Now that CTA passengers have escaped a 2010 fare increase, the union representing agency train operators is pitching an even sweeter deal for commuters: free rides.
In a public letter addressed to “The Citizens and Friends of Chicago,” Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 President Robert Kelly suggests the federal government provide a bailout to transportation riders by getting rid of fares for the month of January.
The government should compensate transit agencies for 150 percent of every standard fare riders would have paid, Kelly suggests.
“Major cities would especially benefit from the increased ridership, the increased operating revenue from the federal government,” Kelly wrote. “[O]ur riders would not have to wait for a direct benefit from President Obama’s stimulus bill.”
This is a model that Kelly says he’d like to see instituted full-time, as well. Members of ATU 308 would prefer to see a “no fare” system for CTA, Metra and Pace, where the systems would instead be entirely funded exclusively from dedicated long-term sources of revenue, he said.
Kelly has met with CTA officials over the proposed service cuts for 2010, and has not ruled out the possibility of a strike. The letter is intended to be a starting point for discussions on how to fix the CTA's funding predicament.
Kelly also derided the many layers of management at the CTA in the letter, and the amount of money the city of Chicago contributes to the agency — $3 million per year, which he said has not changed in 20 years.