Extreme Cuts To Metra, CTA, Pace Possible As RTA Faces $770M Budget 'Doomsday Scenario'

CHICAGO — Transit authorities across the Chicago area are warning the public that a $770 million budget shortfall could create a “doomsday scenario” with “unprecedented” cuts — including the suspension of half the CTA rail lines and the elimination of more than half its bus routes.

The shortfall would leave Chicago’s regional transit system “decimated,” requiring a cut of up to 40 percent in service if a solution is not reached by the end of the current state legislative session in May, according to the Regional Transportation Authority. The cuts would eliminate nearly 3,000 transit jobs.

"This isn’t just a transit crisis — it’s a regional emergency," RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden said in a news release. "If the General Assembly does not act this spring, hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will wake up in 2026 without a way to get to work, school or medical appointments with continued uncertainty in future years about their transit services.”

The looming financial cliff comes as coronavirus-era grant money is expiring for the transit agencies, according to NBC Chicago, which reported union members and workers were participating in a Day of Action on Wednesday to notify travelers of the threat.

The most drastic potential cuts include:

• Complete or partial suspension of four of eight CTA rail lines;
• Closure or drastic service reduction to over 50 CTA rail stations;
• Elimination of up to 74 of 127 CTA bus routes;
• Elimination of early morning and late evening Metra trains;
• No Metra service on the Electric Blue Island Branch;
• All Pace weekend bus service eliminated;
• No Pace service after 8 p.m. on 62 routes.

“In fact, CTA would go from one of the largest transit systems in the country to having fewer bus routes than Madison, WI, and Kansas City,” the news release said.

The RTA is calling for a $1.5 billion investment in annual operating funds to keep trains and buses running, and improve the transit system.