Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Mass-transit agencies waiting for Illinois lawmakers to find more money are piling on proposed fare increases and service cuts for next year, including the Chicago Transit Authority, which on Friday proposed eliminating 82 bus routes and raising fares as high as $3.25.

As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, life for commuters could get a whole lot worse unless the state comes up with more than $100 million to bail out the struggling transit agency.

Signs have been posted warning riders about the elimination of 39 bus routes on Nov. 4. But it may get even worse at the beginning of the year, with 43 more bus routes scheduled for elimination on Jan 6.

"We are simply out of options," CTA chief Ron Huberman said, acknowledging the "tremendous hardship" that will force 250,000 people to find a new way to get around each day.

Other Chicago-area mass transit agencies -- the Pace suburban bus system and Metra commuter rail -- also face widespread service cuts and fare increases unless lawmakers decide on a budget fix.

Transit funding solutions have stalled in Springfield because of disagreements over where to come up with the necessary money and whether to link it to statewide construction needs, such as new roads and bridges.

The CTA outlined the proposed cuts in a more than $1 billion budget that includes layoffs, service reductions and fare increases on top of those that are scheduled to go into effect Nov. 4 after a short-term state bailout postponed them last month. Only CTA rail service is escaping the budget ax because Huberman said it's the most cost-effective way to move people around the city.

Without action in Springfield, the CTA is set in November to eliminate 39 bus routes, lay off more than 600 employees and raise fares to as much as $3. Come January, another 43 bus routes would be cut, almost 1,800 more employees would lose their jobs and fares would top out at $3.25. The CTA would also close three of its eight garages. The cut in bus routes would mean 314 fewer buses during rush hour.

"This is grim. This is difficult. This will impact people in a very terrible way," Huberman said.

As CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports, commuters have good reason to be concerned. Confusion, fear and anxiety are just some of emotions commuters are feeling Friday night about the prospect of losing 82 bus routes.   

The main concern of many commuters trying to digest the "doomsday" budget was how they will get to and from work if the CTA doesn't get funding from the state.

For riders on the 14 Jeffrey Express that covers the South Side, 15 years of convenience could come to an end.

"I'm dependent on it for work every single day, five days out of the week," said commuter Linda Carmickle.

"We can't afford to lose this bus line," said one woman.

"I just really don't know what do to," said another.

But prices would not increase for reduced-fare riders such as students, the disabled and senior citizens like Shirley Blair, whose main bus route also looks to survive the cuts.

Even if the cuts do happen and service gets slower and more crowded, Blair said she can adjust her travel schedule because she's retired. But she said it won't be that easy for people who ride the CTA to their jobs.

"It's the working people that are going to have the problems," she said.

"I think Mr. Huberman pretty much is back in a corner and unfortunately it's the working men and women…that'll going to suffer," said Rick Harris of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

But they won't be alone.

"Given the fact that over 70 percent of the people who ride the CTA are not transit dependent, they have options to get into a car or a cab, what people should anticipate is traffic jams and gridlock throughout the region," Huberman said.

Huberman, who spoke with CBS 2 on the Loop "L," which he uses to get to work every day, says the governor and Democratic leadership in Springfield could make all the cuts go away. 

"They asked us to tighten our belt and this year alone we've come up with over $30 million in belt-tightening measures and so every time Springfield has challenged us to act, and I say rightfully so, the CTA has stepped up to the plate and I say now is the time for Springfield to step up to the plate," Huberman said.

Friday's threats are not only designed to warn commuters, but also to pressure Springfield. They have been considering a bill to subsidize mass transit by increasing the sales tax a quarter of a percent and imposing an added real estate transfer tax. But with lawmakers reluctant to raise taxes and skeptical of the CTA's efficiency, commuters at this point are caught in the middle.

Much of the disagreement between lawmakers in Springfield is connected to tying a transit bill to a state capital construction program. But Democratic state Rep. Julie Hamos, chairwoman of the House Mass Transit Committee, said she hopes lawmakers can tackle mass transit because of funding deadlines even if the details aren't worked out on a capital bill.

"We should still be able to move a transit bill on its own merits," said Hamos, who backs a bill that includes a regional sales tax increase to get more money to the transit agencies.

But House Minority Leader Tom Cross has opposed the transit legislation as a way to pressure other state leaders to cooperate on a construction plan that includes roads and bridges.

Cross spokesman David Dring said they still want to have a full transportation plan.

In the suburbs, the Pace bus system approved a proposed budget for next year that could mean the elimination of some routes along with weekend and evening service for riders who would pay more to ride the remaining buses.

Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said the commuter rail is considering its options for next year, including fare increases as high as 20 percent and service reductions, specifically on weekends and in the evenings. They also will review rider statistics on all trains and lines looking for possible reductions.

Metra's last fare increase was a 5 percent jump in 2006, Pardonnet said.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker, Rafael Romo and Jay Levine, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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