Chicago Transit Authority riders have been sticking with public transportation despite February’s deep service cuts, the agency’s president said today.
Despite service cuts started on Feb. 7, ridership fell just 1.3 percent in February when compared to the same month in 2009, CTA President Richard Rodriguez told the board today.
The February cuts reduced total bus service by 18 percent, and rail service by half that amount. In all, CTA officials said the system provided 39.5 million rides during February of this year.
Officials said the small drop in ridership means commuters have been coping with the transit system’s realities, dealing with reduced service rather than fleeing the transit system.
An interesting point is that bus traffic was down 4 percent from 2009, while rail traffic increased 3 percent, perhaps indicating that riders have switched to the mode of transit affected less by the cuts.
Rodriguez seemed resigned to the fact that the CTA won’t be able to negotiate with the CTA’s two biggest unions, Amalgamated Transit Union locals 241 and 308, to rescind the service cuts through personnel changes.
"We’re trying to be realistic," Rodriguez said.
At this point, the agency’s biggest lobbying priority is to get the state to pay the about $250 million it owes the Regional Transportation Authority — part of the agency’s next doomsday threat.
Windy Citizen 