That is one tricky part. Chicago’s transit system has an unfortunately large funding deficit that the city and state are struggling to rectify. As I understand it, general ridership took a 1-2 punch from both COVID and the WFH movement (which, yes, was supercharged by COVID). Last article I saw said that some business buildings downtown have lost up to 50% of their tenants.
One thing that might help is the state is working on unifying Chicago’s three (yes, three) transit systems: CTA (the one most people are familiar with), Metra (longer distance trains for suburban commuters), and PACE (near suburb buses). Might streamline some things and save some money, but I don’t think that will fully close the gap. As a transit fan and advocate, I really hope we can find a way out of this mess.
That is one tricky part. Chicago’s transit system has an unfortunately large funding deficit that the city and state are struggling to rectify. As I understand it, general ridership took a 1-2 punch from both COVID and the WFH movement (which, yes, was supercharged by COVID). Last article I saw said that some business buildings downtown have lost up to 50% of their tenants.
One thing that might help is the state is working on unifying Chicago’s three (yes, three) transit systems: CTA (the one most people are familiar with), Metra (longer distance trains for suburban commuters), and PACE (near suburb buses). Might streamline some things and save some money, but I don’t think that will fully close the gap. As a transit fan and advocate, I really hope we can find a way out of this mess.