PUBLIC TRANSIT: An Essential Key to Recovery President’s 2021 Budget Recommendations

2021·14.9 MB·English

by  Chicago Transit Authority

PUBLIC TRANSIT:
An Essential Key to Recovery
President’s 2021 Budget
Recommendations
FY21 BUDGET CHICAGO TRANSIT BOARD AND CTA PRESIDENT

The governing arm of the CTA is the Chicago Transit Board, consisting of seven board members, one of which is currently
vacant. The Mayor of Chicago appoints four board members, subject to the approval of the City Council and the Governor
of Illinois. The Governor appoints three board members, subject to the approval of the State Senate and the Mayor of
Chicago. CTA's day-to-day operations are directed by the President.

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Vice Chair Board Member Board Member
Appointed by: Governor, State of Illinois Appointed by: Governor, State of Illinois Appointed by: Mayor, City of Chicago

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President
FY21 BUDGET TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents
System Map ................................................................................................................ 1

President’s Letter ........................................................................................................ 4

Organizational Chart .................................................................................................... 6

Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... 8

Strategic Goals ......................................................................................................... 26

Operating Budget Schedule ........................................................................................ 28

2020 Operating Budget Forecast ................................................................................. 32

2021 Proposed Operating Budget ............................................................................... 36

2022-2023 Two-Year Financial Plan ............................................................................. 42

Operating Revenue Summary ...................................................................................... 44

Performance Management & Statistics ......................................................................... 48
Performance Management .......................................................................................... 48
Operating Statistics ..................................................................................................... 52
CTA Fare Structure ..................................................................................................... 54
Comparative Performance Analysis ............................................................................. 55

Capital Improvement Program ..................................................................................... 58

Appendices ............................................................................................................... 84
History of the CTA ....................................................................................................... 84
Debt Administration ..................................................................................................... 86
Economic Indicators .................................................................................................... 95
Annual Budget Process ............................................................................................... 98
Accounting Systems, Financial Controls & Policy ....................................................... 100
Sustainability Initiatives .............................................................................................. 103
Acronyms & Glossary ................................................................................................ 106
FY21 BUDGET SYSTEM MAP

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FY21 BUDGET SYSTEM MAP

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FY21 BUDGET PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Dear CTA Customers,

On October 1, 1947, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) was created as a new governmental entity, charged with
providing transit services to the City of Chicago and surrounding suburbs. In the 73 years that have elapsed since then,
Chicago’s transit system has seen a steady stream of challenges and opportunities, a wide array of ups and downs,
unforeseen events and unexpected hurdles.

But nothing has come close to the challenges we’ve seen in the year 2020.

Like transit agencies across the country, the CTA has faced truly unprecedented circumstances since March of this year,
when the State and City stay at home orders took effect as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Literally overnight, our
business changed. CTA ridership plummeted in a way the agency has never seen before, and immediately, revenue
plunged as well.

One thing, however, didn’t change: the CTA continued to provide bus and rail service, 24/7. The State order, which
closed so many other business and services, designated transit as an “essential” service. Though most of Chicago began
sheltering at home—and not going to work, school or elsewhere—there were still those who needed to travel: Essential
workers, such as medical professionals, health-care workers, first responders, those working at senior care facilities. And
also those needing to make essential trips—to visit a doctor, buy groceries, or to pick up a prescription.

I immediately set two goals for this agency: keep service running, and ensure the cleanest, healthiest commute possible
for our customers and employees.

Instead of reducing service, as many transit agencies across the country did, I made sure we ran as many trains and
buses as we possibly could. Though our ridership fell precipitously, I knew that that many people were still relying on the
CTA – and we had to provide enough service for them to socially distance and protect themselves.

For all of those customers, and for all of our hardworking employees providing it, we turned our focus on making sure we
were providing the cleanest, healthiest, most comfortable environment.

We closely followed the guidance of local and federal health experts—the Chicago and Illinois Departments of Health, the
Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization—to protect customers and employees. And we closely
coordinated with national transit peers to develop best practices.

Our response involved a series of immediate and safety-focused actions, including:

• Tripling the resources to allow for the cleaning and disinfecting of our buses, trains, and stations throughout
the day
• Implementing new cleaning tools to further enhance our already rigorous cleaning process, including the use
of electrostatic sprayers which create a fine mist to clean and disinfect buses and trains more effectively
• Saturating the system with signage as part of a targeted customer education and awareness campaign
highlighting the importance of social distancing, wearing masks, and following public health guidance
• Instituting new policies regarding vehicle capacity limits to promote social distancing and ensure the health
and safety of riders and employees
• Closely monitoring crowding conditions and designing a CTA-specific “Ridership Information Dashboard” to
allow riders to choose the best time to travel
• Piloting pop-up, essential bus lanes to allow for bus service to be prioritized

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the unwavering commitment of the hardworking men and
women that keep our system going 24/7. These essential workers were there when Chicago needed them the most, and
showed up day after day to make sure Chicagoans could stay connected to the care and resources they needed.

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FY21 BUDGET PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Sadly, the pandemic has personally impacted the lives of many of CTA’s own employees. And tragically, it claimed the
lives of seven respected and dedicated CTA employees. These losses took a great toll on the CTA family, and we, as an
agency, will always remember their service and commitment to our customers and the City of Chicago.

All of the CTA’s efforts to provide service through the pandemic—to support our customers and help Chicago navigate
the pandemic—were the right thing to do. But, they came at a cost. Unprecedented ridership loss has led to precipitous
drop in revenue that’s continued through the year. And sales tax funding—a critical revenue source for the CTA—remains
far below anticipated levels.

Unfortunately, those trends are expected to continue in 2021. As such, we are projecting a 2021 budget shortfall of
approximately $372 million.

That projected shortfall is factored into my proposed 2021 operating budget of $1.65 billion.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to explore options to close that significant budget shortfall. The
option we’ll pursue the most aggressively—and, indeed, the only prudent option—is securing additional federal funding.
Not long after the start of the pandemic, Congress—recognizing the importance of public transit in addressing the then-
evolving health crisis—provided $25 billion to transit agencies across the country via the CARES Act. The CTA received
$817 million, which allowed us to continue our service and cover our operational expenses and revenue losses through
2020. As of this writing, the House of Representatives has passed another bill—the HEROES Act—that would provide
$32 billion for transit agencies.

Federal financial support for transit has, over the past several months, garnered widespread support and reaffirmed the
value of transit in cities and towns across the country. I remain cautiously optimistic that Congress will continue to
recognize the crucial role transit plays in our cities and communities, and I will continue to join my fellow transit leaders
across the country to advocate for additional federal support.

That federal funding is absolutely critical to the CTA’s 2021 budget. If that money doesn’t materialize, we will be facing
the possibility of drastic and devastating reductions in service. That is an option of absolute last resort, and I pledge to do
everything I can to avoid such a scenario.

During the last seven months, the CTA has shown time after time how vital public transit is to the social fabric of our
region. As Chicago and the region continue to address the pandemic, it’s clear that public transit is the backbone of our
communities and the engine by which we continue to thrive even in hard times.

As the post-pandemic world is still being defined, many questions remain. But there is no question that the CTA has
carried us through, and the CTA will move us forward into better times. As we continue to deal with the devastating
impacts of this pandemic in this upcoming year, I want you to know that I am committed along with the entire CTA family
to do everything in our power to continue delivering the quality, affordable transit services that link people, jobs and
communities, which our customers and our community expect and deserve.

Sincerely,

Dorval R. Carter, Jr.
President

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FY21 BUDGET ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

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