Transit agencies plan layoffs, cuts, fare hikes

Just two winters ago, Chicago-area transit riders feared a doomsday scenario with threatened fare hikes, route cuts and layoffs.

Again in late 2009, drastic fare increases for paratransit and the CTA loomed, only to be forestalled at the last minute by an agreement between state government and transit agencies.

But despite the reprieve, suburban and Chicago mass transit commuters still will face fare hikes, route cuts and layoffs in February.

For some riders, the impact is devastating.

"I'll be able to finish this semester thanks to rides with friends," Harper College undergraduate Thomas Groh said. But after that, "I think I'm dropping out of school."

The Pace bus the Elk Grove Village student usually takes is being combined with another route to save money, but the segment of the route near his home will be discontinued. A taxi to the Palatine college would cost about $30 one-way, said Groh, who can't afford that sum.

"This has pretty much taken away my future," said Groh, who has battled a brain tumor and learning disabilities on his way to college.

Here's a look at the changes the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and Metra are instituting in February to offset a steep decline in revenues caused by the recession. Sales taxes along with fares are the main source of funding for the three agencies. The CTA also depends on a real estate transfer tax, which has been unproductive.

• Pace will eliminate 15 routes including Route 535 Fox Valley Shuttle, Route 654 South Glen Ellyn, Route 637 Wood Dale Rosemont CTA, and Route 690 Arlington Heights Road. Weekend service will be eliminated on nine buses including Route 209 Busse Highway on Sundays and Route 715 Central DuPage on Saturdays. Eight routes will be reduced or consolidated including Routes 696 and 699 that service Harper College.

• Metra on Monday will raise the price of weekend passes, one-way fares and penalties for buying tickets on trains.

• The CTA is bracing for layoffs of more than 1,000 employees unless the labor unions and management can rework contract deals, which is appearing unlikely. Service will run less frequently on 119 bus routes and seven train lines and hours will be slashed on 41 bus routes. Changes are set for Feb. 7.

For suburbanites who depend on Pace to get to jobs, schools and necessary errands, it's a grim forecast.

Single mom Azizia Cameron who works at Harper College and studies mass communications there is one of the riders hit. Service reductions mean Cameron is scrambling to buy a car with her limited income. In the meantime, she'll take taxis to fill the gaps in bus service.

"I work and go to school as well, so it hurts that the bus is going to be eliminated. It's going to be real tight for the first couple of months having to make car payments," she said.

"This doesn't just hurt the people going to school, but it hurts people's lives. It's a ripple effect."

Harper officials said they were working with students affected by the changes.

The suburban bus agency used ridership and operating expenses of routes in deciding what to cull, Pace spokesman Patrick Waldron said.

"Routes that operate more frequently, for longer hours during the day, longer distances, or some combination of these factors impact the financial performance of the bus route. By law, our system must recover 36 percent of our operating expenses from the fares we collect from riders," he said.

If the economy doesn't improve, the cuts could go deeper in 2011.

"Economic recovery is absolutely crucial in the coming year, both from an employment standpoint - which will impact ridership - and a funding standpoint, because we're funded by a portion of the sales taxes collected in the region," Wilmot said. "We're optimistic but there's just so much that can happen between now and preparing next year's budget."

Pace advised stranded riders to check the Web site Pacebus.com for alternatives.

The Chicago region is not alone, Regional Transportation Authority officials say. About 80 percent of other transit agencies are in the budget badlands.

"We certainly don't like cutting transit at all when there's a demand for more transit in the region. The long-term goal is to expand transit not to contract it," RTA Executive Director Steve Schlickman said.

One bright spot is that RTA planners say a conservative estimate shows revenues growing by about 2.6 percent in 2010s. In the meantime, transit agencies are instituting hiring freezes, furlough days and other cost-cutting measures.

In fall 2009, the CTA was looking at significant fare increases and Pace was considering raising the cost of rides for paratransit, the pickup service for people with disabilities.

Gov. Pat Quinn reached an agreement with the two agencies to keep fares level for two years but it relied mainly on borrowing.

This year's gloom is "a portent of things to come," University of Illinois at Chicago transportation professor Joseph DiJohn said. Previously, in transit crises the state legislature was able to bail out agencies, in 2008 approving increases in the sales tax and real-estate transfer tax, which benefited Chicago.

Now with a pending election and state budget woes, getting help from Springfield isn't likely, said DiJohn, director of the Metropolitan Transportation Support Initiative at UIC's Urban Transportation Center.

"They've got to deal with it internally with service cuts and fare increases. I just don't know where that's going. These are Band-Aids."

One source of cash could be restricting the controversial seniors ride free policy to low-income users.

"That's an opportunity to pick up tens of millions of dollars a year," DiJohn said. Despite its potential to be a third rail, limiting the program could be transit's only chance in the near term.

"I think that will come back," DiJohn said. "It's something the legislature should consider. They certainly should address senior free rides."

The RTA and transit agencies will lobby lawmakers this session about senior rides along with another issue - getting $250 million in back payments from the state.

Since last summer, "we haven't seen a dime from them," Schlickman said. "We are unable to deal with that hole much longer."