Learn more about our proposed public transportation legislation today, click here.

Labor Alliance for Public Transportation
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Legislation

The Labor-backed proposed legislation will take action to coordinate a safer, smarter public transportation system for all of Illinois.

Illinois operates the 2nd largest transit system in the U.S.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) covers the city of Chicago and nearby suburbs. 

●  127 bus routes and 8 rail lines serving 146 stations

●  309 million riders annually

Metra serves Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, Kane, and McHenry counties in Northeastern Illinois, with: 

●  11 rail lines, serving 243 stations

●  35 million riders annually

Pace, the suburban bus agency, serves Cook, Will, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry Counties. 

●  148 fixed routes + ADA Paratransit service 

●   17 million riders annually

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is the unit of local government created to oversee finances, secure funding, and to conduct transit planning for the CTA, Metra, and Pace in the Northeast Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will.

Alongside the 15,000 union members that deliver public transit services through CTA, Metra and Pace, I am committed to ensuring that working and middle class families have an integrated public transit system that connects them to economic opportunities, services and each other for decades to come.


Illinois State Senator Ram Villivalam, Senate Sponsor

What's at stake: fiscal Cliff

Impact of Impending Fiscal Cliff

By 2026, the fiscal cliff for regional transit agencies, including CTA, Metra, and Pace, will exceed $750 million. The fiscal cliff arose out of decades of underfunding and was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal pandemic recovery funding ends this year.

Damage to Transit and Our Communities

If left unaddressed, CTA, Metra, and Pace could face dramatic cuts. Failure to act will damage the region's transit systems and cause massive disruptions to the thousands of commuters who rely on these systems, Illinois’ economy, and greater workforce. 

United We Move offers Chicagoans an innovative, forward-thinking approach to public transportation that meets the needs of our communities. This legislation prioritizes the millions of Illinoisans who rely on public transportation to get to & from work, childcare, medical appointments & much MOre.


Asst. Majority Leader Marcus C. Evans, Jr., House Sponsor

How Will The Proposed Legislation Solve our Public Transit

Frequently Asked Questions

Transit has been underfunded for decades. Instituted in 1983, the farebox recovery ratio stipulates that the service boards must cover 50% of their operating costs using system generated revenues, which are primarily fares. This requirement created an impossible standard no other major transit system in the country is held to, and crippled funding for decades. 


If left unaddressed, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and PACE could face dramatic cuts, including major lay-offs, route or line eliminations, service cuts, station closures and cancellation of planned expansions and necessary repairs. These drastic measures would  further damage the region's transit systems, and cause massive disruptions to the Illinois economy and workforce. 


  1. CTA: 309 million riders annually
  2. Metra: 35 million riders annually
  3. PACE: 17 million riders annually


  1. CTA, Metra, and PACE will be forced to cut back on the services they provide, which means hundreds of thousands of riders will lose access to transportation to work, school, and medical appointments. In addition,  thousands of workers who provide critical services for CTA, Metra, and PACE are at risk of losing their jobs if funding is cut. 
  2. Without employees to keep the lines operating safely and effectively, much-needed infrastructure and system upgrades will be ignored as the area’s mass transit systems attempt to fill their financial shortfall.


Having one board is not adequate. Each board, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), CTA, Metra, and PACE, have vastly different systems and unique needs. Instead, we propose to make changes to the composition of the current boards. The Labor Alliance for Public Transportation's proposal offers a solution for better coordination among agencies to ensure fiscal accountability and an improved rider experience.


The farebox recovery rate is the percentage of a public transit system's operating costs that is covered by the revenue generated from fares (ticket sales or other charges). In other words, it measures how much of the cost of running the transit system is paid for by passengers, rather than through government subsidies or other funding sources.


Currently, Illinois requires the RTA to operate with a 50% farebox recovery rate, an extremely unrealistic and overly burdensome no other major transit system is held to this ratio, greatly contributing to the fiscal cliff. Comparatively, New York City’s regional MTA system farebox recovery rate is around 20%. While systems in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia get up to 50% of their funding from their state governments, state funding in Illinois makes up about 17%.


Tackling the fiscal cliff and modernizing our transit system by enhancing safety and efficiency will enable Illinois to expand its public mass transit system to underserved areas down state, making affordable public transit more equitable. It will also allow us to focus on creating a functional high-speed rail system, further connecting communities across Illinois.


LAPT is a first-of-its-kind, grassroots transit union coalition with more than 30 labor partners united behind keeping Illinois safe and moving in the right direction.


We are currently looking at various funding opportunities and working with lawmakers to find a fiscally responsible solution for the state to fulfill its obligations to fully fund our public transportation networks in Illinois. 


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