In “Back on the roads again,” I noted that Mr Rauner’s proposed budget would cut funding for public transit in the Chicago area (in spite of increased demand). I asked, is it wise to continue to spend so much of Illinois’ transportation money where its people ain’t? For Illinois to work, Chicago must work. And for Chicago to work, public transit must work.”
The Chicago Transit Authority has announced that combined ridership on its buses and trains reached 515 million during 2015. Rail ridership set a new record, although the February 2015 blizzard and several months of downtown construction cut bus rider numbers. (This is CTA ridership only; the numbers do not include ridership on the suburban commuters trains run by Metra, or suburban buses.)
That’s 1.4 million rides per day.
This article appears in Feb 11-16, 2016.
