"Currently, operations funding passes through @rtachicago to the Service Boards, but the RTA has limited ability to hold operators accountable and incentivize better performance. The CTA, Metra, and Pace set their own schedules...." www.rtachicago.org/blog/2025/09...

States have more power than they think to fund sustainable transportation. @nyc.streetsblog.org article maps out the pathways for reallocating highway money for sustainable transportation purposes. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/09/29/s...

New @rtachicago.bsky.social limits on Rideshare Access Program a preview of coming fixed route transit cuts unless transit agencies secure more funding. www.dailyherald.com/20250928/tra...

Denise Barreto, former chief equity and engagement officer for the CTA: Where are the Black voices in the transit debate? Excerpt: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/29/o...

Per FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro: The CTA has become a rolling symbol of abdication. Riders don’t feel safe. Excerpt: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/29/o...

last Thursday the Chicago City Council closed out a very long chapter on ADUs by doubling the eligibility area and creating a process for allowing them citywide the ordinance has some problems but it moves the city forward www.dwell.com/article/chic...

Still a couple hours to duck into the pedestrianized Milwaukee Avenue between Ashland and Damen. Next one is the last Sunday in October. Thanks @aldermanlaspata.bsky.social, #CDOT, and many others for this gift of quiet, strolling, mingling, people watching, and shopping.

Transit fiscal cliff—Chicago can build world class transportation systems as this good news shows: “O’Hare Named #1 Most Connected Airport In The United States Chicago’s global gateway tops U.S. list and climbs to #7 worldwide in new Official Aviation Guide rankings.” www.chicago.gov/city/en/dept...

"A series of brutal deaths on U.S. roads and trains is sparking outrage on the far right – and a push for some disturbing policy solutions that will only make our country more violent." usa.streetsblog.org/2025/09/25/t...

Transit cliff interview with GOP state rep and Rosemont mayor Brad Stephens by @chi.streetsblog.org. chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/25/r...

Was at the demonstration site for a bit yesterday and witnessed what seemed to be unprovoked #ICE tear gassing, etc. of a seemingly peaceful—but POed—crowd. Broadview police were helpful and professional, clearing paths for vehicles w/out provoking protesters and helping pedestrians cross busy road.

Video clips of legislator comments from recent transit funding forum. www.thecentersquare.com/video_78de61...

Like SEPTA, Pittsburgh Regional Transit found itself forced to borrow from the state’s capital fund to maintain service. The agency’s board voted Friday to reverse what would have amounted to a 35% cut in service and 9% increase in fares. www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania...

Alderman Gardiner has denied the approval of 48 new apartments next to the Edgebrook Metra station. Across the street from a forest preserve. With growth controls like this, it's no wonder why property taxes are climbing, and transit ridership is stalling chicagoyimby.com/2025/09/45th...

Report on recent transit fiscal cliff event with representatives from both political parties. evanstonnow.com/lawmakers-op...

This Metra signage on the east side of Kedzie Ave. at the #Metra UP-West station…. 🤔

Also want to point out something important here: the Brown Line headways, which at Clark/Lake is effectively in the middle of an operator’s Kimball-Kimball run, are evenly balanced at ~10 min. Definite improvement from what we’ve previously seen.

...killed by what, exactly?

States are scrambling for the money to fill potholes, plow roads, maintain bridges and pay bus drivers as they confront inflation- and tariff-driven cost increases and declining gas tax revenues. stateline.org/2025/09/25/s...

Robotaxi deployments are creeping north from the deep Sunbelt to cities such as Nashville, DC, and NYC. Chicago is in sight. AV deployments at large scale may be like Uber/Lyft on steroids. This @davidzipper.bsky.social piece outlines how cities can best respond to them. www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Report on two transit fiscal cliff town halls. @chi.streetsblog.org has been devoting lots of coverage to the transit governance/funding reform effort. chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/24/a...

There have been over 100 miles of bike infrastructure improvements made in the past two and a half years in Chicago There's still a long way to go (see those huge gaps, hello Aldermanic prerogative!)

"If we keep chasing mobility (congestion-busting) for its own sake, we’ll spread ourselves thin, and proximity will wither. If we chase proximity alone, we risk isolation. The most successful cities historically valued proximity more..." @transportist.net explainer. transportist.org/2025/09/24/p...

Study "What Works: Scaling Solutions: Innovative Approaches to Increase and Preserve Affordable Housing" focuses on Chicago, which is "short 142,000 homes, with demand and preservation challenges threatening to widen this gap." Some positive efforts outlined. www.jpmorganchase.com/content/dam/...

this is my best attempt so far of mapping where the ADU compromise ordinance will apply

Downstate Illinois support for Chicago transit from Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth. Wants to leverage transit reform effort to advance rail link between Peoria and Chicago. wmbdradio.com/2025/09/23/p...

Another Meet Me on Milwaukee event this Sunday. Milwaukee Avenue between Ashland and Damen closed to cars and people fill the quiet, open space to stroll, mingle and shop. Easy access via bike, Blue Line, Ashland, Damen, North, and Division buses. Don’t drive there. www.timeout.com/chicago/thin...

"Releasing capital funds for SEPTA’s operations will have some negative consequences, but probably not as severe as the repercussions that drastic service cuts would have brought to Philadelphia. Similar dramas will play out in other cities soon." www.railwayage.com/passenger/se...

Per press release 100 miles of new bikeways have installed in Chicago under Mayor Johnson’s administration. www.chicago.gov/city/en/dept...

Background on USDOT Sec. Duffy's letter to @chicagocta.bsky.social on transit system safety. www.masstransitmag.com/safety-secur...

Lead pipe replacement. chicago.suntimes.com/environment/...

An outline of the causes of the US transit funding crisis @humantransit with mention of the situation in Illinois/Chicago. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

JLL Talent Hubs 2025 report (Chicago #5 in the US) points to access to good transit service as one of the key factors for developers/landlords to attract talent. Chicago's transit system is a key asset for Chicago region in attracting and retaining businesses/talent. www.jll.com/content/dam/...

One can visualize the impact on travel if the Chicago transit agencies run over the fiscal cliff by recalling the worst days of CTA service post-pandemic. That was ~19% service reduction in rail, 24% in bus. Now imagine your transit service twice as bad as the worst of those ghost bus/train days.

Report @chi.streetsblog.org on the second CTA budget hearing. chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/19/c...

👇🤔. Does "car culture" help explain our current social/political situation?

The Chicago River's reclamation is a big civic success story. It took decades of hard work by advocacy organizations and government agencies to reach this point and it will take decades more work to protect and build on the gains. Next up is reclaiming lakefront park space from the #DLSD expressway.

Transit worker and rider safety is addressed at length in the transit reform bill passed by the Illinois Senate in May (HB 3438, amendment #3). www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Will next carjacking or road rage incident will prompt USDOT to pull funding for highway authorities? www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

CTA wants a bailout: more taxpayer money to let them keep doing what they’ve been doing for decades without changing or adapting. Advocates want a transformational investment that not only funds the system but fundamentally changes how we serve a 21st Century metropolis. The two are not the same.

“Metra and Pace have more funding on hand than expected thanks to the combination of savings and higher-than-expected sales tax revenue, pushing off the fiscal cliff to the fall of 2026 and the start of 2027, respectively.” evanstonroundtable.com/2025/09/18/m...

JLL ranks Chicago as the #5 talent hub among US cities. www.jll.com/en-us/insigh...

1st Ward town hall to discuss and learn about the state of transit in Chicago with Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, Rep. Kam Buckner, and a representative from the CTA. The Den Theatre 1331 N Milwaukee Ave Chicago, Illinois 60622 Saturday, September 20, 2025 12:00pm - 1:30pm docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Seems like a page out of Klein/Thompson "Abundance" book.

Reprint @chi.streetsblog.org of @rsday.bsky.social piece, "The Northern Illinois Transit Authority is a Good Idea." R. Day calls it "a solid compromise on a challenging problem." chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/17/t...

The proposed statewide delivery tax--with exemptions for drugs/grocery deliveries and small businesses--funds transit systems statewide and accounted for most of the new transit revenue in the transit reform bill passed by the Illinois Senate (HB3438, amendment #3). www.25newsnow.com/2025/09/17/r...

A suburban funding standoff has brought service cuts on Dallas Area Rapid Transit and an uncertain future for public transportation in the Texas city. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Metra board meeting notes: CFO says that, with the RTA's mandated 10% fare increase in February, Metra won't truly go over the cliff until late 2026/early 2027. However, without a fiscal cliff solution in Springfield, there will likely be a *second* fare hike later in 2026 & service cuts in 2027-28.

Downstate will get ‘something’ from Chicago transit bill according to Illinois House Speaker. www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-n...

More on Chicago area transit rider survey. evanstonnow.com/safety-tops-...