Chicago Area Faces 30% Transit Cuts Without New Taxes, State Aid
- Transit deficit could reach $1.19 billion in 2031, agency says
- Sales tax on services, parking tax could help plug gap: CMAP
The Chicago area could suffer bus and rail-service cuts of 30% or more if state lawmakers don’t find new sources of money to replace federal aid that’s drying up by 2026, a regional planning agency says.
The area’s three transit systems, which average about a million daily rides combined in northeast Illinois, could see collective deficits expand to $1.19 billion in 2031 from about $730 million in 2026 after emergency pandemic funds run out and if no new money is allocated, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning said in a draft report this month.