Agency outlines details of providing services customers most want and need via its proposed Baseline, Growth and Reduced budgets
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) today proposed three operating budgets for Fiscal Year 2026, each of which are centered on the needs of its riders and employees, while also reflecting the potential funding scenarios the agency could face pending the outcome of ongoing legislative efforts in Springfield this month.
The three budget scenarios being presented maintain, build on, or reverse the successes achieved so far in 2025, and each call for a modest fare increase, as requested by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), to provide additional revenue with minimal impact on ridership anticipated.
“This is a unique and unprecedented budget season for our agency,” said CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen. “Like transit agencies across the country, CTA has a significant funding need and we are planning for multiple scenarios for next year. As a part of my commitment to full transparency, the 2026 Budget lays out three scenarios along with my vision for the continued, impactful investment for our riders and employees. As we work with our state legislators to find a funding solution, I am hopeful that we can look back on this period as one in which CTA was set on a course for transformational investment.”
Progress Made in 2025:
- Workforce: Since 2023, the CTA has hired more than 6,500 employees serving all positions and surpassing bus and rail operator pre-pandemic staffing levels.
- Improved Accessibility: CTA now has 108 of its 146 rail stations (75%) fully accessible to those who use mobility devices following the completion of work to rebuild and re-open five stations this year: Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr on the Red Line, and the Racine Blue Line.
- Enhanced Customer Communications: Improving customer access to real-time information has also been a key focus this year. Key initiatives include new digital displays featuring system and elevator statuses and real-time arrival information in the entries of the newest Red Line stations; piloting of new solar powered bus arrival displays at bus stops; ongoing upgrades to the CTA Chatbot; and continued upgrades to improve the accuracy of estimated arrival information in CTA Bus Tracker.
- System Security: CTA has a strong, longstanding partnership with the Chicago Police Department (CPD). This year, CTA worked closely with CPD to design and execute targeted approaches to the way CTA system security is addressed, utilizing greater rider and employee input.
- Security Missions: Feedback provided by riders through the CTA Chatbot has resulted in the strategic deployment of security missions that target trending issues impacting riders in key corridors across the system. These missions are led by security guards and supported by the CPD.
- Expanded Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC): In July, CPD and CTA announced the opening of a new and expanded SDSC dedicated to CTA, which integrates data and other information from various systems, including cameras and radio transmissions, and serves as a collaborative hub for CPD officers, detectives, and intelligence analysts. With access to CTA’s vast network of cameras across the transit system, and to City of Chicago street cameras, CPD officers assigned to the SDSC monitor and track active and ongoing incidents, as well as assist detectives in identifying and locating offenders that commit crimes on the public transit system.
- New Ambassador Pilots: CTA held its first-ever Transit Community Safety workshop with community, healthcare, security and advocacy partners to discuss innovative solutions that can better support riders and address security concerns on the system. Coming out of the workshop are plans to launch various crisis intervention and violence interruption ambassador pilots in 2026.
- Service Enhancements:
- Launch of the new Bus Frequent Network, which by the end of the year will have a total of 20 routes systemwide providing service every 10 minutes or less during most periods.
- Strategic adjustments were also made to the delivery of service along select bus routes to better capture new mobility patterns and improve connections. This includes the #53 Pulaski, which was extended to Daley College and Ford City Mall; and the #93 California/Dodge route was extended to the Logan Square Blue Line station, closing 1¼ mile transit gap and providing new Sunday service. These changes are expected to add 2,000 additional daily riders to the #53 route and provide 62,500 people access to new service via the #93 extension.
- Rider Satisfaction: CTA’s latest rider satisfaction surveys revealed that 69 percent of riders indicated they were satisfied with their CTA experience, an increase of 8 percent over the same period a year ago. This satisfaction is directly correlated to significant investments CTA has made in hiring, adding service and reliability measures like the Frequent Network and Bus Tracker improvements.
2026 Budget Scenarios
Under the leadership of Acting President Leerhsen, unprecedented effort has been made to engage directly with both riders and employees and to use their feedback to guide the agency’s efforts. So far this year, more than 8,000 riders spoke directly to agency leadership through the CTA Chats events at rail stations and bus turnarounds and at the three budget townhall meetings in September.
This engagement substantially informed the following 2026 budget scenarios and the prioritization of CTA’s work in the coming years:
- Budget A – Baseline budget that assumes typical state funding levels that solely address the existing structural funding gap.
- Budget B – Growth budget that fixes the funding disparity and allows CTA to close its budget gap, plus make significant investments to deliver services being requested by riders.
- Budget C – Reduced budget that has no additional funding to address the structural funding gap, resulting in a significant cut to service.
While one of the proposed budgets takes into account the possibility that there may be no funding solution advanced, the CTA remains optimistic and is continuing to plan ahead with the creation of Budgets A and B, which offer opportunities for the CTA to continue to innovate and seek out new measures for improving key areas of the transit riding experience, including addressing safety and security of riders, enhanced customer communications; continued improvement of transit connections and services; and ongoing investments to provide cleaner, brighter, safer, more modern and accessible facilities.
As requested by the RTA, the CTA and regional transit partners Metra and Pace have included a fare increase as part of their 2026 proposed operating budgets. On average, more than one million weekday rides are taken on CTA buses and trains. Despite the potential for a fare increase, the CTA still offers cheaper travel options in the Chicago region. CTA has not had a fare increase since 2018.
Proposed fare and price plan change details:
- Base fare for both bus and rail increases $0.25
- Pass prices to align with the fare increase:
- 1-Day Pass increasing $1
- 7-Day Pass increasing $5
- 30-Day Pass increasing $10
- Regional Connect Pass increasing $15
- Ventra single-ride tickets increase to $3.50
- Pay-as-you-go payments increase to $3, for those using contactless debit or credit cards (plastic and digital wallet) directly at the Ventra readers. These higher fees are to offset additional merchant expense
- Elimination of the 3-day pass to streamline fare offerings
- Reduced fares continue to be at or under 50 percent of full fares, complying with federal requirements
Funding Solution Needed to Move CTA Forward
The CTA, like other transit agencies across the country, is facing a sizeable structural funding
gap in 2026 and beyond. With one-time federal pandemic funds running out and a lack of sufficient operating funding sources, CTA and transit agencies across the state are facing some of the largest budget deficits ever, beginning in 2026 and continuing into the future.
Despite funding challenges, CTA continues to be one of the most efficient transit agencies in the country, as it is the last major transit agency to exhaust federal COVID-19 relief funds. Further, over the last decade, CTA has realized more than $800 million in savings and revenue growth, through efficiencies such as investments in technology, position eliminations and freezes, changes to procurement management programs, healthcare changes, fair collection enhancement, fuel and power hedging, and many others.
More information on the proposed 2026 budget is at transitchicago.com/finance/.
Public Comment on Proposed Budget
A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:30 p.m. at CTA headquarters located at 567 W. Lake Street, second floor conference room, Chicago, Illinois 60661. The facility is accessible to people with disabilities.
At the public hearing, an American Sign Language interpreter and a Spanish interpreter will be provided. Individuals with disabilities who require other accommodations to review the budget or provide feedback should contact the Office of the Board Secretary at [email protected] or by calling 312-681-5022 or contact Relay.
CTA will afford an opportunity for interested persons or agencies to be heard at the public hearing with respect to social, economic, environmental and other related aspects of the Proposed 2026-2030 Capital Program of Projects, 2026 Operating Budget and Program and the Financial Plan for 2027 and 2028. Written and oral comments will be taken into consideration prior to adoption of the Proposed 2026-2030 Capital Program of Projects, 2026 Operating Budget and Program and the Financial Plan for 2027 and 2028.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS. Written comments may be submitted for consideration in the following manner: by correspondence addressed to Chicago Transit Authority, Office of the Board Secretary, 567 W. Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois 60661; by hand delivery to the above address turned into the first-floor mail room; by fax to 312-681-5035; or by email to [email protected]. Written comments must be submitted by 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
ORAL STATEMENTS. Members of the public who wish to speak at the public hearing are encouraged to register prior to the hearing, by completing and submitting a Request to Speak form online at transitchicago.com/finance by 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Persons wishing to provide an in-person oral statement at the public hearing will be announced to deliver their remarks during the public hearing. Persons wishing to deliver their remarks via dial-in must indicate the dial-in option on the Request to Speak form. Registered speakers who have opted to dial-in will be called by CTA, at the telephone number provided on their Request to Speak form, during the Wednesday, November 5, 2025, hearing to be connected to the public hearing proceedings.
REGISTRATION AT THE TIME OF THE HEARING. Members of the public may also make in-person requests while the hearing is in process. Such requests will be accepted between 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. Individuals who pre-register to speak will be heard first. Individuals who request to speak while the hearing is in progress will then speak in the order their request was received.
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