CTA ridership is only 60% of pre-COVID-19 levels, while the budget is 30% higher

Chicago's public transit ridership is just 60% of pre-COVID levels, while budgets are 30% higher. Now they face a budget deficit of $577 million.

The Chicago Transit Authority is facing a $577 million budget deficit due to poor policies and overspending.

Proposals to address this problem by increasing an already unbalanced budget or providing government resources to balance it will not work. Financial responsibility and ridership growth are the only paths back to a sustainable path.

Chicagoland's Transit Problem: Budget increases, passenger numbers decrease

CTA ridership in 2023 is projected to be just 60% of pre-COVID levels in 2019, when there were 455.8 million riders. In 2023 there were 273.5 million. There is little sign that values ​​will rise significantly in the coming years.

Despite this, the CTA budget continues to grow rapidly, increasing the fiscal year 2024 budget by $210 million year-over-year. By 2026, the CTA budget is expected to exceed $2.2 billion, an increase of $650 million since 2019, when it was $1.52 billion. This includes a shortfall of $577 million.

The CTA, which covers Chicago's “L” and city bus routes, has received more than $2 billion in federal aid through a combination Federal relief fund. The CTA has used $1.1 billion of these funds through 2023. It plans to use $472.5 billion in 2024 and $481.2 billion in 2025 to cover shortfalls in those budgets, while the 2026 budget projects a deficit of $576.9 billion becomes.

Nearly $2 billion in federal funding will not solve CTA’s systemic problems

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning proposes addressing the CTA's systemic problems by requiring an extra $1.5 billion Transit funding from the state and $400 million for capital investments.

This plan increases the region's already enormous tax burden on residents and fails to address the systemic problems faced by transportation agencies. Taxpayers who don't live in the Chicago area shouldn't be asked to bail out an agency that's miles from their hometown. The reality is that neither the city nor the state has the money to cover this deficit. The city has proposed introducing a “congestion tax” and using this new revenue to fund transportation spending. Congestion prices is a method of charging users for using congested roads during peak hours.

This could include things like new paid lanes, tolls for non-carpool vehicles, or fees to enter congested areas. This, like many other transportation or gas taxes, is extremely regressive and unworkable. A congestion tax would not generate enough funds to cover the CTA's deficit. It would also place a disproportionate burden on working-class families who have no choice but to make long commutes to work during rush hour. Recently, New York “indefinitely suspended” its congestion tax policy, which would have imposed a $15 fee on cars entering Manhattan's central business district. The governor of New York said $15 “can blow the budget of a working or middle class household”. This decision was also influenced by the fact that 64% of New Yorkers opposed congestion pricing, showing how unpopular this policy would be.

A positive component of the CMAP proposal that is worth implementing and expanding is the consolidation of transit agencies: CTA, Metra and Pace to reduce administrative costs. Still, the short-term costs and time required to complete this restructuring mean the plan is unlikely to provide immediate relief.

Adjusting the budget and increasing ridership will help solve the problem

A two-pronged solution is needed to get local transport companies back on a financially viable path:

1: Eliminate high and unnecessary administrative and personnel costs and

2: Create a commercial environment that attracts more people to commute to the city using public transportation.

Personnel costs account for 68%, or $1.36 billion, of CTAs Budget of $2 billion These costs alone are expected to increase by $140 million to $1.5 billion by 2026. CTA's personnel expenses are bloated and wasteful. Almost half of CTA employees, 5,154 of 10,588, are not transit operators but work in administrative, management and support roles. A particularly absurd example is a DJ who wants to earn $20,000 for just 300 hours of work.

Overall, costs have continued to rise even though ridership remained below pre-pandemic levels. This is the main cause of the discrepancy.

People are afraid of driving

Crime is probably a major reason for low ridership. Violent crimes are regularly reported at CTA stations. In September 2024, four people were shot on the blue line. The city is changing 800 full-time equivalent Job offers in the police department since 2019 hasn't helped matters. The city should work to make residents feel safer using public transportation and to improve police funding and presence.

The loss of businesses and residents contributes to low ridership

The long-term solution to restoring transit ridership is to create a commercial environment that attracts more people to transit. The office vacancy rate in downtown Chicago is over 25%, well above the national rate of 19%. Bringing workers and residents back to the city is the easiest way to increase demand for public transportation. High rents and taxes have also pushed residents out of traffic-congested areas.

Smart policy and spending reforms are the way forward

Key measures that can reduce costs and increase demand for public transportation include:

• Increase security and reduce crime in high traffic areas by bringing back lost police posts.
• Reducing administrative or non-essential items in the CTA budget.
• Lowering the commercial real estate tax to ease the burden on businesses wanting to remain in downtown Chicago. This can also help increase demand for new companies looking to lease office space.
• Increasing the supply of housing in transit zones through looser zoning restrictions and reducing home ownership taxes. This can help reduce residential pressures and increase demand for these zones, while providing more people with the opportunity to commute and find work in employment-intensive areas.

Good public transport offers many benefits for long-term economic growth. Chicago has one of the most robust transit systems in the country, but persistent mismanagement puts the entire system at risk. It is imperative that the City emphasize fiscal responsibility and efficient economic policies to address the CTA's current problems.