Contact Contact

RTA seeking public comment, to hold virtual hearing on 2022 proposed budget

November 19, 2021

2022 Budget Connections hero 1110x545

Over the next month, the RTA is seeking public comment and will hold a virtual public hearing on the 2022 Proposed Operating Budget, Two-Year Financial Plan, and Five-Year Capital Program. 

The RTA seeks comments on the proposed budget from Friday, November 19 through Wednesday, December 15, 2021. To submit a public comment, email communications@rtachicago.org. Please include “2022 Budget” in the subject line of your email. Comments can also be received via U.S. mail to 175 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 1550 Chicago, IL 60604, or by phone at (312) 913-3200. 

The RTA will hold a virtual public hearing via Zoom from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. The public hearing will be open-house style, meaning attendees can join or leave at any time. RTA leadership will give a short presentation on the 2022 Proposed Operating Budget, Two-Year Financial Plan, and Five-Year Capital Program at the beginning of the event with the remainder of the time devoted to hearing from the public 

The RTA encourages public participation at its meetings and only asks that speakers limit their comments to the subject of the budget and respect a time limit of ten minutes per speaker. Click to join the virtual public hearing.   

Following the public comment period, the RTA Board of Directors will vote on adoption of the budget at its regular meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 16. 

The 2022 proposed operating budget  totals $3.4 billion, a 4.6% increase from the pre-COVID plan for 2022. CTA, Metra, and Pace have proposed operating budgets that bring transit service closer to pre-pandemic levels. While sales tax performance has rebounded strongly, fare revenue remains depressed due to the slow return of riders. 

The budget assumes 2022 ridership around half of 2019 levels, but federal relief will continue to sustain transit operations in northeastern Illinois. The RTA has allocated nearly $3.4 billion to CTA, Metra, and Pace over the past two years from the federal CARES Act, CRRSAA, and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.  

No fare increases are contained in the proposed budgets, and price reductions on select passes as well as new pass options have been introduced to encourage riders to return to the transit system.    

The proposed five-year capital program totals $5.261 billion, which is 17.1% less than the 2021-2025 Capital Program because Rebuild Illinois bond funds were programmed and granted to the Service Boards in 2020 and 2021. A new performance-based programming method adopted this year requires each Service Board to program at least 20% of funding to projects that either achieve full accessibility or improve equity, beginning in 2025. The accessibility and equity projects are detailed in the budget book.   

The new federal funds from the recently signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are not yet included in the five-year capital program.  

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required
Type your email address here
What emails would you like to receive from the RTA
Tagged in: Budget

Related Articles

22 RTA 1020 CTA and Pace offer alternatives during rebuild of Forest Park Branch of Blue Line

On July 23, the CTA began Phase I of their multi-year, multi-phased project to make service along the Blue Line’s Forest Park Branch faster, safer, more reli...

August 10, 2023
22 RTA 0400 CTA, Metra, and Pace Accelerating Efforts to Electrify Fleets

Riding public transit is one of the most sustainable modes of travel, and the transit system is one of the strongest tools our region has in the fight agains...

July 31, 2023
Webinar 4 Transportation Tuesday recap: Advancing a Regional Capital Strategy

One of the core responsibilities of the RTA is to work with the CTA, Metra, and Pace to advance a capital strategy that ensures major transit investments are...

June 28, 2023
PMO RTA releases semi-annual project management oversight report highlighting over $7 billion in transit investments

Under its Project Management Oversight (PMO) program, the RTA ensures that the Service Boards—CTA, Metra, and Pace—are spending capital funds and managing th...

June 23, 2023
22 RTA 0451 Project Management Oversight report highlights more than $7 billion in ongoing transit investments

Twice a year the RTA publishes a Project Management Oversight (PMO) report that details major transit investments by CTA, Metra, and Pace and fulfills our ov...

March 8, 2023
22 RTA 1532 Understanding capital vs. operating funding and why it matters

Funding the second largest transit system in the country is a large and complicated task. It’s true, Chicagoland’s transit system is facing a $730 million an...

February 2, 2023
RTA
CTA
Metra
Pace
Copyright © 2022 Regional Transportation Authority. All Rights Reserved.