Low-income DuPage County residents may be eligible for reduced fares when riding on Metra service lines next year, according to the Regional Transportation Authority.
During a recent budget presentation to the County, representatives from the RTA elaborated on plans to expand discounted fare and ride free programs to residents within Chicago’s six county metro area to those receiving aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance to low-income families.
“Transit is the answer to connecting the most vulnerable people in a region to jobs, health care and other opportunities,” RTA CFO Kevin Bueso said during the presentation.
The RTA oversees the three transit agencies that connect the Chicagoland, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace, and have similar programs in place including reduced fare ride free permits for the elderly, disabled, Medicare cardholders and military service members.
These programs have been introduced during a tumultuous time for public transportation, as regional and national ridership plummeted following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly 20% of the RTA budget is funded through federal relief, by 2026 the as that aid becomes exhausted the agency will be left in a $700 million hole, Bueso said.
“We have an impending financial cliff, we’re not alone, we have every other big city in America with us in that quest,” RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard said ahead of the budget presentation.
The RTA tracked about 325 million rides over the last year, a 14% increase over 2022, but the numbers are still well below pre-pandemic levels.
“I am pleased to report that, while there’s a lot of work that we still have to do, ridership is coming back,” Bueso said.
Average daily ridership is at about 60% what it was before the pandemic, as work from home and increased car traffic eats into the number of people utilizing public transit.
Funding for public transportation around Chicago is unique on a national level, according to David Andalcio who serves on the RTA board of directors.
The State of Illinois requires 50% of the RTA’s budget to be funded through rider fares; that number has been reduced to roughly 20% over the last three years due exemption brought about by the pandemic.
“The large gap could result in cuts that will be devastating for the residents of DuPage County who rely on public transit,” Andalcio said. “We must reform our funding structure to be less reliant on fees and end a decades long cycle of chronic underfunding so that the RTA and service boards can deliver the service and system that rider and residents deserve.”
