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Federal stimulus bill includes $1.6 billion for Chicagoland transit

Mar 27, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Transit advocates in Chicago and cities across the country spoke up and Congress heard our call to provide emergency operating assistance for public transit during the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 stimulus bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Friday includes $25 billion for transit, including $1.6 billion for Chicagoland agencies. Reports indicate CTA will get approximately $800 million, Metra will get more than $400 million, and Pace will get about $100 million. Initial drafts of the bill that surfaced last week didn’t include any assistance for transit. In response, Transportation for America led a national effort of advocates, transit agencies, and elected officials who pushed back. Active Trans activated hundreds of supporters in the Chicago area, who generated nearly...

Tags: Advocacy, Back on the Bus, Chicago, transit, Transit Equity

Tell Congress any COVID-19 stimulus bill must include public transit

Mar 20, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Initial drafts of the COVID-19 stimulus bill being prepared in Washington, D.C., don't include any mention of public transit. As public transportation loses riders at levels unseen before, the transit agencies are already starting to make cuts in service. Major cuts in service and shutting down transit lines would be devastating for people who continue to rely on transit in their everyday lives during the pandemic. Transit agencies in the Chicago area and cities across the country need emergency assistance NOW to keep their systems running and clean. Thousands of essential workers like healthcare professionals and grocery store clerks rely on buses and trains to get to work. Many Chicagoans rely on transit to get to essential businesses like grocery...

Tags: Advocacy, Chicago, transit, Transit Equity

Public transit is critical to Chicago’s COVID-19 response

Mar 19, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Emergency funding is needed to keep Chicago's public transit system running throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of essential workers like healthcare professionals and grocery store clerks rely on buses and trains to get to work. Many Chicagoans living in historically marginalized communities rely on transit to get to essential businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies. Transit is critical to the Chicago region's public health response to COVID-19. Bus and train service must be maintained for the healthcare system and local economies to continue to function. Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady calls public transportation “an essential service,” noting how crucial it is for important workers to get to their jobs. Reducing or ending transit service would limit the mobility...

Tags: Advocacy, Back on the Bus, Chicago, public transit, transit, Transit Equity

Reform – don’t ban – red light camera programs

Mar 17, 2020 | by Melody Geraci

As legislators in Springfield consider legislation to ban red light cameras in many Illinois communities, it’s important to recognize the proven safety benefits. When used fairly and effectively, research shows that red light cameras make our streets safer for everybody. In 2017 researchers at the Northwestern University Transportation Center found that Chicago’s red-light camera program delivers significant safety benefits. The study discovered that serious right-angle and turning crashes decreased by 19 percent at intersections with cameras, and injury-producing crashes dropped by 10 percent. Research has also found evidence of a “spillover effect,” which has lead to safety benefits and crash reductions at intersections and streets without cameras. The Federal Highway Administration first recognized the proven safety benefits of photo enforcement...

Tags: Advocacy, Chicago, legislation, zero vision

Safety on CTA the right way

Mar 11, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Active Trans joined with the local CTA bus and rail operator unions and several community groups to call on Chicago to protect transit riders and operators by engaging in a community-driven process to address safety concerns on CTA following the Feb. 28 police shooting. Partners include Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 308; ATU241; Chicago Jobs with Justice; the Bring Chicago Home coalition including the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and ONE Northside; and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Following is the full joint statement: The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) locals in Chicago representing thousands of CTA workers is joining with community partners to call on the City of Chicago and the CTA to move quickly to staff buses,...

Tags: Advocacy, Back on the Bus, Chicago, Fair Fares Chicagoland, public transit

Make Illinois state roads safer and more accessible for all

Mar 10, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Legislation currently moving through Springfield provides a rare opportunity to make walking and biking safety improvements to state roads in Illinois. Tell your state legislators you support safer state roads. State roads are often major streets that provide sole access to retail and service industry jobs, grocery stores, doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and other important destinations. For many people, sidewalks provide the only option for safely accessing these key places. And this is especially true for older adults and people with disabilities. Currently, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) requires that local communities cover 20 percent of the cost when IDOT includes infrastructure for people walking and bicycling to construction projects on state roads. Yet the state typically covers 100 percent...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Chicago, Chicago Central, chicago north, Chicago North Side, chicago south, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Chicago West Side, legislation, North Suburbs, South Suburbs, Walking, West Suburbs

All-door boarding coming to select CTA bus routes

Feb 25, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

If you ride the bus in Chicago, you’ve probably had this experience: You're boarding a bus while a line of people fish Ventra cards or loose change from the depths of their bags. As a result, the embarkation process feels like it's moving at snail's pace. While this may sometimes seem like an unavoidable reality of riding the bus, the truth is there is a solution. To that end, the CTA announced it will be piloting what's called "all-door boarding" along the Jeffrey Jump (#J14) and University of Chicago Hospitals Express (#192) bus routes for a six-month period starting in June. CTA will install Ventra card readers at the back door on 30 articulated buses to allow for all-door boarding....

Tags: Back on the Bus, Chicago, Chicago South Side, transit

Support funding for walking and biking projects in low-income communities

Feb 12, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Last year, Active Trans and hundreds of supporters made our voices heard to ensure that dedicated funding for walking and biking projects would be included in the state's capital bill. As a result, for the first time ever, Illinois' long-term capital plan includes dedicated funding for walking and bicycling projects. Now we need your help to make sure the program is successful. As the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) began moving ahead with the program, it’s become evident that the current language of the legislation lacks clarity on two key points. 1. How often IDOT should set aside the $50 million in new state funds for the walking and biking grant program. What we want: Every year — not every other...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Chicago, Chicago Central, chicago north, Chicago North Side, chicago north west, chicago south, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Chicago West Side, Equity, legislation, South Suburbs, Walking, West Suburbs

New Uber, Lyft fees should be step toward congestion pricing

Jan 23, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Starting January 6, the fee on solo Uber and Lyft trips citywide increased from 72 cents to $1.25 and the fee on shared trips decreased from 72 cents to 65 cents. Trips that start or end in a new “downtown congestion zone” are charged an additional surcharge ($1.75 for solo trips and 65 cents for shared trips). A portion of the new revenue goes to the city’s Bus Priority Zones initiative that seeks to make bus service faster and more reliable. These new fees championed by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot could be a precursor to a broader congestion pricing approach. Active Trans lobbied in favor of the fees because of their potential to reduce driving and spur public transit use...

Tags: Advocacy, Back on the Bus, Bicycling, biking, Chicago, Chicago Central, Downtown, legislation, public transit, transit, Transit Equity, Walking

Top 10 walking, biking, and transit stories of 2019

Dec 16, 2019 | by Kyle Whitehead

There were plenty of attention-grabbing developments among the top active transportation stories of 2019. Some of these developments helped make our streets safer and more inviting for people using active transportation, while others were intended to give more people access to better transportation options. Here they are. If we missed an important story, please let us know. 1. State dedicates funds to walking, biking, and public transit. For the first time ever, Illinois’ long-term capital program includes dedicated funding — $50 million annually — for walking and biking projects. The capital bill also includes sustainable funding for public transit for the first time ever. Active Trans championed both initiatives with a bipartisan group of legislators in the Illinois State House...

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