Riders, workers should be in charge
The recent National Transportation Safety Board report on last year's Blue Line derailment cited bad management and missing and bogus inspection records as contributors to the accident.
For newcomers to Chicago, this may come as a surprise. But for veteran CTA riders and workers, this report is just tragic confirmation of what we have believed for years. Namely, the CTA has an established culture of mismanagement, deception, and complacency.
Now we are being told that the only way to avert recurring doomsdays is to hand over more of our money to the CTA. Come November we will again hear that we must pay more and get less; that CTA must lay off drivers and cut the pensions and health-care rights of those left behind to do the work; that buses must be reduced. Or maybe some deal will be made to "solve" the problem by raising our taxes instead of our fares (never our paychecks).
Despite the pleas, threats, and horse-trading, we cannot talk about giving more of our money to fund a culture that contributed to the Blue Line derailment. The CTA touches over 1.5 million lives daily. Yet there is no transparency or accountability. Now our transit is a crumbling safety hazard, a fact that even the CTA cannot cover up.
This culture cannot be reformed. It needs to be replaced with a culture of democracy, transparency, and environmental justice. If we want a safe, accessible, and affordable system for all, let's empower the people affected by public policy instead of making them hapless victims. To that end, let's have transit workers and riders control public transit. Let's have paratransit owned and controlled by people with disabilities. Develop regional coordination, but have regular riders and operators on the transit boards. Then conduct biannual spending and performance audits. Open the books to the public.
Maybe then we can have an honest conversation about the need to reinvest in our public transit for economic development, equality, clean air and the reduction of global warming emissions.
Michael Pitula
Community Organizer
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization