Late-night rides on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Purple Line will continue for at least six months as the CTA waits for possible monetary relief from the state legislature.
The CTA’s tight budget led the agency to threaten massive service cuts and layoffs last fall, but the CTA board took a risk by delaying the cuts scheduled for this month in hopes that the Illinois General Assembly will re-examine funding for public transportation. The General Assembly denied additional money for the CTA during fall’s veto session.
July will either bring support or more severe cuts, said CTA spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler.
“At the request of the legislature, they’ve asked us to delay service cuts,” Ziegler said. “Hopefully they will make funding for public transportation and CTA one of the main priorities.”
The CTA board’s unanimous vote last month postponed service cuts of 20 percent and the layoff of 1,000 bus and rail operators that would have balanced the $55 million projected deficit.
The proposed cuts would have eliminated service after 10 p.m. and reduced express hours on the Purple Line. The around-the-clock Red Line no longer would run from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m.
The proposal also would eliminate some bus lines completely.
“We’re counting on the General Assembly acting in spring and addressing the funding issue,” Ziegler said.
With events like the opera and theater in downtown Chicago, Communication sophomore Stephen Poon said he planned on using the late evening Purple Line service this quarter.
“Cuts would limit students’ opportunities to take advantage of downtown, since it costs so much more to take a taxi,” Poon said. “I would much rather prefer that they just increase the price. It’s better to have transportation than none.”
Many students are relieved to hear that trains still will run evening hours into Evanston.
“The External Relations Committee is happy that the Northwestern and Chicago communities have been given more time to find solution to this problem, but there obviously remains much work to be done,” said Associated Student Government External Relations Committee member Aaron Goldberg, who drafted an ASG bill to protest the cuts during Fall Quarter.
“The problem has by no means been solved and will take a lot more hard work by all parties,” said Goldberg, a Weinberg sophomore.
ASG was discussing the possibility of asking the university to create a shuttle to transport students from the Howard El station, if the cuts had gone through.
Reach Kendra Marr at [email protected].
