Claypool: No CTA Fare Hikes This Year. 2012? Mmmmm...

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 11, 2011 8:30PM

As CTA waits for the state to pay them the $102.7 million they're owed, Authority President Forrest Claypool said yesterday they won't be raising fares to bridge the gap this year.

While Claypool repeated what Mayor Emanuel said four months ago about toeing the line on fares, he wouldn't commit to that same pledge for 2012. If anything, Claypool sounded as though a fare hike may be in the cards for next year.

“Everybody knows the magnitude of the financial problems. The CTA has borrowed $554 million for the past several years from the RTA, from the state and from its own capital budget. That’s what’s masked the deficits the last few years,” he said.

“The can was kicked down the road. We can’t kick the can any longer. There’s no one left to borrow from.”

No one knows for certain if a fare hike is in the works until Claypool unveils his initial 2012 budget in October. The state is five months behind on paying that $102.7 million and Claypool's brief tenure at CTa has seen another $18 million in cuts.