RTA Might Push To End Free Rides For Seniors
UPDATED 11/9/10 4:45 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM) - The Regional Transportation Authority is setting the stage to soon do away with the program to provide seniors with free rides on public transportation. The agency released a study Tuesday that showed the program costs transit agencies tens of millions of dollars.
Top Illinois legislative leaders met Monday to discuss funding problems for Chicago-area transit systems. Abolishing the program providing free rides to seniors was the one action everyone agreed upon.
And in a news release Tuesday afternoon, the RTA said that a new study has concluded that free rides for seniors and the disabled costs the local transit system between $37.7 million and $116.2 million in lost revenue in 2009.
"The low end of the range represents the annual loss assuming that all current riders were previously using the reduced fare program, while the higher end of the range represents the losses assuming they were paying the full fare," The RTA said in a written statement.
The study was commissioned by the RTA and conducted by the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Plainfield) told WBBM Newsradio 780 that the free rides for seniors are a Blagojevich legacy that should be replaced with a means-tested system.
"You need to say look, if you are a millionaire and you're going to the city and you're a certain age, I hope you don't expect to be riding to the city free on public transportation. It could be done based on income," Cross said, "and I think people don't expect in this climate – and I really don't know that they ever do – literally, a free ride."
But Monday's talks did not result in any new hope of coming up with new funding for mass transit in Chicago -- whether on the CTA, Metra or Pace.
The legislative leaders did not agree on whether voters would support a hike in the state motor fuel tax to help defray mass transit costs, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Currently, more than 426,000 seniors are enrolled in the free rides program. More than 43,000 disabled riders also are enrolled for free rides.
The RTA noted that surveys throughout the six-county region served by CTA, Metra and Pace have showed that 44 percent of seniors in the free ride program did not have a reduced fare card before the program.
Since-disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich demanded a law allowing seniors to ride free in exchange for passing a state transit funding bill at the beginning of 2008. The free ride program was expanded to include the disabled and active duty members of the military in October 2008.
Gov. Pat Quinn has vowed to veto any bill that does away with the free rides. Whether opponents can come up with enough votes to override the veto is uncertain, but Cross said he hopes they do.
"Clearly, this is something I think most people expect us to do, and should have done some time ago," Cross said.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger contributed to this report.
