Addressing Chicago’s transit fiscal cliff should not be a city vs. suburbs issue

September 30, 2025

With the Chicago area’s transit fiscal cliff approaching, there is often public and media conversation framing the issue as a fight between the city and the suburbs. This divisive framing has been around since RTA was first established in 1974 but becomes more prominent in funding crises like today’s—and it paints an inaccurate and incomplete picture of northeast Illinois’ transit system that could set the entire region up for failure.

The reality is the transit system has been chronically underfunded for both the city and the suburbs for decades. Now lawmakers have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enable sustainable funding and strategic reform that will set our region up for long-term success.

Of course, CTA, Metra, and Pace have different needs, but a thriving system requires sustainable funding for all three agencies. Each service crosses jurisdictions to cover a diverse region where community size, density, and travel demand vary greatly, which has led to different budgets and timelines for hitting the fiscal cliff. Sharing limited regional resources for transit has always been challenging but this has been especially evident as the region approaches the fiscal cliff as COVID relief funds run out.

Earlier this summer, RTA worked with the Service Boards to shift $74 million in non-statutory funding to CTA, which is projected to hit its fiscal cliff first. This was made possible while still growing year-over-year funding for Metra and Pace as the RTA sales tax was applied to more online sales beginning 2025. This one-time action pushes CTA’s fiscal cliff later than initial timelines, in line with the shared goal to delay service cuts for as long as possible. This provides additional time for legislative discussions about a regional funding solution to continue, but the structural issue still must be addressed to avoid cuts that begin in 2026 and grow more severe across the region in 2027 and 2028.

CTA, Metra, and Pace service are interconnected

The three operators won’t hit the fiscal cliff at the same time, but their success is interconnected. For example, CTA provides rail and bus service in 35 suburban municipalities. Tens of thousands of rides are served each day on 21 CTA rail stations in suburban communities and roughly 1/3 of all regional bus rides that begin in a suburb are served by CTA. Approximately 40% of Pace rides include a transfer to/from a CTA ride, with several of the busiest Pace routes acting as an extension of CTA rail lines and bringing city residents to suburban jobs and destinations, and vice versa. Metra operates and serves more than 70 rail stations within the City of Chicago and helps power the Loop, the region’s biggest job center. Some of the fastest growing ridership on Metra has occurred at city stations like Clybourn and Ravenswood. Pace also provides ADA Paratransit service to thousands of people with disabilities across the region, with the majority of rides starting and ending within city limits.

Fares and passes are more integrated between the agencies than ever before. All CTA and Pace passes are fully integrated, and the region has introduced the Regional Connect and Regional Day passes offering a single ticket for unlimited monthly or daily rides on all three operators.

Cuts anywhere will hurt riders everywhere, with people across the system more likely to miss a connection or wait longer for the next bus or train to get them to where they need to go.

Frequency equals freedom in all communities

A sustainably funded and reformed system could better serve riders across modes and city limits. More frequent and reliable transit service would be a boon for all Chicagoland communities, increasing access to destinations throughout the region. As transit service continues to adapt to new travel patterns, one truth remains constant: increasing the frequency of service makes transit more useful, strengthens community connections, and leads to ridership gains.

For example, ridership on Pace’s Pulse Dempster rapid transit service connecting Evanston to O’Hare increased by more than 15% in year one of operation and 12% in year two after frequency was increased, unlocking new connections to multiple CTA and Metra stations. Pace is planning additional Pulse routes at 95^th Street as well as Cermak Road – high ridership corridors that cross multiple jurisdictions and connect to CTA and Metra routes.

Elsewhere in the region, Metra has gradually added weekday and weekend service to several lines to meet increasing demand, and weekend ridership on the UP-North and UP-Northwest lines exceeds pre-pandemic levels, with many connections to Pace and CTA routes. In Chicago, bus ridership is growing fastest on routes that are part of CTA’s frequent network with service every ten minutes or better, connecting to several Metra stations. These are the sorts of enhancements that are possible with sustainable operations funding for transit.

Transit powers the economy and improves quality of life in the city and suburbs

Growing ridership spurred by increased frequency strengthens transit’s impact on the economy for all Chicago communities. Transit’s economic impact on the region totals more than $12 billion, with a roughly 4-to-1 return on investment. More than $1.6 billion in tax revenue is generated directly and indirectly each year, and more than 170,000 jobs are created by transit. Additionally, home prices within a half mile of CTA or Metra stations are 30% higher than the regional average.

When service is cut, the quality-of-life impacts of transit move in the opposite direction. If the system is allowed to go off the cliff and service is cut by up to 40%, major highways like the Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Stevenson would see 20% more cars every morning, adding millions of miles of vehicle travel, thousands of tons of greenhouse gasses as well as additional travel time to what are already the second most congested roadways in North America. These effects would be deeply felt in both city and suburban communities.

Take action for better service across the region

Go to SaveTransitNow.org to sign a letter telling lawmakers we are one region and CTA, Metra, and Pace all deserve sustainable funding. With sustainable funding and strategic reform, we can better serve all riders and residents with high-quality transit service.