According to the poll, the public supports combining Chicago-area transit agencies by a ratio of 2:1

A new poll shows Illinois residents support merging the Chicago area's four transit agencies by a ratio of two to one.

The poll is one of the first indications of public support for the upcoming Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act, a state bill that could combine the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace and Regional Transit Authority into one agency.

The poll of 600 likely voters shows the city of Chicago and collar counties share broad support.

The poll found that 54% of Chicago residents support the merger, while 27% oppose it. In suburban Cook County, 53% of respondents support a merger while 19% oppose it.

The poll showed an even higher 72% approval rating when voters were told that a Civic Federation analysis estimated the merger could avoid up to $250 million in administrative overlap.

RTA CEO Leanne Redden disputed the $250 million figure, telling the Sun-Times: “We don't believe it and have never seen any data to support it.”

The poll, conducted September 16-19, had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. It was funded by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and implemented by the Global Strategy Group.

Proponents of the bill have proposed merging the agencies to reduce administrative costs and improve regional transit planning. In return, transit agencies would receive $1.5 billion in state funding they need to avoid the “fiscal cliff” in 2026 when federal COVID-19 grants expire. The agencies face a total budget deficit of $730 million.

Elected officials signaled their support for a merger in a news conference Wednesday before transit leaders were scheduled to present their budget proposals to the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, said a merger could eliminate the inefficiencies of the current arrangement that she saw as a member of the RTA board.

“As I sat on that board, I was struck by how little control the RTA had over the region,” she said. “There was no way for the RTA to require cooperation from the three service agencies. They either passed their budgets or they didn’t.”

State Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, the bill's lead sponsor in the House and a Democrat from Chicago, said the “first step in transforming mass transit is bringing these transit agencies together.”

State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, said transit agencies are run like “little fiefdoms” that don't help people with transit as much as they could.

He said many respondents did not react positively when they learned that the four transit associations had spent $2 million on lobbyists, a figure the survey came up with based on public figures. 74 percent of respondents supported a merger after hearing this number.

The CTA declined to comment on the survey. Metra and Pace did not immediately comment.

In a statement, the RTA's Redden did not directly address the survey. But she said a solution to address the fiscal cliff must be addressed by the spring session of the state Legislature, when transit agencies must formulate next year's budget.

“Our region’s transportation system – and the double-digit ridership growth we achieved this year – is at risk if a funding solution is not found during the 2025 spring session of the Illinois General Assembly,” Redden said. “Failure to find a funding solution in the first half of 2025 will result in a 40% reduction in services across all three agencies.”

State lawmakers have held a series of hearings on the bill across the state this year. The hearings have produced many supporters of a merger.

But they have also received considerable resistance from the four transport companies. Transit bosses said the current system, which consists of four boards with 47 members appointed by 21 elected officials, was best suited to meeting residents' needs.

Bosses say they are being prevented from providing better service by an outdated state funding model, in which the state provides just 17% of funding for their budgets – the lowest of any state with a major city. In comparison, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts provide 40-50% of transit funding.

Read the survey: