Why you should care about CTA service cuts
The El is inseparable from Chicago: In a 2005 poll, Chicago Tribune readers ranked the city’s unique transportation system as its third wonder, placing it ahead of the Sears and Water towers (it still couldn’t beat Wrigley Field, which should give you some idea of how Chicagoans think). A 2006 survey showed that more than 650,000 people ride it every day. Heck, it even made appearances in The Blues Brothers and The Fugitive.
It’s also a safe bet that every Northwestern student has ridden it or will do so by the time they leave for Thanksgiving. Let’s face it, you just can’t beat the El for getting around Chicago. It’s fast, somewhat cheap, goes most places you’d want to visit, and you get to meet all kinds of interesting people (read: crazies). And if the El doesn’t take you where you need to be, odds are you could catch a bus to take you there.
However, a huge budget snafu is throwing all of that into question. The Chicago Transit Authority has been dealing with an antiquated funding system that doesn’t account for growth in the suburbs, which left the CTA with a $110 million deficit for 2007. All kinds of political wrangling with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich – who you may recognize by his sexy RedEye nickname, G-Rod – couldn’t do anything to clear up the problems, so the CTA turned to rate increases and service cuts.
That spells major trouble for riders, to the tune of a 50-cent increase for bus fares and a one-dollar increase for train fares during rush hours. Pace buses are also increasing fares. There are also service cuts across the board, including some bus routes being eliminated from our fair Evanston. The Evanston buses that would be cut include the route to Old Orchard (CTA #205) and one that ran from Ryan Field to the Chicago campus (Pace #426).
This has been played up as the end of the world for most Chicagoans: The Sun Times ran a typically tabloid headline of “Countdown To Agony.” (Read the initials. Funny, right?) Some riders are talking about having to cut out family movie nights, magazine subscriptions or meals at nice restaurants, which sounds a lot like Al Gore in 2000 telling us about little old ladies choosing between eating and paying for medicine. But seriously, for low-income workers who ride the El to work, an extra two bucks every day means a lot.
For us college students, though, these CTA cuts are also bad news. It’s already difficult to make it to Chicago on a budget, and the extra fares certainly won’t help. There’s also the issue of service cuts, which mean we’ll be waiting longer for trains. Some classes require you to go into the city, and nobody’s got the time to just sit around and wait for the El (especially when your professor is waiting impatiently at the Art Institute). All these cuts in Evanston are going to make it harder to get around, but we dodged a huge bullet when they decided to keep the Purple Express (for those not familiar, the Purple Express, named for our lovely school color, goes from any stop in Evanston to a few important stops in Chicago in a lot less time than a normal train would). Plus, there’s that whole environmental impact thing, if you’re into that.
These cuts, which were due to start last week, were put off until November thanks to a $24 million advance by G-Rod. Really, though, that’s just a Band-aid on a pretty serious wound and unless the politicians in Springfield can work out a sensible solution (not likely), these cuts are coming soon.
So what’s a Northwestern student to do? You could bring a car, but I can speak from three weeks of experience and say that it’s more hassle than it’s worth (although the City of Evanston must love the dollars I’m donating to them through parking fees and tickets). A better option is to start getting real friendly with anyone who does have a car. There’s also the Intercampus Shuttle, which takes you and tons of grad students to the Ward building, within walking distance of the Mag Mile.
But the worst part of this whole CTA headache for Northwestern? We’re probably going to have to resurrect that tired old U-Pass debate.
| Print
Dress up right to keep yourself on your career track. Or you can return home.
Good look at a current issue that really impacts NU students :)
Dagny Salas
September 21, 2007 at 5:08 am
Counting service on Pace and Metra, public transportation funding is an issue that impacts the entire six-county Chicago area. But those six counties are a big part of the total state population (something like 7 or 8 million people in a state of 12.5 million).
Nomaan
September 21, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Yeah I didn’t even think of Metra, so you’re most definitely right. But mostly I was making fun of Blago for being incapable of getting the House on his side to achieve much for this state.
Lara Kattan
September 23, 2007 at 4:44 pm
The issue isn’t about getting the House on “Blago’s” side. Actually they passed Bill 572 in July, which would not only have revamped the 25-year-old funding system (which was meant to be temporary, but here we are) but also change the management system so that the money will be spent more efficiently so this problem doesn’t happen again in 25 years. Unfortunately, the governor wouldn’t sign it unless the House passed other parts of his agenda, forcing the legislature into the longest overtime session in state history.
For people who really want to help, call the Illinois legislators and voice your opinion. Even if you’re not registered to vote here, it affects you too. If you are registered to vote here, it’s doubly important you call to make sure bill 572 is passed.
Emily Vaughan
September 24, 2007 at 9:09 pm
This year’s funding crisis – at this point, they do happen nearly every year – is only one part of a larger and far more serious problem with public transportation in Chicago and the entire country.
Yes, the El may be the best way to get around in some situations. But compared to similarly-sized cities in both the US and other first-world countries, the CTA’s train system is a disaster. It’s slow and unreliable, with too many stations and trains in disrepair. Frank Kruesi, the CTA head for 10 years until this summer, was obsessed with glamor projects (read: Brown Line expansion) at the cost of proper upkeep of the system. A Blue Line train derailed in July 2006, injuring more than 100 people. The Tribune reports that years of maintenance records were shredded, and what little is left proves managerial inattention to the most basic maintenance needs of the system.
Yes, the CTA needs money to balance its budget this year. Like nearly every other year, the money will probably come and the service cuts and fare increases will probably be called off. But it will be nothing but another new bandage on a wound that’s been growing for a very long time.
David S
September 26, 2007 at 10:06 pm