Gov plan is CTA bailout, shafts disabled, suburbs

[Guest metralink]

the Governor's plan is simply a CTA Chicago bailout shafting the disabled and the suburbs. Pace has already started with cutting the 835 now the blood only continues in the suburbs.

The ADA, disabled fares are still going up on Sunday, Pace is cutting 921 next week and over 20 routes on Oct 7th, also new are over 35 Metra feeder routes on October 15th. Where is Daley and the RTA on this one?

check it out on the RTA website.

the Gov plan does nothing for the suburbs where the cuts will hurt the people the most due to the limited amount of coverage.

The CTA cuts seemed to be political anyway, yeah cutting downtown Metra routes big deal while they still run poor service elsewhere.

Why isn't the RTA standing up for Pace and the disabled, they were in the room with the CTA. This is a regional issue like the Regional Transportation Agency or does Regional only mean the City of Chicago fixed route and rail?

[Guest metralink]

Pace has updated their website saying their fare increases and cuts are for real.

Guess the Gov doesn't need suburban votes

[BusExpert32]

I personally like both the CTA and Pace, but since Pace has already started and probaly will cut service within the next few months so I'm not counting that much on them. But I would like to see the CTA stay intact, not completely fall apart like Pace is starting to do, ecpecially if Chicago wants to host the 2016 Olympics.

[Busjack]

The news stories were inconsistent in the beginning, with the Tribune and its WGN allies saying only CTA, and WLS-AM saying there was another $12 million for other RTA agencies. WGN later said that there was $6 million for Pace, and the $54 million in paratransit money would be released as part of the deal. Thus, this proves that you can't get your colon in a knot over inaccurate news reporting, especially where the reports are inconsistent. Maybe to be fair to the news media, the Governor's plan was a work in progress. Nonetheless, if you listened to several sources, there were different messages.

I'll leave to another day any of you who want to debate whether borrowing from next year's appropriation really helps the matter. Apparently, though the Gov. doesn't want to take the blame for the cuts at this point, but I don't know if he has another rabbit up his sleeve if November 4 comes around without a bill. He better sit down with the legislators and agree to something.

[Busjack]

Pace is cutting 921 next week and over 20 routes on Oct 7th

921 seems like a separate issue, in that the justification in the Passenger Notice is declining ridership and the parking deck opening, not the talismanic "due to lack of State funding at this time... ." Apparently, the need for a "full size bus," which Pace previously mentioned would be assigned to 921, no longer exists.

What one must await is whether the "no official word" message will stay on the pacebus.com home page, now that the RTA has bought the governor's one month bailout, and if any of the October cuts with the legend mentioned above are affected, now that Pace is supposedly getting a $6 million advance for bus operations (and $54 million for paratransit). Too unpredictable for me to guess.

[Busjack]

What one must await is whether the "no official word" message will stay on the pacebus.com home page, now that the RTA has bought the governor's one month bailout, and if any of the October cuts with the legend mentioned above are affected, now that Pace is supposedly getting a $6 million advance for bus operations (and $54 million for paratransit). Too unpredictable for me to guess.

Update: The pacebus.com home page was changed at 5:00 p.m. The Pace fare increases and October service cuts are postponed to Nov. 4. This leaves open the question how much housecleaning Pace intends to do if the legislation is settled by Nov. 4. The Press Release confirms that 426 and 921 are still dead on the stated dates.

[BusExpert32]

Thank goodness for this bailout plan! I could feel my blood pressure rising as September 16th creeped near. But I just don't understand, why keep all of these people worrying for a few months and in the last few days before doomsday, approve a plan that takes away money from next year's budget. Even though the RTA didn't agree to and like the plan because they thought it was sort of like a bandade, they still had no choice but to approve it. You know, with the Governer, Mayor, and CTA officials agreeing to the plan, what's there else to do.

[Guest]

Thank goodness for this bailout plan! I could feel my blood pressure rising as September 16th creeped near. But I just don't understand, why keep all of these people worrying for a few months and in the last few days before doomsday, approve a plan that takes away money from next year's budget. Even though the RTA didn't agree to and like the plan because they thought it was sort of like a bandade, they still had no choice but to approve it. You know, with the Governer, Mayor, and CTA officials agreeing to the plan, what's there else to do.

I found out this week because of the planned service cuts, Academy will lose Pace routes 616 and 699 due to low ridership. Im going to miss working the # 616, it was a fun route to work. We arent planned to pick up other routes in the Pace system so we could possibly lose some of the bus fleet. Now Academy will only have Pace routes 326,600,606,696.

[Busjack]

I found out this week because of the planned service cuts, Academy will lose Pace routes 616 and 699 due to low ridership.

As noted above, you probably got a reprieve at 5 p.m. yesterday until Nov. 4.

[Guest metralink]

Thank goodness for this bailout plan!

let's hope the leadership in Springfield figures it out otherwise we thought Sept 16 was bad, Nov 4th will be worse. Plus next year all agencies are in the hole starting off the year. I'd expect the bleeding to continue and the CTA having to make real cuts instead of the Mickey Mouse proposals they have out there now ie: rail lines, main line routes, weekend service, owl service?

this is not really great news as it does nothing but shift the deck chairs around on the Titanic.

Iceberg Ahead !!!!!!!!!

[trainman8119]

Here is the one thing you have to remember. No matter what solution discussed is adopted, they all stink !!! Why, because it does not address the real problem and that is current management of all of the service boards !!!!! These characters will continue to run the system into the ground, operating on shoe string budgets and not caring as long as they get their kickbacks and bonuses. All of the government proposals are nothing but gifts, if you may, with no accountability, no reform, no nothing. When it is all over, everybody will be patting themselves on the back that they saved transit. All they are doing is delaying the inevitable, should the current style remain in place. Mark my words...should these guys get any money (and you know they will), they will be back hands out come March, April or May and we will most likely be in the same boat...and everyone will be scratching their collective heads again...pointing fingers, just like they are now. And why, because the problems that truely exist, mainly waste and mismanagement and the belief that there is a bottomless pit of money there for them, will still exist. And unfortunately, this will exist as long as the politicians are in control (in other words, forever) instead of true professionals who realize what goes on at the bus stop (train platform), on the bus (train), in the terminal (on the platform), etc. I really think that all involved need to get out and do some riding...in the cold, snow, rain, hot (no a/c), etc and experience what it is that people go through day in and day out...both the riders and those of us who work to make the system bearable for those who use it. I would be willing to bet that if the true attitudes of management were know to the general public, there would not be all the whining towards Springfield there is, and that the direction of the outrage would be towards the boardrooms of said transit agencies !!!!!

[Busjack]

The Tribune editorial said as much today. Except I disagree with the first clause of the last sentence "Huberman and CTA Chairman Carole Brown know what needs to be done [ha ha], but they'll succeed only if Daley says, this time, do whatever it takes [true]."