The federal government is a key partner in funding and maintaining the Chicago region’s transit system, comprised of operators, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra Commuter Rail, and Pace Suburban Bus, with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) overseeing financing, funding and planning. More than 60% of the regional system’s capital funding comes from federal formula programs. RTA and the Service Boards rely on this steady, predictable source of funding to advance major capital priorities and state of good repair work to ensure the system is running safely and reliably.

From 2020 through 2025, federal operating assistance played an important role in the transit system’s ability to provide service throughout the pandemic and build back ridership amid new travel patterns since then. While RTA and Service Boards will continue to prioritize state and local funding as the primary sources for maintaining and growing transit operations, the federal government could have an ongoing role by matching state and local contributions.

The transit capital funding committed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has been critical to advancing regional priorities for the transit system, including ensuring transit infrastructure is in a state of good repair, making all rail stations fully accessible, and upgrading fleet vehicles to ensure safety and help improve air quality.

Overall, the RTA system currently faces a significant capital backlog requiring over $4 billion annually to achieve a state of good repair needed to deliver safe, fast and reliable service. The system is committed to transitioning to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040 and the state has mandated that starting in 2026 agencies can purchase only zero-emission buses. Pace and CTA estimate that more than $3 billion is needed to fully transition their fleets of more than 2,400 buses, while more than $4.1 billion is needed for garage upgrades and related charging and fueling infrastructure. Absent additional federal and state revenue dedicated to clean transportation, the operators will lack the capital to pursue new, innovative technologies to meet the 2040 state deadline and riders and taxpayers will miss out on the safety, reliability, and efficiencies that come with fleet upgrades.

RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace are advocating for Congress to build on current funding levels (including authorized funding and advance appropriations) in the next transportation authorization.

• The next funding bill should include at least $22.3 billion annual appropriations for public transit, with a focus on formula programs that provide the bulk of reliable funding. This includes the Urbanized Area Formula Grant Program, State of Good Repair Program, and Bus and Bus Facilities Program. Additional funding will account for increased costs and recognition of public transit’s impact on the economy, environment, and access to opportunity.
• The distribution formulas should remain consistent and continue to rely on key metrics that capture population, density, and transit service delivery.

The RTA and Service Boards have been putting federal funding to work in the Chicago region to advance major capital projects that benefit the economy, environment, and overall quality of life for local communities. With regulatory reform in key areas, transit agencies can deliver service and capital projects more quickly and efficiently, ensuring federal dollars go further on every project.

RTA, CTA, Metra, and Pace are advocating for Congress to:

• Expand flexibility in operator training and testing requirements to help advance workforce recruitment and retention goals that are critical to delivering frequent, reliable service.
  • The Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Under-the-Hood requirement negatively impacts agencies’ abilities to hire operators and has been found to have a negligible impact on safety. Waiving this requirement would remove a barrier to employment and allow agencies to meet their hiring goals and put more service on the street.
  • The Taxicab exemption for Transportation Network Company (TNC) operators allows transit agencies to use TNCs to provide innovative, supplemental service to populations that are most transit dependent, without drivers being subject to the same requirements as regular transit operators. The exemption should be extended, and FTA should work with transit agencies on the development of any new permanent requirements.
• Expand local authority in real property acquisition and other environmental review processes.
  • Waive the requirement for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review to be completed prior to land acquisition; allow projects that have completed NEPA after property was acquired to be eligible for federal funding for construction.  
• Support agency compliance with Build America/Buy America requirements through targeted transit manufacturing incentives and additional resources to facilitate certification.
• Seek opportunities to reduce duplicative reporting requirements across federal agencies.

The Chicago region’s transit operators - CTA, Metra, and Pace – have all secured major discretionary grants in recent years to boost transit access, reliability, and service coordination across the region.

RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace are advocating for Congress to maintain funding for existing programs and consider changes that can strengthen their impact and effectiveness. The following programs are those that are especially important to advancing regional priorities:

Capital Investment Grants (CIG): Congress should expand eligibility to include a new Trip Accelerator category for projects featuring major upgrades to existing corridors. The CIG program has been vital for creating new transit corridors but many of the most important projects for the region’s transit system are major upgrades to existing corridors that currently feature outdated infrastructure. Projects like this can increase speed, reliability and accessibility across the system – three of the most important factors for current and potential future transit riders.

All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP): ASAP should be maintained and funding should be increased in its current form to support projects at stations that are currently inaccessible according to ADA standards, rather than expanding the scope to include upgrades to stations that are already accessible. This program has been the driver of major progress in making decades-old CTA and Metra rail stations fully accessible in recent years.

Low-No Emission Grant Program: Eligibility should be expanded to include funding for the facility infrastructure upgrades needed to accommodate charging infrastructure. Many bus garages are not in a condition to accommodate zero-emission operations, but current rules are narrowly focused on charging infrastructure and do not allow funding to support other investments needed to make garages EV ready. Low-No has been helpful to CTA and Pace in advancing their goals to transition their bus fleets to zero emission by 2040, in line with state requirements. To leverage potential public private partnerships and advance common goals with the utility industry, utilities should be an eligible co-partner in project applications.

Mega Grants: The benefit-cost analysis and overall evaluation process should be improved to better capture the impact of projects that replace and upgraded outdated infrastructure on major corridors. These projects are critical to improving service frequency and reliability for current riders and ultimately increasing ridership over time. The benefit-cost analysis currently being used to evaluate transit projects with programs like MEGA is limited in its ability to capture the value and impact of transit projects.

New Program for Transit and Highway Bridges: Eligibility of existing programs should be changed, or a new program should be created to address the need to replace and upgrade transit and highway bridges. None of the current programs provide funding specifically for commuter rail bridge infrastructure – an enormous need in the Chicago region. Replacing and upgrading aging bridge infrastructure for transit, freight, and highway bridges enhances the safety and reliability of the overall transportation network.

The federal government can play a role in incentivizing state and local governments to provide additional operating funding to fill budget gaps and ultimately increase operations funding. Congress’ decision in the early 1990s to eliminate operating support for transit agencies in major metro areas has left systems like Chicago’s overly reliant upon fares to deliver fast, reliable service to all residents who need it.

RTA, CTA, Metra, and Pace are advocating for Congress to re-establish an ongoing program for operating assistance in major metro areas:

• Funding amounts should be based on previous years’ operating costs and a local match should be included to ensure state and local governments continue to be primary funders of transit operations. For example, Congress could provide assistance for up to X percent of operating costs and require at least Y percent be covered by state and local funding, with a requirement that all federal funding must be spent on additional service.
• The program should prioritize legacy transit systems that lack dedicated federal operations funding.

The federal government has been a strong partner in providing billions in transit capital funding for decades — a lack of sustainable operating funding risks undermining these significant investments.

None of the challenges facing our regional transit system can be solved by one agency alone. RTA launched the Transit is the Answer Coalition to continue to expand our partnerships with everyone who values public transit. More than 100 riders, stakeholders, advocates, and agency leaders come together in quarterly virtual meetings to pursue strategies for strengthening the transit system and make it more useful for all residents. If you or your organization would like to sign on to be part of the coalition to support and advocate for transit's future in northeast Illinois, please pledge your support below.