Quinn cuts RTA’s free rides for seniors program
SPRINGFIELD — Many suburban seniors will no longer be allowed to ride buses and trains for free after Gov. Pat Quinn Monday ended the program.
The plan could save the Regional Transportation Authority about $38 million a year, an example of the budget cutting Quinn might be eyeing as he prepares to deliver his state budget plan Wednesday.
However, low-income seniors will still be allowed to ride for free under the plan.
The free rides program, which former Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved in 2008, has served more than 400,000 seniors and cost the RTA roughly $78 million annually. The effort to end the free rides program was spearheaded by former Rep. Suzie Bassi. The Palatine Republican had fought to end the program since it started.
Quinn said the cuts to the transit services are the beginning of needed cost-saving measures.
“To start off a week that will highlight important budget reforms, we’re taking important steps to ensure our state transit programs are fiscally responsible but also accessible to the riders who depend on them,” Quinn said in a statement.
The RTA will now have six months to phase out cardholders, but those who qualify under stricter guidelines can still ride for free. Those who qualify for the Circuit Breaker Program — a state service that offers exemptions for low-income, 65-year-old seniors and disabled people — could reapply. The Department of Aging will determine eligible participants.
Current eligibility standards are a 2010 income of $27,610 for a single-senior household and $36,635 for a two-senior household.
Diane Palmer, a spokeswoman for RTA, said she expects about 44 percent of current seniors to be eligible for free rides. She said the agency will try to make the transition as easy as possible for those who qualify.
“The important thing we know we would do is to make an effort to see what seniors are already Circuit Breaker eligible and then reach out to the Department of Aging to make it as easy as possible for those seniors,” she said.
Seniors who do not qualify will still ride for half price or a reduced rate because of federal law.
In the meantime, Quinn also signed into law a plan to have the state’s top ethics officer oversee the state’s transit agency.
The measure — which was sponsored by Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, and Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat — gives Executive Inspector General Ricardo Meza the authority to report findings of unethical conduct from board members or employees of the Regional Transit Authority, Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority.
Quinn could then remove board members based on those reports.
The change in oversight comes in part as a response to the forgeries and unaccounted vacation pay received by Phil Pagano, the former executive director of Metra who committed suicide in May.