‘The winning touchdown’: Metra exhales, passes budget without fare hikes, fiscal cliff
After consecutive years of gloomy budget sessions, Metra directors approved a 2026 fiscal plan amid an optimistic atmosphere Thursday.
The agency’s $1.2 billion operating budget followed the Illinois General Assembly passing a massive revenue infusion for Metra, Pace and the CTA on Oct. 31. The three agencies all faced significant shortfalls with COVID-19 federal relief running out.
Metra will receive nearly $28 million in additional funding next year, $246.5 million in 2027 and $283.8 million in 2028, Chief Financial Officer John Morris said.
Additional funding for Metra will be nearly $28 million in 2026, $246.5 million in 2027 and $283.8 million in 2028, Chief Financial Officer John Morris said.
Executive Director Jim Derwinski compared passage of the legislation to a Chicago Bears game.
“It felt like we went through the first four quarters and we were really uncertain about what was going to happen. But they all came through on the 31st. They got the winning touchdown. This is a victory for all of us … for the entire region and the state,” Derwinski said.
“The real work is ahead,” he added. Metra won’t be “sitting back, trying to maintain the system that we have but literally trying to expand it and grow it into a system that we all want.”
Plans to raise fares between 13% and 15% and to transfer $60 million from capital to operating funds were canceled, and “modest service increases” are expected.
Metra directors also endorsed a $515.3 million capital plan, which includes purchasing new locomotives and rail cars, and repairing bridges and stations.
Concerns about a “fiscal cliff” when pandemic aid dried up loomed over Chicago-area public transit for years. The state Senate passed a transit bailout with controversial tax increases in May; both chambers approved a revised version in the waning hours of the veto session last month.
The bailout measure will generate about $1.5 billion annually through an RTA sales tax hike, shifting some motor fuel taxes to transit, and using interest from the state’s Road Fund.
The legislation, which awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature, goes into effect midyear 2026. That means the full scope of the revenue surge won’t be fully realized until 2027.
“It’s been a really difficult last couple of months,” Metra Chair Joseph McMahon said, congratulating staff and lawmakers who “stuck their necks out for public transportation. It was a lot of work to get here. I’m glad we got here. I’m glad we now know the path forward.”
The CTA and Pace also approved revised budgets this week. The Regional Transportation Authority still must finalize all three spending plans in December.
Pace will receive about $19 million in new funding next year and will not increase fares as a result. The agency will also be able to continue its popular Rideshare Accessibility Program (RAP), which offers subsidized Uber trips for riders with disabilities and the similar Taxi Access Program.
Pace anticipates adding up to 10% more suburban bus service and increased on-demand rides.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s operating budget is $2.23 billion and avoids raising fares, laying off employees and cuts to buses and trains.
About $142 million in new revenues will stream into the agency and that should result in better connections, more one-seat rides, and enhanced security through the Chicago Police Department. The CTA also will begin piloting a transit ambassador program to assist riders and help people in crisis.