January Bombshell

[sw4400]

• Wholesale closing of Bus Garages
  Wholesale closing of some Rail Lines
  Layoffs in excess of 600 CTA Employees
  

Budget shortfall or not, this is not the way to run a business, even a struggling one. Here's what I think the CTA passengers will do if something like this comes in January.

• Hiring more Cabs for service, which might bring fares down a little.
  Buying a car, or just getting into a carpool
  Or doing a lot more walking(which is my only choice).
  

Leave it to the CTA to screw you any way they possibly can, because they can't fix the budget issues. Huberman, maybe this hasn't occured to you, but the people who buy your Chicago Cards, your Transit Cards and Passes are a big part of your budget income. And with service being cut as drastically as you are hinting, your glass will only be half-full. You have the money, but where are the passengers? Oh yeah, they're passing your buses in their cars and cabs, giving you some "sign language" as to what they think of you.

Sorry for the vent, chicagobus members. But when you rely on the CTA as much as I do, this just gets to you.

[Busjack]

For what its worth, the Pace budget proposal is on its site; pull down About Pace and select annual budget. It is a very slow download, and I don't suggest loading it in your browser (or download it in pieces as suggested on the site).

What is relevant here is that the budget takes into account lost revenue due to losing ridership by cutting service. Other pronouncements by the CTA indicate that its contingency plans also take that into account, although the news media have said that the CTA proposed budget isn't ready yet.