Coalition

Join the Transit is the Answer Coalition

Transit is the answer to many of the region’s challenges but is threatened by lack of sufficient operating and capital funding after years of disinvestment and a global pandemic. Our region’s current transit funding structure is also overly reliant on fares. Together this leaves our transit agencies to face an existential crisis that neither fare hikes nor service cuts can solve while preserving a useful and equitable system.

We need your help to win sustainable funding for transit and build a better system for everyone who relies on it.

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Join Our Coalition

If you or your organization would like to sign on to be part of the Transit is the Answer Coalition to support and advocate for transit's future in northeast Illinois, please fill out this form.

Full Name

Coalition Members

AARP

Access Living
Active Transportation Alliance

Alliance of the Southeast

American Lung Association

Amtrak

Association House Barrington Area Council of Governments

Better Streets Chicago

Chicagoland Chamber

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Commuters Take Action

Cook County Staff

Crossroads Collaborative

CTA

DuPage Mayors and Managers

Elevated Chicago

Environmental Law & Policy Center

Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago

Equiticity

Hoffman Estates

Illinois Department of Transportation

Illinois Environmental Council

Kane County Staff

Kane/Kendall Council of Mayors

McHenry County Council of Mayors

McHenry County Staff

Metra

Metropolitan Mayors Caucus

MPC

Village of Mundelein

City of Naperville

Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission

North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council

Northwest Municipal Conference

Pace

Roseland Chamber of Commerce

Schaumburg

Shared Use Mobility Center

South Suburban Mayors and Managers

Southwest Conference of Mayors

Thresholds

TransitCenter

University of Illinois—Chicago

U.S. Department of Transportation

Coalition Meetings

Transit is the Answer's Agenda for Advocacy and Action lays out a path to position the system for long-term success by seeking new funding, making improvements for riders, and supporting communities working to increase transit access.

We recognize we can’t do this alone. Many of the advocacy and action items in this plan are not under the control of RTA, CTA, Metra, and Pace. Leadership from a diverse group of elected officials and community leaders is needed to achieve meaningful change.

Watch the first and second Transit is the Answer Coalition meetings on our YouTube Channel.

More than 100 riders, elected officials, advocates, and other stakeholders met virtually with the RTA on May 9, and again on August 8, 2023 for the first and second quarterly Transit is the Answer Coalition meeting, receiving an update on strategic plan implementation and then taking a deep dive into an implementation project currently underway. 

Read more in a recap of the first and second coalition meetings on the RTA Connections blog.