Operating dollars are what keep our regional transit system moving. From employee salaries to fuel to power the buses and trains, operating expenses encompass the cost of running the system on a daily basis. In 2024, the regional transit system is budgeted at $3.9 billion in operating expenses.
Read more in the 2024 Regional Operating Budget.
As ridership declined around the country, the federal government recognized the essential nature of transit and included relief funding in three major bills passed in 2020 and 2021 (the CARES Act, CRRSAA, and the American Rescue Plan Act). These relief dollars allowed the RTA to allocate a total of $3.5 billion to CTA, Metra, and Pace to help offset revenue losses from declining ridership due to the pandemic.
Combined CARES, CRRSAA, and ARP Funding Allocations (in millions)
| CTA | Metra | Pace | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CARES Act | $817.5 (58%) | $479.2 (34%) | $112.8 (8%) | $1,409.5 |
| CRRSAA | $361.3 (77%) | $83.4 (18%) | $21.4 (5%) | $466.2 |
| ARP Act | $912.1 (61%) | $513.6 (34%) | $71.3 (5%) | $1,497.0 |
| Total combined relief allocations | $2,090.9 | $1,076.3 | $205.5 | $3,372.6 |
| Share of all three federal relief packages | 62.0% | 31.9% | 6.1% | 100% |
As of September 2023, the region has drawn 55%, or $1.95 billion of those relief dollars. RTA analysis expects that the remaining federal relief funding is projected to last through 2025.
The RTA does not expect ridership to return to pre-pandemic levels in the next few years. Inflation, rising labor costs, and other trends mean that the cost to operate the system is growing each year in spite of efficient stewardship of public dollars. These trends combine to mean that starting in 2026, the RTA is projecting a more than $700 million budget shortfall each year. Learn more in the new regional transit strategic plan, Transit is the Answer.
Learn more about the need for increased fundingRead the most recent Annual Operating Budget and Capital program to learn more about how transit is funded or explore the sources of operating funding below.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, system generated revenue, which includes fares passengers paid to ride transit made up about half of the operating budget.
As of October 2022, ridership is at about 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, meaning that amount has taken a hit.
The Service Boards also generate revenue from advertising, concessions, rentals, and other partnerships.
Illinois law authorizes the RTA to impose a sales tax throughout the six-county Northeastern Illinois region. The RTA sales tax is collected by the Illinois Department of Revenue and paid to the Treasurer of the State of Illinois to be held in trust for the RTA outside of the State treasury. Proceeds from the RTA sales tax are paid directly to the RTA monthly.
The sales tax rates imposed by the RTA differ in order to recognize the differing levels of transit service provided in the six-county region. In Cook County the RTA imposes a 1.25% sales tax whereas in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties the rate is .50%. The RTA sales tax is expected to generate approximately $1.5 billion in 2022.
In 2008, the General Assembly granted the city of Chicago the authority to impose an additional Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) upon the privilege of transferring title to, or beneficial interest in, real property located in the City. The supplemental tax rate of $1.50 per $500 of the transfer price is imposed on all sales within the City for the purpose of providing financial assistance to the CTA. This supplemental tax rate is in addition to the tax rate of $3.75 per $500 of the transfer price that the City already imposed prior to 2008. The supplemental tax is referred to as the “CTA portion” of the RETT, and the $3.75 tax is referred to as the “City portion.” The CTA’s portion of the RETT is projected to be approximately $75 million in 2022.
Illinois law provides that the state transfers money from the State of Illinois’ General Revenue Fund to the Public Transportation Fund an amount equal to 30% of the revenue realized from the RTA Sales Tax and 30% of the revenue realized from the CTA’s portion of the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) in the City of Chicago. Consequently, the state money dedicated to public transportation increases or decreases at a rate equal to the growth or decline of both sales tax and the RETT. The RTA expects to receive about $490 million in these funds.
Illinois law requires that the State of Illinois reimburse the RTA for the cost of the RTA’s debt service payments for the RTA’s Strategic Capital Improvement Program (SCIP) bonds. The RTA expects to receive $130 million of this funding from the State in 2022.
Originally established by a Memorandum of Understanding in November of 2009, $8.4 million in funding for ADA Paratransit has been appropriated for State fiscal year 2022.
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