The Tribune clearly did not talk to Chicago Transit Authority Chairman Carole Brown before editorializing on the CTA’s funding challenges (“Threats of a CTA doomsday . . . ,” Editorial, March 25). She pushes every single day for more efficiency at the CTA, and she takes every opportunity to highlight our escalating paratransit costs and our $200 million annual unfunded pension deficit. In the 18 months that Brown has been CTA chairman, the board has acted to eliminate more than 700 administrative positions, strengthened the CTA inspector general’s audits and investigations, and launched a major transformation effort by retaining an outside efficiency consultant to compare CTA to private-sector best practices.
Under Brown’s leadership, CTA reduced the 2005 estimated operating deficit by 50 percent, and the proposed July service scenarios reflect an additional $30 million in annualized savings before service is touched.
CTA has reduced more than $120 million from its annual cost base in recent years, more than one-fourth of our public subsidy.
Our board will continue to demand additional efficiencies–including further work-rule changes, privatization and reductions in generous benefits.
But the last time the Illinois General Assembly reviewed transit funding was 1983. Since that time, funding for the entire Regional Transportation Authority has trailed inflation, shrinking CTA’s real public funding by nearly 1 percent each year. CTA has been forced to close that structural deficit by increasing fares by 95 percent, well above the rate of inflation, gradually cutting service and deferring long-term pension obligations by more than $1 billion.
These changes have hurt more than just CTA customers; they have increased pollution and slowed our economy.
Since 1983 the cost of regional traffic congestion has increased to more than $4 billion each year. Put another way, that’s a traffic tax of $1,000 per driver.
Brown is right to push for efficiency, and she is right to call for increased funding for Metra, Pace and CTA.
After 22 years it is time for our region’s elected officials to end the downward spiral of traffic congestion and make the investments necessary to maintain and improve our world-class regional transit system.
