Crime is a key theme in Chicago’s mayoral race and continues to plague the city’s transit system.
(Bloomberg) — Crime is a key theme in Chicago’s mayoral race and continues to plague the city’s transit system.
“There’s no question in my mind that it is having an impact on our ridership,” Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter said in a recent interview.
Across the city, crime incidents jumped 62% since 2019 as of April 2, according to Chicago Police Department data. Meanwhile, about half of employees in the Chicago metropolitan area are still working from home and high-profile companies like airplane maker Boeing Co., the local offices of Tyson Foods Corp., and hedge fund Citadel have left the Windy City.
For the transit agency, better known as CTA, all of this is hitting farebox collections. In 2022, revenue was 49% of 2019 levels. The CTA estimates ridership will increase only about 9% this year from 2022, when it was about 54% of levels in 2019.
“The bottom line is that we are dependent on ridership and fare revenues,” Carter said. “That has not changed substantially pre pandemic to post pandemic.”
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, ridership plummeted and left many public transit systems without a recovery plan. Now, years after the initial lockdowns, agencies are experiencing a slow rebound as many people work hybrid schedules, returning to offices only part-time. Many systems have become more reliant on taxes levied by their parent governments.
But it is not enough. Despite having sufficient federal relief funds to cover budget gaps through early 2026, the CTA faces a deficit of about $400 million per year.
Carter said the CTA is looking to diversify its subsidy streams so that it can be in a better position to have financial stability. Whether that be congestion pricing, which is on the table in New York City, or working with the state of Illinois to find long-term funding solutions, Carter added that the agency needs a revenue source that is not as volatile as a sales tax.
Meanwhile as the CTA looks to balance its budget and bring riders back, Chicago is selecting a new mayor in Tuesday’s election, where the candidates are campaigning on reducing crime after Lori Lightfoot lost her reelection bid largely due to public safety concerns.
“When you’re having challenges on a bigger level with crime or homelessness or mental health, you also tend to see those things occurring on the transit systems that serve those communities,” Carter said, adding that public transportation reflects the cities they serve as a whole.
Violence and concerns about crime in the third-largest city in the US have sparked outrage among residents and businesses. Billionaire Ken Griffin cited safety as one reason for moving his hedge fund to Miami.
To combat crime in the system, more police officers have been deployed as well as security guards. The police department said in an email, violent crime on the CTA is down 4% so far this year, through the end of March.
While the statistics may reflect improvement, commuters need to be convinced that they won’t become victims.
“When crime does occur, it is very public and it gets a lot of attention and it certainly feeds a perception that riding public transportation is not as safe as it used to be,” Carter said. “That is something we have to address.”
–With assistance from Sam Hall.
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