Jan 15, 2007 11:40 pm US/Central
CTA Ridership Up Last Year, But Budget Woes Loom
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
The Chicago Transit Authority last year experienced its highest ridership level since 1993, the agency announced Monday.
With an increase in ridership of 2.4 million rides, or 0.5 pecent, over 2005, the CTA achieved its highest ridership since 1993 and has seen increases in ridership in eight of the last nine years, according to a CTA release. While train ridership rose significantly, bus ridership was down, according to the agency's numbers.
The CTA's rail system provided 195.2 million rides last year, an increase of 8.4 million rides over 2005, or a gain of 4.5 percent. Throughout the year, rail station entries on the system surpassed levels not seen since 1969, according to the release.
Bus ridership levels fell by 1.6 percent in 2006, or 4.8 million fewer rides than in 2005, but at 298.4 million rides, the agency still recorded higher levels than in 2004. These gains occurred despite the fact that CTA transferred paratransit operations to Pace in July 2006. Paratransit rides account for 1.2 million rides.
"Factors that have contributed to ridership gains in recent years include the successful completion of major capital improvement projects such as the rehabilitation of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line and the 54th/Cermak branch, as well [as] an investment in new buses for the fleet," CTA President Frank Kruesi stated in the release. "Improvements such as the current initiative to expand capacity on the Brown Line will allow CTA to accommodate even more customers in the future."
CTA Board Chairman Carole Brown addressed the ridership increases, while at the same time recognizing the toll that current work on the system -- which has resulted in regular delays and reroutes -- has had on the system.
"The healthy growth of ridership in 2006 reflects the fact that our commitment to improving transit is being recognized by our customers despite some of the inconveniences that go with making those improvements. In the long run, we are improving our system for our customers and providing service while that work is underway," Brown said.
The CTA says that since 1997, annual ridership has grown by nearly 55 million – an increase that alone approximately equals the total transit ridership in greater St. Louis.
These substantial gains mark a turnaround from the period between 1985 and 1997, the agency says, when insufficient public operating funding resulting from a 1983 state law "contributed to a downward spiral of service reductions, rapidly escalating fares, and major ridership losses."
The agency states that "despite [system] improvements, the underlying 1983 state law that fueled CTA's earlier ridership decline still remains. Without changes to this law and increases in operating funding, CTA will face a budget shortfall before the end of 2007, leaving few options but to reduce service and raise fares.
If transit is not convenient or is too expensive, then people will turn to their cars, resulting in more traffic congestion and pollution for the entire region. The expiration of the Illinois FIRST state program at the end of 2004 has also meant fewer capital resources – as much as $176 million annually – for CTA to maintain its infrastructure in a state of good repair.
To ensure safe and reliable transportation, additional capital funds from the state are also needed to purchase new buses and trains and to keep tracks and stations, some of which are over 100 years old, in top shape."
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
