Merger of Chicago-area transit agencies needs the fast track

With federal COVID-19 relief funds set to expire in 2026, public transit operators across the Chicago region are confronting a $730 million budget shortfall. This impending fiscal cliff has spurred proposals to reform and potentially consolidate CTA, Metra, Pace and RTA under a single regional authority.

Having been among RTA’s earliest staff members, I believe such governance changes are needed.

After completing my master’s degree in transportation science at Northwestern University, I eagerly launched my career as a transportation planner with the newly established RTA in 1976. That year, RTA focused on developing service contracts with private suburban bus operators and commuter railroads across the region. However, I quickly realized that RTA’s role in coordinating and overseeing transit services would face resistance from CTA.

Created by state legislation in 1947, CTA had its own board and chairman and was not inclined to relinquish any of its autonomy. CTA staff saw little need to collaborate with RTA, viewing it primarily as a conduit for receiving sales tax revenue established by the 1975 RTA Act. CTA expected RTA to simply approve its capital projects and operating budgets — a dynamic that, remarkably, has remained largely unchanged for 48 years.

In 1983, I relocated to New York to work for the Metro-North Commuter Railroad, which was established to take over commuter rail service from Conrail. Metro-North was created as part of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

The atmosphere in New York was markedly different from Chicago. Colleagues from other operating agencies, such as the Long Island Railroad and NYCTA (which runs New York City’s bus and subway systems), were collaborative and willing to coordinate on service matters. In New York, there was a single board and chairman overseeing all public transit — the MTA board and chairman — who approved capital programs and operating budgets, setting regional priorities for the agencies.

Like CTA, NYCTA was a government agency established long before the creation of the MTA. However, MTA addressed this by having its chairman and a select group of board members simultaneously serve as the chairman and board members of NYCTA.

CTA fails to collaborate

In 1983, amendments to the RTA Act led to the creation of the Suburban Bus Division (now Pace) and the Commuter Rail Division (now Metra), establishing separate boards to manage each. This change resulted in RTA’s limited oversight of CTA being extended to the new Metra and Pace boards as well.

Over the years, the lack of coordination among CTA, Metra and Pace has become increasingly evident, each following its own distinct strategy.

After joining the Chicago chapter of The Climate Reality Project, I’ve witnessed this dynamic firsthand as we advocate for faster bus fleet electrification to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Pace has been notably proactive, developing an ambitious plan to fully electrify its bus fleet. In contrast, CTA has resisted electrification, delaying necessary infrastructure for electric bus garage retrofits and remaining unresponsive to our outreach. Unlike Pace, which holds multiple public hearings across the region to gather input, CTA limits public comment by holding only one annual hearing on its budget and capital plan.

Last year, after receiving no response from CTA’s board or President Dorval Carter, we voiced our concerns at an RTA public hearing. While RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard acknowledged our concerns about CTA’s inaction, he explained that the RTA board has limited authority over CTA’s capital planning decisions, urging us to bring our feedback back to CTA.

I can’t think of another region in the country with such a dysfunctional relationship between transit operators and their oversight agency as we have in the Chicago area. It’s long overdue to establish a truly regional transit authority and reduce the number of boards and chairpersons who lack incentives to collaborate.

While Pace, Metra, and CTA should continue as operating entities, a single board should oversee the entire regional system. Only then might the Chicago area get the transit system it truly deserves.

Bruce W. Mainzer is a former mass transit executive for the RTA, Illinois Department of Transportation and Metro-North Commuter Railroad in New York City. He serves as co-chair of the Chicago metro chapter of The Climate Reality Project. 

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