Group says money for mass transit helps economy
Just maintaining the region's bus and rail system will cost $1.7 billion a year. Add another billion dollars to that tab to expand the system as the population grows.
But don't let those figures scare you, because the investment actually pays off in more businesses, additional jobs and less traffic for everybody, argues a new economic study by the civic group Chicago Metropolis 2020.
"Transit is a good investment from a business standpoint," said Jim LaBelle, Metropolis' deputy director.
The new study, which was a year in the making, comes as lawmakers continue to debate whether to support a sales tax increase that would keep Metra, the CTA and Pace afloat.
Lawmakers also are eyeing a measure to add three new casinos that would partly fund a $13 billion public works plan. However, transit supporters say the deal shorts mass transit, giving the agencies just $425 million over five years -- far below the $10 billion they say is needed to keep the system running.
CTA and Pace plan to slash dozens of routes and raise fares to as high as $3 on Nov. 4 if lawmakers fail to come through with a long-term funding plan to bridge a shortfall of more than $200 million.
Lawmakers and the governor have been reluctant to raise taxes for transit, but LaBelle hopes the latest study will convince them the results will be worth the price.
The study examined the cost of time delays on commuters, air pollution and the slowing of freight and commercial traffic, among other factors.
It concludes that if lawmakers invested $1.68 billion a year to maintain the system, residents would see a 21 percent return in the form of additional business activity. If transit officials got about another $1 billion a year, the region would realize a 34 percent return on investment.
Yet, if lawmakers don't act -- or if they approve the much lower $85-million-a-year casino deal -- the state could realize a $2 billion loss in economic activity.
"It would be a big mistake if they fail to act," LaBelle said.
Opponents of the sales tax plan, such as Gov. Rod Blagojevich, favor raising business taxes, but there has not been a clear majority of support for that alternative.
The sales tax plan has already failed in the House and has received a lukewarm reception from Senate President Emil Jones, a Chicago Democrat.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Michael Madigan is skeptical of the new casino public works package and few lawmakers have stepped forward to increase the amount of money in it for Metra, Pace and the CTA. The last major public works package for transit included more than $2 billion in funding over five years.