Rising fuel costs harming CTA, Metra, Pace budgets

By Virginia Groark
Tribune staff reporter
Published September 16, 2005
With fuel costs rising and state funds scarce, the region's mass transit agencies face a difficult budget season full of tough decisions that could create a bumpy ride for passengers, officials said Thursday.

At the Chicago Transit Authority, officials said preliminary figures indicate they would have to grapple with another budget shortfall next year. That means talk of fare increases and possible service cuts could be back on the table, just months after a state bailout enabled them to avert imposing those measures this year.

The picture doesn't look much better for Pace and Metra, which is experiencing hefty increases in security and fuel expenses.

"This is not going to be an easy year," Regional Transportation Authority Chairman James Reilly told the RTA board, which also approved former Chicago lobbyist Stephen Schlickman to be its new executive director.

The 2006 budget season kicked off Thursday with the RTA's announcement of how much money it plans to give the three service boards next year. The RTA also set goals for how much of each agency's operating costs must be covered by fare revenues. The service boards will use those numbers to plan their budgets, which the RTA will vote on in December.

The good news is that the RTA expects to give 3.2 percent more in funding to the service boards in 2006 than this year. But with fuel costs rising, the transit agencies still will have to make tough decisions as they prepare their budgets, Reilly said. Even Metra is finding that the "fuel costs are really pushing them to the limit," he said.

Metra officials say the cost of fuel and security are forcing them to consider all options to raise revenue, including a possible fare increase.

"It's premature to say that it's imminent," Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said. "I think that it's certainly something that will have to be looked at."

Meanwhile at the CTA, Chairwoman Carole Brown said preliminary figures show that the agency could have a $30 million shortfall. That figure assumes the state legislature will set aside $54.3 million again next year for paratransit services to be split between CTA and Pace. If it doesn't, the budget gap could be larger.

Though the CTA wants to minimize negative impacts on its riders, the agency will again analyze whether it makes sense to raise fares or make service changes, Brown said.

"We are looking at every alternative," she said.

At Pace, which increased its 2005 fuel budget by $3.4 million Wednesday, officials were reviewing the numbers and expected its board of directors to meet as soon as next week to discuss them, agency spokeswoman Judi Kulm said.

On the capital side, the RTA estimates that it will receive $113 million from the state for maintenance of the system, bus purchases and other items, Reilly said. But the Illinois Department of Transportation has not signed off on that plan, RTA officials said.

The financial crunch comes at a time when more people are using the region's buses and trains. RTA Chief Financial Officer Joseph Costello said regional ridership is up 3.3 percent for the first six months of the year, compared with the same period last year.

Pace has seen the biggest gains, with ridership jumping 7.6 percent in the first six months of this year, according to the RTA. Transit officials attribute part of that increase to the integration of fare cards between CTA and Pace, a program that began a year ago with financial help from the RTA. On Thursday, the RTA said it would provide funds to Pace again next year so it could continue accepting all of CTA's fare cards.