Buses and trains will run as normal Monday, but doomsday may not be over yet, according to state lawmakers and top transit officials.
Two months from now, officials acknowledged, riders could be in the same position they were before $27 million in short-term funding arrived Friday at the 11th hour: worried about threatened cuts in service and major fare increases while lawmakers bicker over the details of a long-term solution to the system’s problems.
In fact, even if transit officials get everything they’re asking for, there’s still a good chance fares will go up and some lesser-used routes will be jettisoned. Lawmakers made it clear Friday they expect the system to try harder to increase efficiency and lower operating costs, while transit officials have agreed to start phasing in higher ticket prices in about two years under one proposed fix.
“This whole roller-coaster effect is something that our riders should not have to go through again,” said Rick Kwasneski, chairman of Pace, the suburban bus agency. “We’ve got to find some long-term solution to this problem so people aren’t wondering how they’re going to get to work in another week, so people aren’t worried about losing their jobs, and students aren’t worried about how to get to school. It’s really complicated peoples’ lives.”
How long will it take to come up with a real solution?
Gov. Rod Blagojevich predicted last week it will take just seven to 10 days for lawmakers to cobble together a tough legislative deal, but others questioned whether the seven weeks leaders bought themselves with Friday’s short-term fix will be enough time, given the year-long impasse at the statehouse.
The final package could include up to $500 million in annual transit assistance, a multibillion-dollar public works program and a huge expansion of gambling to help pay for it all. The bills must be passed together to satisfy many downstate and Republican lawmakers, who have refused to support more transit aid unless they also get a major building program this year.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) said it’s possible lawmakers still will be arguing over the legislation a year from now, with riders enduring periods of anxiety and uncertainty every three months or so.
“The rules are different now in this place,” said Cross, who expects to meet daily with House Speaker Michael Madigan to find a compromise his members can support. “Nothing is the same. The days of everybody sitting down and having adult discussions and working it out are, I think, over. At least for a while. So anything is possible.”
One of the major sticking points, lawmakers agree, is the size of the gambling package. Though many lawmakers have voiced support for a major land-based casino in Chicago, House members are focusing on adding at least one more riverboat gambling license, as well as thousands of slot machines for horse-racing tracks and new gambling positions at existing casinos.
Though the Senate passed a different version earlier this year, they are expected to try to work out their differences with the House. Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) said he’d put the odds on quickly passing the entire legislative package at 80-20.
In the Senate, Deputy Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said the yearlong lack of consensus among the four legislative leaders and Blagojevich means the chances are less than 50-50 that a deal can be done this year.
Said Radogno, “Until [the consensus] happens, I just don’t see it coming together. … I see us just revving up to the next [transit] crisis and addressing it short-term. I can see us limping along that way for at least a year.”
That will be too late to avert problems for some riders. Without additional funding, Metra officials said their fares may go up in February, climbing as much as 30 percent over the next 3 years to make up for a projected $40 million shortfall in 2008.
Some transit officials suggested it would be smarter to refuse short-term help if lawmakers are still fighting over how to help the system in January. Pace board member Thomas Marcucci, mayor of Elmhurst, said a “shutdown” of the transit system might finally bring enough pressure to force a deal.
“Maybe we have to have blood on the streets to get this done,” Marcucci said.
CTA officials have not made similar threats, but board President Ron Huberman said the drastic cutbacks that were set for Sunday now will go forward in early January if lawmakers are unable to provide more financial assistance. Until then, he said, there will be no changes in fare or services.
Transit officials said they don’t expect to raise ticket prices for at least two years if a fix is found before year’s end. But transit officials said they will ultimately need to boost fares to meet a legal requirement that ticket prices continue to account for at least 50 percent of their operating revenues.
There are competing ideas to fix mass transit’s financial problems. House Republicans suggest tapping into a gasoline sales tax, while House Democrats have pushed a regional sales tax.
RTA Executive Director Steve Schlickman said he hopes to delay “significant” fare increases until 2010. Some lawmakers say that’s not soon enough and want riders to share the pain of fixing the system.
“I don’t think a modest fare increase is too much to ask,” said Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville), who also urged transit officials to stop sending out empty or near-empty buses to some parts of the metro region. “To me, that is part of the solution.”
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IN THE WEB EDITION
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