CTA presents on Red Line Extension, Pace discusses network revitalization plan during presentations to RTA Board

CTA President Dorval Carter and Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger presented midyear updates to the RTA Board of Directors during their meeting on September 12, outlining the latest on the Red Line Extension and Pace’s network revitalization plan, ReVision. Watch the presentations on YouTube.

Pace

Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger provided an update including a look back at four decades of progress as the agency celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. In 2024, Pace implemented several service enhancements and saw ridership gains on fixed-route and ADA Paratransit—in fact, ADA Paratransit ridership is 6% higher than pre-pandemic. The agency also continues to make progress on its Project Zero plan, which provides a roadmap for Pace’s commitment to the goal of operating 100 percent zero-emissions vehicles by the year 2040.

Metzger also discussed Pace’s ReVision network revitalization plan, a rethinking of the agency’s entire network of service and how Pace can meet the transit needs of the region into the future. The agency and partners will evaluate where and how often Pace routes should run based on existing and projected future markets. Partner workshops and public meetings will be held this November, and the plan is scheduled to be completed next year.

Compared to other states in the U.S., Pace is not receiving enough resources to operate their system, Metzger said. Pace provides less bus service per capita than its peers, and to add the service reach and frequency the region deserves, a 50% funding increase is needed. ReVision provides the opportunity to plan a suburban system from scratch and then advocate for the funding necessary to implement it.

“Pace operates a system that is funded to meet the demand that existed in the 1970s despite the fact that there has been a 62% increase in population in the collar counties since 1985,” Metzger said. “And for Pace to serve all those new people and their evolving transit needs, we need the resources to do so. We will stand with the RTA and fight for those resources.”

Suburban Transit Summit

The RTA, in partnership with Metra, Pace, and CTA, is hosting a Suburban Transit Summit on October 24 in Arlington Heights. This half-day workshop will feature panel discussions and interactive sessions, providing participants an opportunity to share input and feedback as RTA and the Service Boards continue to advocate for sustainable funding and strategic reform to improve service and accountability for riders.

The Suburban Transit Summit will provide a forum to discuss the future of transit service in Chicago’s suburbs with a diverse audience of state legislators, transit agency leadership and staff, local officials, members of the business community, advocates, and riders. The event will focus on interconnected themes of suburban transit: service, regional connections, coordinated transfers, transit-supportive land use that supports economic development, and how sustainable operations funding could accelerate progress in each of these areas. Participation is invite-only, but portions of the program will be recorded and posted on YouTube.

CTA

CTA President Dorval Carter provided updates on service improvements and bus and train operator hiring milestones, noting that the agency is on track to restore all bus and rail service to pre-pandemic levels by year’s end.

The CTA focused their presentation on the Red Line Extension, the largest capital project in CTA history. Chief Infrastructure Officer Bill Mooney and Chief Financial Officer Tom McKone presented on the project’s background, progress to date, and future.

The Red Line Extension is a 5.6-mile extension of the region’s busiest train line from 95th Street to the southern border of the City at 130th Street. Four new stations will be built at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue near 116th Street, and 130th Street. Parking and bus connections will be available at each new station, and a new train storage yard and maintenance facility will be built at 120th Street.

Mooney said the project is righting a decades-long wrong; Mayor Richard J. Daley promised to extend the Red Line when the Dan Ryan terminus opened in 1969, but it never came to fruition. The Red Line Extension will provide major benefits to the Far South Side, an area of the city that has suffered decades of disinvestment. Twenty-four percent of project area residents live below the poverty level, compared to 18% citywide on average. Twenty-two percent of project area households do not own a car and rely on the transit network. The extension will provide up to a 30-minute time saving to riders traveling from the 130th Street station to the Loop and a 46% increase in newly accessible jobs within an hour’s commute of the project area.

Construction will take place beginning next year, and service is set to begin in 2030.