Results tagged “farehike”

• A CTA bus driver was injured last night when his bus got caught in the crossfire from a shoot-out; the driver's injuries were cuts caused by flying glass.
• The three teens charged in the beating death of Derrion Albert all pleaded not guilty at a hearing today.
• Shocker: Daley defends TIFs.

Anxious to close the $155 million budget gap they're facing, the CTA proposed several cost-cutting measures at their board meeting yesterday, including the possibility of a new fare hike.

The 11-point strategy focused mostly on internal savings such as cutting management and staff positions that would not affect bus or rail service or raise fares. The measures ranged from reducing management and office staff positions and overtime pay, to attempting to renegotiate contracts and sell off the CTA's vast real estate holdings.

Continue reading "CTA Hints at Another Fare Hike"

After all that huffing, puffing, and striking, it turns out cab drivers may not get that fare hike they've been after all this time.

Norma Reyes, commissioner of the city's newly merged Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Services, said Thursday that circumstances have changed in the weeks and months since she promised to push through Chicago's first cab fare hike in four years.

Continue reading "Taxi Fare Hike On Ice?"

Governor Blagojevich is currently putting together a plan that, if passed, would force all transit agencies that hike fares in 2009 and 2010 to institute a salary freeze. Yes, the same Governor Blagojevich who played chicken with the CTA during last year's doomsday threats just so he could implement free rides for seniors, a program that is costing the CTA a nice bundle of money. Still, in Blago's defense, his plan only affects nonunion employees - union salaries are determined by collective bargaining agreements - and is mainly aimed at executives, many of whom actually saw a pay increase in 2008.

Salaries for dozens of transit executives continued to rise in 2008 after state bailout money started to flow, records show. The Chicago Sun-Times Watchdogs column reported Monday that the number of Pace executives who make more than $100,000 a year increased from 13 in 2006 to 20 this year.

Continue reading "Blago Continues Making Friends in Transit"

For what feels like the umpteenth time, Chicago's cabbies are demanding a fare hike and threatening to strike, but instead of just talking the talk, today they walked the walk. Literally. A group of cab drivers protested in the loop demanding an immediate 16 percent fare increase. Lest you forget, this shitstorm revolves around the dropping of the gas surcharge since gas prices have dropped below a set threshold, and the cabbies want the fare hike by January 1. City Hall hasn't complied but has said a hike is in works, though it wouldn't go into effect until Spring 2009 at the earliest. To get their point across, this group of cabbies claims they will strike for 24 hours starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, which may or may not be effective with travellers returning home from the holiday. Because there's no alternative transportation from Chicago's airports.

It looks like the CTA has passed a fare hike for 2009, but media outlets, while not saying exactly how much the hike will be, are reporting it's lower than the proposed 25-cent hike. Update: It seems the 25-cent hike will go into effect for per-ride fares, but the long term passes will have less than a 20 percent hike. Here's a rundown via Chicago Breaking News:

Starting in January, a transit card ride will cost $2, up from $1.75; a rail transit card will cost $2.25, up from $2; a rail Chicago Card will increase to $2.25 from $1.75; and a bus Chicago Card will rise to $2 from $1.75.

Continue reading "CTA Passes Lower Fare Hike"

The CTA board meeting scheduled for today has been postponed until tomorrow due to the CTA's failing to post a notice of the meeting as required by the Illinois Open Meetings Act which is in place, "to ensure that public business is conducted in public view by prohibiting secret deliberations and actions on matters that should be discussed in a public forum." Still, one day won't change the suspected outcome of the meeting: an expected 25-cent fare hike. We ran down the ins-and-outs of the new budget about a month back, but said budget is finally coming to pass.

The CTA isn't the only transit organization looking for a 2009 fare hike; it looks as if PACE will be raising their fares by 25 cents, up to $1.75 per ride, early next year. The board meets on Wednesday to discuss it. Metra has said there are no plans for any additional fare hikes besides the 10 percent increase that's coming in February.

Well, this is some great news. The CTA announced its 2009 budget today and it seems those fare hikes we've been waiting will finally come to pass. The Ron said of the increase, “While this fare increase is difficult, we simply felt we had no choice.’’ And then he probably muttered, "Fucking Blagojevich," under his breath. So how will the fare increase affect riders?

Just as a cloud of gloom began to set in over the carless masses of Chicago, a ray of hope came as the State Senate has been called into session on Monday. While a spokesman for Senate President Emil Jones would only say that the session would include discussion of the "transit issue," Sen. John Cullerton, (D-Chicago) told Crain's that he thinks they are going to take up the same bill that Julie Hamos was...

Bad news hit the Chicagoist offices late yesterday afternoon as word came through that SB572 — the bill that would have raised sales taxes in Cook County and the five surrounding "collar" counties, as well as the real estate tax in Chicago, to help fund regional transit — failed to reach a "supermajority" of 71 votes in the Illinois House. Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), sponsor of the bill, halted voting and placed it on the...

The second of four public comment sessions is tonight regarding a possible fare hike/restructuring and service cuts if the CTA doesn't get funding from the state. We've been told by our faithful readers that we should (all of us?) stop bitching and do something about this. This is one of the things we can actively do. We'll be there tonight, just as we were at the last round of comment sessions regarding the three-track blah (we can prove it, we were on TV!).

There are a lot of ways to make money playing poker on the World Poker Tour circuit. To do it successfully, you have to consistently play good poker. Occasionally, you can get a string of good luck, and sometimes you can get away with being aggressive and the master of the bluff. Poker personality Mike "The Mouth" Matusow and recent 2006 World Series of Poker Champion Jamie Gold are two prime examples of people who have mastered the latter. They are also two examples of people who can easily go on tilt at the poker table and can blow a huge stack of chips in a short amount of time.

Last Thursday, the Regional Transportation Authori-tay (RTA) told Metra, Pace and CTA to start preparing emergency budgets to take effect July 1 due to a $226 million deficit in the big picture of the RTA. Springfield needs to help out or the Chicagoland area is getting some more salt in the public transportation wounds that have been inflicted with deteriorating infrastructures, higher fares and delays caused by massive renovations. The Daily Southtown article quoted RTA...

• Daley says he favors a less restrictive smoking ban, the city council still can't agree on anything.
• This month anthropologists will begin photographing about 20,000 Columbian Exposition items with the goal of making them available on the InterWeb by Sept. 2007.
• Actual good CTA news: Daley puts the kabash on the CTA fare hike for disabled. The Chicago Card is free from now til March. We can now load up our CTA cards & check balances at 65 local retail outlets.

This week Chicagoist has been noticing advertising on CTA turnstiles, particularly at the Quincy, LaSalle/Van Buren, Monroe, and Library-State stations. Which.. you know.. we don't really like, but understand that the CTA needs some dough so they're selling off every inch of blank space to advertisers. Fine. Make some money, keep all the train and bus lines, don't hike the fares.. we'll look at the ads.. Great!

As Chicagoist has been posting on for almost a year, there's been a taxi fare hike in the works. Heard it over and over, right? But this time it's actually happening. Due to rising gasoline prices and increasing operating expenses, fares are going to change as follows:

Back in May Chicagoist reported that Chicago cab drivers were gathering signatures for a petition to ask the city council to approve a fare hike. Well, today they presented the petition containing 1,900 signatures - that's 11% of the city's cab drivers.

The CTA had a real good news/bad news session yesterday. Bad news: The state isn't helping with a possible fare hike, so we'll definately see a fare hike in the next year or so. The good news: CTA has been paving ground under El tracks, and are selling the spaces for $50 to $85 a month in Lake View! Yow!

West Side CTA bus commuters: it is now safe for you to ride the bus again. Police arrested Darryl Pearson on Tuesday for robberies on the bus route. Pearson would board the bus and stand by the rear doors and then when someone was exiting he would nab their jewelry, most frequently necklaces or chains. He's charged with 1 count of armed robbery and 5 counts of robbery and is suspected in at least 15 other robberies.

The Chicago Transit Authority officially started raising the alarm yesterday: Yet another fare hike is on the horizon. Just this February riders saw fares increase 25-cents to $1.75 -- the first increase in twelve years.

In more transportation news, Chicago taxi drivers are gathering signatures for a petition to ask the city council to approve a fare hike, the first in four years. As a result of soaring gas prices, some Chicago cabbies are pumping up to $60 per week, which they are right now paying out of pocket; even though this sounds like a lot, 38th ward Alderman Tom Allen reminds us that “fuel prices are cyclical,” so a fare increase might not happen just yet. Before it can consider a fare increase, the city council must receive a 1,700-signature petition signed only by licensed taxi drivers, after which the council will have 60 days to render a decision. Get your local politics butt in gear by finding out who your alderman is.