The CTA’s plan to cut service dramatically and raise fares as high as $3 for express bus and rapid transit service is “very, very ugly,” but so is the 30 percent drop-off in local tax revenue that created the crisis, Mayor Daley said Tuesday.
Although the plan to erase a $300 million shortfall was crafted by the mayor’s handpicked CTA president, Daley stopped short of giving it his blessing in an apparent attempt to avoid taking the blame.
“No. This is only proposed. And like anything else, that’s the last resort. No one wants to see fare increases or service cuts. But they are in a very difficult position,” the mayor said.
“When you raise fares, it drives people away. You know that. That’s why they’re coming up with every form of cost savings . . . to keep the CTA reasonable and fair to everyone….You have to analyze everything and try to come up with some new solutions, if it’s possible.”
A $300 million shortfall is unconscionable.
The Great Recession.
Everything must change.