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Just 3 months after the BlogHer Conference, I'm back in Chicago, this time for a friend's wedding. I did the whole mass transit thing again -- though the Red Line here failed me this time and I had to do some extra walking --
Then today I opened the Trib's Redeye -- to find this headline: "CTA: Budget cuts, fare hikes ahead?" Uh oh --
Looks like the base subway and bus fare here, currently $2, might go up -- as far as $3.25. At the same time, the CTA plans to eliminate 43 more bus routes -- on top of 39 lines previously announced to be cut by Nov. 4.
Why? "lingering stalemate in the Illinois legislature over how to fund Chicago-area mass transit as well as road and bridge repairs statewide."
Not too long ago, we had similarly drastic fare hikes proposed for our Metro system in LA. Except drastic for us meant -- what Chicagoans pay now. The Metro's proposal was to raise the $1.25 rate to $2.
In the end, Metro's proposals got toned down and our base rate stayed at $1.25, though prices for day, weekly, and monthly passes went up a bit.
Which makes me think that Chicagoans can fight these rate hikes -- but also need to make sure their representatives fund public transit properly. Apparently, the CTA was hoping to get some help with funding via a raised sales tax, but "Legislation that would increase the sales tax imposed by the Regional Transportation Authority in the six-county region failed to pass in a House vote this summer."
Jane Hirt of the CTA blog posted a letter from CTA President Ron Huberman "It is important for our customers to know that all of us at the CTA do not want to see this budget become reality. We remain hopeful that the Illinois General Assembly will pass a long-term funding solution."
"This is a catastrophic situation, and it shouldn't be happening," opines Yonni of Live from the Third Rail. Chicago residents: Get involved via savechicagolandtransit.com.
Photo by Siel
BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs for the Los Angeles Times at Emerald City, and at greenLAgirl.com.
