Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ― The CTA's plan to cut service dramatically and raise fares as high as $3 for express bus and rapid transit service is "very, very ugly," but so is the 30 percent drop-off in local tax revenue that created the crisis, Mayor Richard M. Daley said Tuesday.

Although the plan to erase a $300 million shortfall was crafted by the mayor's handpicked CTA president, Daley stopped short of giving it his blessing in an apparent attempt to avoid taking the blame.

"No. This is only proposed. And like anything else, that's the last resort. No one wants to see fare increases or service cuts. But they are in a very difficult position," the mayor said.

"When you raise fares, it drives people away. You know that. That's why they're coming up with every form of cost savings . . . to keep the CTA reasonable and fair to everyone….You have to analyze everything and try to come up with some new solutions, if it's possible."

The CTA bailout approved by the General Assembly last year to avert "doomsday" fare hikes and service cuts was supposed to take care of the transit agency's chronic needs.

But revenue from the regional sales tax hike and Chicago-only increase in the real estate transfer tax are down 30 percent due to the prolonged recession, the mayor said.

That has forced the CTA to return to Springfield for additional relief at a time when lawmakers can least afford to provide it. The state budget is mired in red ink.

To soften the blow for CTA riders, Daley urged lawmakers to consider rescinding the free rides for senior citizens tacked on to the 2008 CTA bailout by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The freebie was later extended to low-income riders with disabilities, disabled veterans and uniformed military personnel.

"They have to revisit everything. And that is one of 'em they have to revisit. Definitely," the mayor said.

Daley also urged the General Assembly to give the CTA the green light to transfer more capital funds toward operating expenses.

"No one likes to use that, but this deep, deep recession [leaves the CTA no choice].They're taking capital funds and using it for operating funds to survive," he said.

Two years ago, the CTA's 10,200 unionized employees agreed to increase their health care contributions and shore up a pension fund on the brink of collapse.

The five-year deal included a 16 percent pay raise, but bus drivers and motormen actually lost money during the first year, broke even in the second and started making money in the third year.

On Tuesday, the mayor urged CTA unions to return to the bargaining table to avert the need to lay off 1,000 of their members.

"Everybody is in the same pot—management, union and the riders," he said.

To those who claim CTA unions have already sacrificed enough, Daley said, "That [was] '08. This is '09 and '10. It's gonna get worse, to be very frank. And if you increase fares, what does it do? It moves more people away. Then, if you cut services, it cuts a lot of people out for valid services they need getting to and from work."

The budget unveiled this week calls for the regular bus fare to increase by 25-cents—to $2.50—while fares for express bus and rail service goes from $2.25 to $3.

Roughly 110 of the CTA's 150 bus routes would get longer waiting times, while operating hours would be reduced on 41 bus routes. Nine express bus routes would be cut.

Fran Spielman, Sun-Times, via the STNG Wire

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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