this morning, and the prior message that links need approval. My statements are verifiable with a little research.

I think that while reduced fare for senior citizens is a good idea, it isn't economically feasible, we cannot be giving anyone free fare while services are being cut. Free fares for anyone is a bit outrageous. Perhaps we should give free fares to college students also, they are also a larger voting block. If you use service you should have to pay for it.

I'm all for repealing all free rides for anyone but the poorest. With the baby boom generation approaching retirement age, we have to get out of the mindset of giving them everything for free just because they're seniors. We have to do that because we won't be able to afford it in a few years -- the number of retirees will be too close to the number of workers, who will have to pay higher taxes to make up for the lost revenue. Seniors may not think it's fair, but it is reality.

The seniors ride free program must be modified. With a huge number of people becoming eligible for the program (who are NOT low-income) over the next few years, its going to become unsustainable sooner than later. Its going to make the mayor's precious Olympics bid look really bad when just a few weeks before the final 2016 decision the CTA annonces major transit cuts. It looks like the timing might be spot on. I thought the privatization of the Skyway, the parking meters, etc was for a rain day fund for emergencies. Doesn't shoring up the CTA to weather out the recession count as an emergency? If the mayor was as big into transit as he has claimed over the last 2 years, he would release money Also, I have a hard time believing there are more voters eligible for the free program than aren't. Nevertheless, if Springfield thinks they can remain complacent on this issue, it is time to mobilize on the issue and let them know inaction is not an option. With Blago and Jones out, it seems possible that something could be done about it now, but it usually takes a dire emergency for Springfield to act on anything.

You are misrepresenting my question, which was for the period from about Dec. 2008 to now.

Your source says "gas prices 5/08." May isn't December (except in weddings). Hell, gas sold around here for more than that last summer.

All you are doing is highlighting the foolishness of the CTA hedge, which apparently was at the top of the market, not the bottom (although diesel was sold retail around here at about $5.00 a gallon around 9/08, including taxes, which was its peak).