CTA 2018 capital program to get boost from ride-hailing fee

The CTA Board approved funding for an environmental impact statement involving an extension of its Red Line.

File photo

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) proposed a balanced $1.51 billion operating budget Nov. 22, with its capital program seeing a raise from a new revenue stream.  

This year, the CTA will also receive support for its capital improvement projects from Chicago’s new ride-hailing fee—the first such fee in the U.S.—which is allocated specifically to transit capital investments, the CTA said.

Amid heightened competition for federal funding and with the absence of a state capital program, the CTA said its new funding source is vital to enable the transit authority’s continued investments in improvements and modernization work on its infrastructure.

Following a $33 million loss in state funding, the spending plan makes significant cuts, and carries an increase in the transit authority’s base fare and 30-day pass cost.

“Every dollar generated by the fare increase is equal to a dollar in savings and reforms CTA is making in the budget,” the CTA said.

The fare increase is set to bring in $23 million in CTA revenue, while the capital budget includes ride-hailing fee revenue that is intended to pay for improvement projects.

The budget will also include more than $23 million in budget cuts to maintain service levels in 2018, the CTA said.

“This balanced budget reflects CTA’s commitment to modernizing and improving its bus and rail system to ensure it provides customers with 21st century public transit services,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “It has been over eight years since CTA has instituted a fare increase and it’s a decision we don’t take lightly. But after working hard to find $23 million in savings and reforms, it is clear we need to raise revenue to overcome the major cut in state funding.”

The CTA is also proposing a $2.7 billion five-year capital budget for 2018–2022, continuing more than $8 billion in transit investment completed or announced since 2011.

Despite the funding challenges CTA faces to meet its modernization goals, the proposed 2018 operating budget is balanced for the seventh consecutive year.

In 2018, the CTA is scheduled to continue long-term investments in its bus and rail system, such as the Red-Purple Modernization project, a $2.1 billion investment to modernize and boost capacity to the transit authority’s busiest rail corridor.

The capital projects set to launch or continue in 2018 include:

• Continued reconstruction of the Red Line’s 95th Street Terminal
• Continued work on phase one of the Red and Purple Modernization Program, which entails rebuilding four Red Line stations and track and signal systems, as well as building a rail bypass to address current and future capacity needs
• Selecting a final alignment for a proposed Red Line Extension from 95th Street to 130th Street and performing additional project engineering work
• Your New Blue program upgrades the Blue Line O’Hare branch
• Ravenswood Corridor signal improvements to benefit Brown Line and Purple Line Express between the Armitage and Merchandise Mart stations
• Upgrade and accessibility improvements to the Quincy Loop ‘L’ station and Illinois Medical District Blue Line stations
• Belmont Blue Gateway project and Garfield Green Gateway project work
• Complete 3200-series overhaul

A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held on Dec. 12 at CTA headquarters.