CHICAGO — Simply asking voters if they support unifying the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Metra, and Pace into one agency is not only supported by a 2-1 margin statewide, according to a new poll; a solid majority of voters in the Chicago area also support it.
By margins of 54-27% (+27) in Chicago, 49-21% (+28) in Suburban Cook County, and 53-19% (+34) in the Collar Counties, data show that efforts to pit the City of Chicago against the Cook County suburbs and Collar Counties are not working.
State legislation called the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act (MMA) creates one integrated regional transit system, unifying four agencies and four separate boards into one agency and one board. Unifying the agencies saves up to $250 million in duplicated efforts, can win dramatically higher investment from the State of Illinois, and delivers transit that is safer, more frequent, and better coordinated. The MMA replaces a hodge-podge of apps, fares, and schedules with one seamless system and fare to get riders to work, school, events, attractions and home again.
“When you hear that an overwhelming majority of voters in Chicago, Cook County and the Collar Counties support unifying these four agencies into one, it means voters aren’t buying the cynical arguments trying to pit those three regions against each other. Making transit cleaner, safer, and more frequent is what riders and taxpayers want, not the present system that stands in the way of regional connectivity,” said State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, who represents Arlington Heights and Northwest Cook County, and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA).
“The status quo isn’t working. Not only do our transit agencies face a $730 million transit funding cliff in 2026 when federal pandemic funds run out, but nearly half of Chicago voters give CTA a negative rating,” said W. Robert Schultz III, transit rider and Campaign Organizer at Active Transportation Alliance. “We have a responsibility to do better.”
When provided with simple context that merging these agencies into one organization “to improve service, safety and frequency of trains and buses, thus attracting more riders,” total support for the legislation grows by 6 points statewide and is especially powerful with Transit Riders (+11 net support, to 64% total support), Chicago voters (+10 net support, to 61% total support), and voters in the Cook suburbs (+14 net support, to 59% total support). Other movers include Democrats (+10 net support, to 66% total support), white voters (+8 net support, to 49% total support), and Black voters (+4 net support, to 62% total support).
“While states like Pennsylvania and Massachusetts fund 40-50% of transit, Illinois funds just 17%, which is just one reason why CTA and Metra are lagging so far behind other systems in restoring service after the pandemic. The first step to increasing state funding is unifying the four transit agencies into one system that saves taxpayer money and delivers better service,” said State Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, the House Chief sponsor of the MMA.
The poll found that 72% of voters found unifying the four agencies and eliminating up to $250 million per year in duplicate efforts a convincing argument. 74% found eliminating waste, including $2 million CTA, Pace, Metra, and RTA are spending taxpayer money to pay for lobbyists to protect the status quo, a convincing reason to support the MMA.
“The best solution to public transportation’s $730 million budget shortfall starts with unifying CTA, Metra, Pace and RTA into one efficient agency – saving as much as $200 to $250 million each year. Not only do the CTA, Metra, Pace, and RTA duplicate services and waste hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars, but they are now also spending more than $2 million of our money on lobbyists to block reforms and maintain the failed status quo. It’s time for a change that delivers world-class public transit that attracts more riders,” said State Sen. Robert Peters from Chicago, who recently signed on as a co-sponsor of the MMA.
The poll found that 74% of voters found that increasing the State of Illinois share funding of transit funding from a paltry 17% to levels closer to Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, which provide 40-50% of transit funding, a convincing argument for passing the MMA.
The poll was released on the same day that the Cook County Board’s Transportation Committee holds a hearing at which all four agencies are expected to detail their budgets for the coming year.
Jeremy Cuebas is expected to testify at the hearing, saying in part, “I use Metra and CTA four or five times a week. There are good days and bad days. The bad days consist of being late for work because of service delays and transfers from Metra to CTA that are hit or miss, where on one occasion I waited one hour for a bus.”
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