RTA Must Lead

by Chris Robling

Last year we were threatened with many CTA doomsdays.  Finally, in January, the General Assembly passed a bill designed to help transit.

But the bill ignores the core infrastructure that allows us to move people, goods and service through the region.  It provides nothing to maintain and improve vehicles and bridges, tunnels and structures, buildings and electronic systems.

Instead, Springfield raised taxes on us to give cash to CTA, METRA AND PACE for operations.

Then, Governor Blagojevich threw in free rides for seniors – and stuck us with the tab.

The new subsidies are so large that the legislature suspended its rule that half of all operating costs be paid from the farebox.

That’s a very dangerous precedent.

For balance, the bill also gives new power to the RTA Board.

But will the new board, seated today, use it?

Here is what the new RTA Board needs to do.  It should immediately tell CTA, Metra and Pace that it will only approve budgets that pay half of operating costs from fares. 

And it should require cost-cutting plans – not service cuts.  That means, as David Mosena said when he led CTA, a top-to-bottom re-think with no sacred cows, focused on extending service through global best practices.

RTA should then earmark all of these savings for a regional capital program.

Because this Governor and this legislature have ignored RTA’s capital program, we are close to losing billions of federal dollars.

If we do, we will not see money like that from Congress for at least a generation. 

But before anyone thinks of more tax hikes for transit, transit must do its part – and quickly. 

RTA says it wants to lead.  It can do so by correcting Springfield’s mistake.

It is time to fund our regional transit capital needs – without flinching.

I’m Chris Robling.

Comments

[spintreebob]

Are pain points the problem? Or the systemic problems that create the pain points?

Federal Funding is the big systemic problem. Powerful Dirsken, Michel, Klucynski, Lipinski, Rosty, Hastert ALWAYS bring less back that we send to Washington. This is true of blue states that have the most mass transit.

Solution. Don't send the money to Washington in the first place. Then we won't get short changed. Nor will we have to jump thru their bureaucratic hoops and demands that we raise taxes "or lose it".

RTA-CTA-METRA-PACE is the 2nd problem. We created a bureaucracy focused, not on riders, but on subsidies. Just like our mis-education system, American Socialism chases the money controlled by the power structure and does not respond to the customer.

Solution. Sell the bus routes. Have separate "bids" for each bus corridor. Ashland, Damen, Western, California, Kedzie-Kimball, and Chicago, Division, North, Armitage, Fullerton, etc. The best routes will get bids in the positive money. The average route would contain clauses such as "provide a well maintained bus". The bad routes would contain clauses such as "provide the fuel and a well maintained bus." These clauses would come from the bidders, not the CTA.

There would still be subsidy of the vehicles, gasoline, etc. But the owner/operators would receive their money from the riders, based on attracting riders through good schedules, friendliness, and typical market forces that are always customer focused and not subsidy focused.

Round #1 of the bids would be limited to existing CTA/Pace employees.
Round #2 would include anyone already in the transportation business, including taxi drivers, limo operators, etc.
Round #3 would include anyone who met minimum criteria. Proper license, not a sex offendor, not a DUI-druggie problem, etc.

[Pete Speer]

Close, spintreebob, to something I have been advocating for some time.

Except

I would have the bidding done for timeslots within a route, allow the winning driver to keep the timeslot but fine for not keeping the schedule and allow poor simeslots on any corridor to be bid for a subsidy, minimum subsidy wins.

The RTA would deliver equipment on time and in good condition for all timeslots. Minibuses would be permitted.

L-Car and rail service would be bid (all service on a given line) completely.

And while we were at it, jitney cabs would be legalized with open fare structures, subject to inspection licensure and insurance. Jitneys (multiple passengers no fixed routes)offer an alternative.