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Ron Huberman et al handed down the proposed 2008 CTA budget, and it ain't pretty. At all.
The "Back to Basics" budget, as the CTA is calling it, is a two-fold plan: Phase one goes into effect Nov 4, phase two in January. Both phases suck ass.
Huberman says in his intro letter,
What this document does not do is tell the story of the hundreds of thousands of CTA riders and employees who will be put through great hardship due to the service cuts, fare increases and lay-offs described in these pages. It is important for our riders to know that all of us at the CTA do not want to see this budget become a reality. We remain hopeful that the Illinois General Assembly will pass a long-term funding solution that will solve the region's transit issues.
The service cuts are severe:
Here's the list of cut routes.
The other big issue? Fares are gonna go way, way up.
And finally, the CTA will lay off 600 employees in November and 1,799 employees in January. In total, that's the elimination of 82 bus routes, the termination of 2,436 employees, and a whole bunch of money.
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Taking one look at CTA buses (on any route) and knowing those buses get only 4 mpg is one sign that no one at the CTA think tank (if there is one) figured out bus routes actually lose money for the company. Most people take buses no less than 4 blocks, and probably no more than 10 miles. Between the driver's $20+ an hour salary and the buses gas usage, you can almost hear a vacuum. On top of that, they wait until the tracks start damaging the trains before they repair either, further screwing up the operating budget.
I feel bad for Huberman for not only inheriting this mess, but being the fall guy for any backlash. This system is so screwed, you almost have to rebuild it from the bottom up. There is plenty of room on top of trains and buses for solar panels, as well the ability to hang power lines for electric buses from the light poles without making Chicago's streets look like Market St. in San Francisco.
1: That's all fine and dandy, but none of what you say means shit without a revised funding formula.
Dude, this is so fucked. I don't care if they raise the fares (I have a monthly pass that even at $94 is still worth it), but the Milwaukee bus? The Damen bus? Division, Diversey? All gone?
I called both my State Senator (Martinez) and State Rep (Berrios) about this shit. Their staff were cool, they took a message. What else can we do?
Good. Trim the fat and cut wasted route. Let the CTA fend for themselves.
I'm sorry? Trim the "fat?" Those bus routes are not "fat." They are how people get to and from work, school, the grocery store, the doctor's office etc...I don't understand what they think these service cuts will accomplish. It's not as if ridership/income will increase when they take away all of our buses and everyone is forced to crowd onto already over-crowded trains.
People say it's the city of neighborhoods... this plan will really cement that, as the number of buses cut makes it virtually impossible to get from one neighborhood to another in a timely manner.
I knew I shouldn't have read this - didn't want to ruin my Friday but just couldn't help it. Diversey el stop is closed for construction, yet they propose to eliminate both the Diversey bus and the #11 Lincoln/Sedgwick (which takes stranded Diversey riders to Fullerton). Gah.
4: Just as soon as roads pay for themselves.
God, are you really this stupid? You really want to harm this area so much--believe me, cutting mass transit is about as far from business friendly as you can get.
All you fucking liberatarian/free market tools: Before you scream about CTA fending for itself (and it's Metra and Pace, too), realize that making it HARDER to get to work does NOT help business. Neither do decreasing property values as a result of 1) land near CTA stops dropping in price or 2) people leaving Chicago.
Just remember this is all Daley's fault. He hires his friends and they run things into the ground. How much money is the mayor spending to bring the Olympics here? Probably enough to fill a lot of this void. Fuck the Olympics, fix the CTA.
damen, division, diversey, lincoln, grand, montrose, foster, addison, lasalle ????
these aren't express buses. these aren't minor routes. ?? i'm not sure how you get west in a lot of these cases. if lawrence is your only option up north (no montrose, no foster, no lincoln) and it's freezing and you're old, or even just ... regular, what then?
this is crazy talk. seriously. and all of you on the south side have similar but different problems going on.
Guest 4. Do you even live in Chicago? Do you take the CTA or do your drive?
Consider the congestion. If you drive you may want to consider how this will affect your commute.
All of those people that took Express buses on Lakeshore Drive? They'll be in cars. Damen, Diversey, the south side, the list goes on.
The trains will be too crowded, so some will not be able to get on.
I'm guessing parking fees in the loop will go up.
Do you think you will get funding for the roads you drive on every day?
And this affects Metra and Pace as well. How are all of the people from the suburbs going to get to their jobs in the loop? The Metra parking lots in the suburbs have 3 year waiting lists. The shuttle buses will be eliminated.
You're an idiot.
I have more than one job, and if these cuts go through, I will officially be unable to get to either of them. In January. In the freezing cold.
THANKS CTA!
I'll pay higher taxes. I'll pay higher fares. Just don't cut any routes.
I walked three miles to school in my day. It'll be good for you, Chicagoians need the exercise. Most of the riders are overwieght anyhow.
Well, a second class city deserves a second class transit system, apparently.
This fucking sucks.
Losing those south side routes pretty much isolates the far south and southeast sides of the city from the rest of Chicago. If the second phase cuts are followed through, Hyde Park becomes even more of a suburb within the city.
The effect could be worsened if Metra cuts back on their services like the Rock Island and electric lines.
Time to load up on winter bike riding gear, it seems.
Guest 13: Yes, walking will increasingly become an option for some of us. I personally work about 2 miles from home so it is feasible and I sometimes do it anyway. But not everyone lives so close nor has the time to spare before and after work to walk. What about parents who have to get home to their kids?
This proposal is nothing less than cruel and will be a huge embarrassment to Chicago that will hopefully prevent Daley from securing the Olympics since clearly he is incapable of running a city properly. How can such a negligent attitude exist towards CTA consumers which is the vast majority of Chicago residents?
Anyone else concerned about what these service cuts and fare increases, coupled with Daley's plan to raise property taxes, might do to the city's infrastructure? I see them cutting all these routes from the south side and from the north side and I imagine less and less people coming downtown for leisure. I eventually imagine companies leaving downtown because their employees have trouble getting to work and because it's too expensive, if they happen to own a building. I imagine a wholesale exodus to the suburbs and I imagine the downtown area turning into Detroit. Am I being an alarmist?
"Time to load up on winter bike riding gear, it seems."
Or, time to move.
For all those thinking about the effect of all this on the Olympics, you really need to wake up: Uberoth (sp?), the head of the US Olympic committee, recently said the transit situation will have no effect on Chicago's bid. That is because the Olympic transit needs can be met through a short-term contract with a private company. If you don't believe me, look up the quotes, which appeared last week, I think, in the Sun-Times first.
Chicago--always trying to prove it is not ready to be first-class. What a fucking waste ever moving to this pathetic excuse for a "world-class city."
As 1 said, I feel bad for Huberman in all this. I'm somewhat impressed with his nerve in doing all this (although if he hadn't accepted the early funding, I would have been more impressed). The system simply doesn't have the money now, so, I suppose, good on him for actually coming up with a plan.
That said, his plan is only good as long as it never gets put into action. Funding is the crisis, obvs, and it seems like this is going to be the year (hopefully) for the damn state and city to fix decades-long funding crises that were never remedied in the past. If folks in Springfield think the problems of transit in "that big city to the North," they're sorely confused. People will move (I would, if my job wasn't convenient on the blue line--although that's another mess in itself), crime will increase over the years due to increasing centralized poverty, and the state's biggest revenue center be badly damaged. Get it together, Springfield. For reals.
I agree with guest nine.
CTA is not a priority for Daley.
Which means Daley has no problem letting CTA run into the dirt for a few more years while pointing a dirty stubby finger at Springfield.
This only forces more poor and working class people out the city. What the rest of us riders have to face in terms of our commute is just “acceptable collateral damage”
Daley’s priorities are luring more rich suburbanite types back in the city with the Olympics, making downtown the Disney Land of the Midwest, etc, etc.
At this point CTA is not part of this equation, because the folks he wants are part of a very car oriented culture.
Once Daley’s “lost tribe” reaches a critical level, then and only then, will Daley fix the CTA, and he will do it with a vengeance including CTA advertising to “Just Take It”
Of course when this time comes, poor folks will be like modern day Indians and I don’t mean from India.
The End
Lots of profanity here. Way to show Chicago has first class citizenry everyone!
Plus, comments like "this fucking sucks" really cut to the heart of the matter and offer legitimate insight as to how we might fix the problem and better the community.
It is a wonder how the city faces such problems with intelligent people like this living here.
2,
Not sure I'd like to reveal my funding formula in a comment section of a blog. Especially one where it will get picked to pieces before I sit back down. Feel free to come up with one yourself. It's pretty easy really. A bus that gets more than 4 mpg, routes shortened rather than cut, increased advertising, and drivers that knowing the term "easy on the brakes".
One solution is zoning. Like the Metra. If you travel from one zone to the next, it costs more. People getting on the blue line at O'hare are spending the same amount as people getting on at Grand going into the Loop. How is that fair for the Grand pubas?
Looks like semi-privatization is the way to go. It isn't the best, but certainly the city/county/state have deemed themselves incapable of running it on their own. A mix of private enterprise mixed with limited government could solve it.
The CTA Blue Line, presented by AT&T. They can play that all around the world song over and over on the train cars, and we will all buy their phones due to this superliminal marketing tactic.
I'll pontificate the various ins and outs of the CTA budget at a later time, but right now, guest 21, this truly does fucking suck.
And it's the jagoffs like you who really are the last straw. Comments like "this fucking sucks" are the exasperated responses of people getting screwed. Comments like yours are just useless.
Sorry, my comment was was for 21. No offense 22 and 23.
Yeah this fucking sucks big time
Just think, after all these years of Daley dragging the CTA into the dirt, he will have lowered the agencys net worth. After he's accomplished this, he can privatize as much of it as he wants and sell the most valuable peices to his friends. He can then turn the CTA into a management consulting firm that ties together all of these private firms into one city-wide transit program at which the city receives a yearly fee to basically do nothing.
Win Win all around and all we had to do was give away the land rights the trains run on, exlusive bus contracts along highly valuable routes and of course the power of eminent domain.
I'm so angry about this. I live between the Lincoln and Damen buses and near the Montrose bus. All gone. So my monthly pass is going up $20 so I can use the CTA less. I've e-mailed my state reps three times. Not sure what else to do but campaign against them when they run again. Of course, unless I buy a car or ride my bike in the middle of winter, I won't be able to do that outside of my house.
This is absolutely ridiculous and heads should roll because of it.
all the cool kids have already moved downtown. But really, im even more happy that i can walk to work now. I might never leave if the CTA keeps getting worse.
Hell, I blame Bush.
Federal funding for all kinds of programs has been cut. They pushed through No Child Left Behind, and then cut education funding, leaving the states to pick up the slack. They cut federal transportation money for highways, again leaving the states to it, making the downstaters nervous and unwilling to support the RTA. Health care, all the issues Blago is lobbying for, all have seen federal cuts. Not to mention what the war is doing to the price of oil.
But let's not forget, too, that everybody basically gambled with their pension funds until Enron tanked. Now they can't by law. And since the stock markets have been sucking, they're funds are worth even less, meaning even more needs to go in from the operations budgets...
It goes on and on and on... I have no solutions.
yeah, it's bushes fault. you idiot.
I'm good with blaming Bush
31 actually has a point: federal operating support for CTA (zeroed out in 1997) would be worth $100M or so in today's money. #1, electric catenary costs tens of millions of dollars per mile, and CTA is currently running a trial set of hybrid buses. Still, it's kind of hard to talk about the future when you don't know if you'll have enough cash to make payroll next month...
Also, this is not a CTA problem. Metra and Pace have also unveiled serious cuts. Also, a comprehensive audit has already been done.
#17, you're spot on. Higher taxes and fewer services will choke this region's economy. I, and countless other people I know, didn't move here for the weather, after all.
85% of the budget is labor (and, as you'd expect from a government agency, there's no breakdown of labor...just an $850M bucket :). it's also great how 2007 forecast is compared to the 2007 amended budget; curious how forecast compares to the original budget), so only changes to labor costs will have a significant impact. saving gas: fantastic idea. but, fuel is only ~5% of the budget. no other line item in the budget is greater than ~8%. even if you eliminated fuel costs, you wouldn't balance. one fix: reduce salaries and or/benefits. according to the budget, employer contributions to pensions doubled from 6% to 12% of payroll. salaries also increased. this feels like double-dipping; as salaries increase, real dollar pension contribs. (pegged as a % of salary) will also increase. no need to raise both. feels like a leaner pension contrib (keep it at 6%? 8%?) would make a sizeable dent. same for healthcare. the budget indicates a 12% increase in healthcare costs. should riders bear all of that? how about a 5% increase in the budget and 7% passed on to employees? i guarantee there's room to improve efficiencies in the healthplan. an hra, for example, would likely save 10-20% annually. cost of operations will rise, and i'm ok with higher fares as long as i'm not funding big increases in salaries and benefits while service is cut. seems fair that both riders and cta employees should tighten their belts. it'll never happen, but i'd love to learn this was resolved when the union agreed to forego xx% of the pension increase and xx% of rasies in conjunction with a smaller fare hike and/or fewer cuts in service.
What's the sound? I think it's the Olympic bid, flying away.
God this is so depressing. I know it's much a PR move to press for funds, but the actual thought of this is just disappointing. Chicago looks like a failure for not being able to figure this out.
There is NO WAY they'd cut some of these buses. Some of these are PACKED routes, generating a ton of rev. It's not gonna happen.
is that a stradivarius that little ricjie is playing whilst chicago burns?
i meant 'richie,' but you all know that. and its great that many of our most 'powerful' national legislators are beholden to daley, so they won't lift a finger. Rahm? Barack? et al? anyone? thanks, thanks alot.
#35, you've got some factual problems.
"85% of the budget is labor (and, as you'd expect from a government agency, there's no breakdown of labor...just an $850M bucket :). it's also great how 2007 forecast is compared to the 2007 amended budget; curious how forecast compares to the original budget)"
Ok, so maybe it's a not a HUGE difference, but labor was about 75% of the budget. Why does the forecast (what's really going to happen) compare to the amended budget instead of the original budget? it's because the original budget was the one that included an ADDITIONAL $110 million in funding! Remember? RTA told CTA, Metra and Pace to assume that a structural funding solution was going to occur in 2007. I would expect that the forecast is significantly lower than the original budget. I'm lazy, but you can check the website to look at the year's original budget.
And what do you mean, one bucket for labor? Did you expect separate buckets for trains, buses and non-train/bus labor?
"according to the budget, employer contributions to pensions doubled from 6% to 12% of payroll."
Um, nope. This was part of the labor contract that has yet to go into effect due to legislative inaction! And don't forget, part of this contribution was going to go towards debt service on the planned for pension obligation bond!
"salaries also increased."
The press release today said CTA employees did not get pay increases in 2007. It did mention that the unions are due for a pay increase in 2008, though.
"the budget indicates a 12% increase in healthcare costs. should riders bear all of that? how about a 5% increase in the budget and 7% passed on to employees? i guarantee there's room to improve efficiencies in the healthplan."
Healthcare costs are skyrocketing across many industries. Do you know that CTA employees have not had an increase in healthcare premiums? I'm lazy and not checking the facts, but given that in any job I've had, I've had to pay more each year for insurance, it's a bit presumptuous to assume that even the non-unionized office staff hasn't seen insurance premium increases.
Plus, don't forget that the CTA wanted to create a healthcare trust in addition to "solving" the pension problem through bonding. BUT, again, due to legislative inaction, they haven't been able to do that.
"cost of operations will rise, and i'm ok with higher fares as long as i'm not funding big increases in salaries and benefits while service is cut. seems fair that both riders and cta employees should tighten their belts. it'll never happen, but i'd love to learn this was resolved when the union agreed to forego xx% of the pension increase and xx% of rasies in conjunction with a smaller fare hike and/or fewer cuts in service."
Have you missed the last 5 months worth of news? Management and labor actually came to an agreement but it's contingent on legislative approval.
The whole doomsday situation makes me sad. I love this city and hate would hate to see this budget enacted...
walk it off, chicago
Combining the CTA pace and metra could save millions by getting rid of overlapping managment streamlining maintence and increased purchasing power for fuel and parts. Maybe we could cut the advertising budget. Ithink everyone who is interested knows metra is the way to really fly. eliminating some bus routes is probably neccasary as is a small fare increase. After that the state needs to consider the regional sales tax or additional gas tax.
There is no possible way they would cut some of these routes. They're going for the eye-popping, "they're cutting what routes?!" effect. I'm sure some type of funding will magically come through at the last minute to solve all of this, as it always does, but some of the buses on this list are beyond ridiculous..
Also, Chicagoans are apparently some serious fuckin whiners. For christ's sake..
This is what happens when you raise minimum wage.
what a bunch of tree hunging pansys
I personally ride my bike as often as possible, but sometimes its nice to have the option of the bus. I do agree that they are going for this "eye-popping" effect, yet I wouldn't say that this is out of the realm of possibility.
These kinds of cuts would have drastic effects on the city and the cities infrastructure. The increase in other taxes that may be happening will also play a role. If Chicago is no longer an attractive place to live and work it will hit everyone.
Does anyone know how Chicago's mass transit fares compare to other large cities like New York or London? I would say that an increase in fares wouldn't be a terrible idea if we are kind of on the low side overall anyways. At least use zoning for the Metra and some of the longer bus routes (especially anything touching O'Hare).
And while I haven't done any kind of fact checking I would like to see parking fines increased, or (like London) charge cars a toll for driving in the city center. Lets try to increase ridership by decreasing the number of drivers, while simultaneously creating revenue for mass transit from those who continue to drive.
Lets look outside of our county lines to find some solutions, or at least non-doomsday ideas.
Or maybe combine all the mass transit into a giant transportation department bubble, but the bureaucracy on the seems terrifying.
Looking at the list of bus cuts, it looks like I won't be able to ever leave my neighborhood unless I want to go downtown. WTF?
I can't believe they are proposing to cut 3 out of the 4 buses I regularly ride.
So what's up with Mayor Daley then?
First, he doesn't seem to care that Field's went bye bye.
He accuses his own constituents of being racists over objections to the Children's Museum?
He doesn't seem to fight for the CTA?
He wants to raise taxes sky high?
All he wants to fight for is expanding the convention center...and the Olympics?
Is there a way to recall the mayor in Chicago? I mean c'mon...what is wrong with the mayor? He is DESTROYING Chicago...where are his priorities?
London's fare's are WAY higher and are distance based - NYC's are pretty much the same (and they don't have the touch cards yet) as ours. Distance based fares make sense except that to implement them every station would have to be rebuilt to accommodate exit and entry fare reading/turnstiles. With the CTA's budget there is no way that this could happen.
High time that they axed some of the prehistoric bus routes though; they all need to be updated for actual needs, not aldermanic privilege.
This may be a somewhat selfish view, but I'm prepared to pay higher fares and do without some buses if there's some fundamental reform. The problem isn't with the General Assembly. It's with CTA management, which builds $200 million superstations to run hypothetical express trains to O'Hare over nonexistent express tracks, while completely blowing off maintenance of existing tracks that carry real trains to O'Hare, resulting in acidents that the NTSB considers inexcusable.
Richie Daley appoints that management - he's the problem. No other city would tolerate a dipshit like Frank Kreusi running anything important, much less transit, for ten years, during which numerous pointless capital projects were undertaken (the Mayor's buddies make money on those) and stuff like track maintenance was blown off (the Mayor's buddies don't make moey maintaining tracks).
Reform the CTA Board so Richie doesn't get to send his hack over to make sure the looting stays on schedule. Thewn I'll be for more state funding.
Before anyone gets clever, I (a) live here and (b) have a Chicago Card Plus.
The city is paying for the superstation, not CTA. It's still a bad idea, and Kruesi went along with the idea, not Huberman.
The superstation is, however, a foolish idea. The city could have used those funds to rehab more of the subway stops (city responsibility - not CTA responsibility - CTA is responsible for the tunnels, but not the stations).
You're not going to get overnight change, but so far Huberman has (shockingly) been a huge improvement over Kruesi. Remember, Kruesi said it would take 10 years to repair all the blue line slow zones. Huberman is going to have them fixed by next year.
The long term blame is on Daley for ignoring the CTA and appointing and sticking by Kruesi for so long.
The near term blame is entirely on the Governor and on Tom Cross. The Governor is stubbornly standing by his veto threat. He won't allow a small sales tax increase no matter what.
Tom Cross, the House Minority Leader (basically, the ONLY Republican with any power left in the State), won't allow a veto override unless it's attached to a road expansion bill for his suburban districts.
Oh, and blame Emil Jones, too. He does whatever the Governor tells him to do.
Those 3 people are trying to prevent hundreds of thousands of people from getting to work. Those three people and their personal ego battles with Mike Madigan are ready and willing to trash the economy of the City and the State, just so they can try to wrest some power from Madigan.
In the short term, I don't know what to do.
In the long term, we need a constitutional convention to rebalance power in Springfield.
Oh, and down in Springfield, Daley's powerless.
His influence and power no longer extend beyond the boundaries of the City.
Springfield calls the shots in regards to the city now.
All because of Daley's great white whale - the olympics.
time to get the fuck outta here :/ it was fun while it lasted...
If this and the tax increases were to pass, I'd have to agree with 55. This was the same reason I left Jersey. I'm just glad I didn't sell my second car. That being said, it won't pass (not sure about the crazy tax-hikes) but I hope everyone can remember being used like this come time for the next election. Or better yet, they can do what they've been doing in Jersey: call in the feds to dig up some dirt on Mumbles and get him out.
Does anyone know about grandfathering monthly passes? They're usually good for a year after the purchase date and only start after being used once, so say I buy a whole bunch of them before the fare hikes go into effect. Will they be worthless after the change? If not, I'll be stocking up.