Category: CTA budget news

CTA resurrects Ashland, Western express buses; Ashland BRT still in "future"

Ashland and Western express CTA bus routes – the victims of budget cuts in February 2010 – have found new life and will be reinstated later this year. But Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the Ashland bus rapid transit (BRT) plans are still in the works, though “way off in the future.” The CTA will begin a... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
August 19, 2015 at 9:10 pm
• 2 comments

To the CTA: Raise fares to fund rail expansion, major rehab

The CTA should raise fares by a quarter next year – and keep doing it till they have funded all their capital needs. Just as Metra is doing. As long as we continue to have a paralyzed, do-nothing federal government, it will be impossible to get the kind of funding from the Feds that the... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
October 14, 2014 at 6:29 pm
• 62 comments

Better economy = more tax revenue = higher CTA funding

Take a steadily improving economy, add in more unemployed people finding work, and what you get is higher funding for the CTA and other area mass transit agencies. And that also means less interagency fighting over previously scarce RTA funding dollars, according to a Sun-Times report last week: Regional Transportation Authority officials said they expected... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
August 26, 2014 at 7:43 pm
• 8 comments
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Orange Line connector project gives CTA riders smoother ride

The CTA recently finished the $25 million Orange Line 18th Street connector project, providing South Side riders with a smoother, more reliable ride. The project disrupted service between the Halsted and Roosevelt stations for four weekends in May and June. But the result was the 45-year-old elevated structure receiving significant repairs, including track renewal work. Additional project work... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
July 7, 2014 at 7:03 pm
• 13 comments

New, cleaner CTA buses to hit the road in May

Mayor Emanuel showed off the newest CTA buses Wednesday, as the CTA begins taking delivery of 300 40-foot clean diesel buses manufactured by Nova Bus. The buses will start hitting the streets in May. According to the CTA, “the new buses feature a sleeker body design, bigger windows, brighter LED lighting and seamless flooring. In... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
February 26, 2014 at 7:00 pm
• 20 comments

Bombardier submits low bid for next delivery of new CTA rail cars - with fewer aisle-facing seats

The same company that manufactured CTA’s newest Series 5000 rail cars has submitted the lowest bid to build the next order of rail cars for the transit agency, according to a Chicago Tribune report. Bombardier Transit Corp. has bid $1.39 billion to build 846 “Series 7000” rail cars, set for delivery in 2018. Bombardier has... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
January 27, 2014 at 7:39 pm
• 9 comments
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CTA 2014 budget: No fare hike or service cuts

The CTA’s 2014 budget calls for no fare increases or service cuts. That’s good news. The total operating budget is $1.38 billion, about $44 million more than the forecast 2013 budget of $1.34 billion. The budget plan also includes the following capital improvements projects scheduled to start next year: The $240 million 95th Street terminal.... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
October 21, 2013 at 7:52 pm
• 17 comments

CTA faces $10 million budget gap this year

CTA riders really haven’t liked paying more for multi-day passes, but the agency’s number crunchers inaccurately predicted just how much we hate paying more. As a result, the CTA is now looking at a $10 million budget deficit for this year, the Tribune reports: Transit officials promised to eliminate the budget gap without imposing more... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
August 14, 2013 at 7:12 pm
• 12 comments

News pickup: CTA cuts absenteeism; new parking validation at Howard Red Line

Here are some news and notes from the CTA-osphere over the last few days. CTA reduces absenteeism, but it still costs $30 million. The CTA has cut the cost of absenteeism by about $10 million, but it still vexes the transit agency’s bottom line. And the rail workers union boss blames the problem on non-union... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
July 30, 2013 at 8:04 pm
• 8 comments
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State cuts in reduced-fare program squeeze CTA budget

A 50 percent cut in the amount the state distributes to the CTA to compensate for the reduced-fare program will cost the transit agency almost $14 million through next June. And that could result in new fare increases or reduced service, according to a Tribune story. The state funded the reduced-fare program by a total... Read more »
By Kevin O'Neil,
July 24, 2013 at 7:25 pm
• 2 comments