Tag Archives: transit

Active Trans endorses Fair Tax ballot initiative

Apr 29, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

A progressive state income tax would advance our mission to create more healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities in the Chicago region.  WHAT IS THE FAIR TAX?  The Fair Tax constitutional amendment would change the state constitution by eliminating the requirement that says the state of Illinois must tax income at a single rate. Passing the Fair Tax amendment would allow for higher taxation rates for higher incomes and lower taxation rates for people with low and moderate incomes, as the federal income tax is structured.  After legislators voted in 2019 to put this question before voters, it will appear on Illinois’ November 2020 general election ballot. A "yes" vote of more than 50 percent of those voting in the election or more than 60 percent of...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Bus, covid-19, Equity, legislation, public transit, transit, Transit Equity, Walking

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COVID-19 resources and information from Active Trans

Apr 23, 2020 | by Ted Villaire

As we address the global pandemic, the Active Transportation Alliance is adapting and responding — and continuing to do the important work of fighting for clean and equitable transportation. As with many other critical public systems, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the underlying inequities in Chicago’s transportation network. Years of disinvestment mean that the Black and Latinx communities hit hardest by COVID-19 in Chicago were already struggling with inadequate transportation options before the pandemic. Now public health measures have led to capacity limits on transit, and the evaporation of fare revenue raises the specter of future cuts to service. This is happening as essential workers, who are disproportionately Black and Latinx in Chicago, need access to affordable public transit more...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, covid-19, transit, Walking

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CTA, Pace announce boarding changes to protect workers and riders

Apr 9, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

When we started advocating for rear door boarding on buses in 2017 in our Back on the Bus report and in our 2018 Bus Friendly Streets Report Cards, we never thought it could become a public health imperative. We started fighting for all-door boarding as a way to speed up service and make buses more reliable. Now, four weeks into Illinois’ stay-at-home order, CTA and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that effective immediately transit riders will be encouraged to board all CTA buses through the rear door.  This promotes social distancing and helps keep bus operators and transit riders safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of March, we joined with ATU 241, the bus operator’s union, to push...

Tags: Back on the Bus, Fair Fares Chicagoland, transit

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John LaPlante’s Complete Streets legacy

Apr 8, 2020 | by Active Trans

It was a great loss to the world of sustainable transportation when John LaPlante died in March of COVID-19. As someone who worked with John over a number of years, I wanted to provide a more detailed account of his impact locally and nationally. You might not realize it, but you’ve likely benefited from John's efforts to improve street design and safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. And the effects of his work can be felt not just in Chicago. After earning transportation engineering degrees from IIT and Northwestern, John started out as a summer intern in the Chicago Department of Public Works Bureau of Street Traffic in the early 1960s. He was a multimodal planner before it was...

Tags: Bicycling, Chicago, transit, Walking

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Supporting the transportation needs of essential workers

Apr 7, 2020 | by Lynda Lopez

As an organization that advocates for walking, biking, and public transit to create healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities, this moment necessitates rethinking and adapting to changing needs. This means not necessarily supporting policies or ideas that we embrace in the non-COVID-19 world. We believe in the ability for people to travel freely, but we know this moment requires taking a step back and adjusting that lens we normally use for viewing these issues. We want to see policies that enhance safety for essential workers but do not have the potential to worsen the public health crisis. It is at that intersection that we must view our decisions as mobility and transit advocates. This week, we learned that 70 percent of...

Tags: Bicycling, Lakefront Trail, transit, Walking

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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

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Transit operators need stronger protections

Mar 27, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

As of March 30, six CTA bus and train operators have tested positive for COVID-19. A Pace bus driver has also tested positive for COVID-19. There are likely many more who have the virus, and we expect to hear more confirmations of operators testing positive in the coming days and weeks. These diagnoses beg the question of what steps are being done to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus among essential workers operating buses and trains. And what’s being done after an operator tests positive? We must protect transit workers who are on the front lines of this crisis to save lives and keep our trains and buses running. As more transit operators test positive for COVID-19, it's...

Tags: Fair Fares Chicagoland, transit

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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

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Continuing to push for safe, just, and livable streets

Mar 19, 2020 | by Melody Geraci

We hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy during these deeply unsettling times. Like countless other organizations, the coronavirus pandemic will undoubtedly have a major effect on the work we do over the coming weeks and months. For starters, we have postponed all of our in-person meetings, our trainings, and other events planned for coming weeks. Our staff is working from home and we’re encouraging them to take the steps necessary to protect themselves and their loved ones for the foreseeable future. While Fifth Third Bike the Drive remains set for Sunday, May 24, we’re looking at contingency plans if it needs to be rescheduled. Like every nonprofit organization right now, we’re reflecting on the value of our...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, transit, Walking

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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

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