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Advocates call for transit agencies to prioritize racial equity in COVID-19 response

Apr 16, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

If Chicago’s transit agencies are going to recover from the devastating effects of COVID-19, they need to include riders and other Chicagoland residents in their decision making. CTA ridership is down more than 80 percent from typical April ridership. Pace Suburban Bus ridership is down 68 percent. Metra ridership is down 97 percent – combining for an 83 percent decline system wide. Sales tax and gas tax revenues – two of the agencies’ largest sources of operating and capital dollars – are way down and expected to take a long time to recover. The emergency assistance for transit included in the CARES Act will help, but it’s not nearly enough. CALLS FOR TRANSPARENCY AND RACIAL EQUITY Active Trans joined seven...

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

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

Bike shops to stay open during “stay at home” order

Mar 20, 2020 | by Ted Villaire

When Governor Pritzker announced a “stay at home” order today, we were glad that his office followed our recommendation to allow bike shops to stay open. In the executive order, bike shops are considered “essential businesses” during this widespread shutdown, along with pharmacies, banks, gas stations, and other businesses people need to have access to (see number 12, part E of the executive order). The order will be in effect until April 7. When we started contacting bike shops around the state to sign on to a letter that would be delivered to state and local officials, we were pleased with the resounding response we received. Signing on were more than 70 bike shops — in addition to a handful...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling

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

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

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

Thanks to all who joined our 2020 Awards Reception

Mar 13, 2020 | by Ted Villaire

A big thank you to all the people who attended our 2020 Awards Reception. Your support enabled the event to be a great success! And if you participated in the event’s paddle raise or silent auction, extra kudos to you. Thanks to our friend Kye Martin of NBC Chicago, who served as the master of ceremonies as we honored John Buck, the Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric, State Rep. Theresa Mah, and Streetsblog Chicago. See more photos of the event on Flickr (photos courtesy of Steven Gross). John Buck accepts the Visionary Leadership Award, presented by Interim Active Trans Executive Director Melody Geraci. Andrea Reed (left) and Linda Thisted accept the Community Leadership Award for the Coalition...

Tags: Advocacy, Events

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

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