Chicago Transit Authority

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Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority Logo.svg
Basic information
Web presence www.transitchicago.com
sales $ 1.037 million
Lines
Subway 7th
bus 152
number of vehicles
Railcar 1190
Omnibuses ~ 2,000
statistics
Passengers ~ 520 million per year
Stops > 12,000 bus
144 train stops
Length of line network
Subway lines 357 km
Bus routes 3,658 km

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) was founded on October 1, 1947 and is a transport company operating in the local public transport segment in and around Chicago .

history

predecessor

In 1914, all trams in and around Chicago were combined to form the Chicago Surface Lines (CSL). 1924 was formed by the merger of the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Co. (founded: 1892), the Lake Street Elevated Railroad Co. (1893), the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Co. (1895) and the Northwestern Elevated Railroad Co. ( 1900) a second transportation company, the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT). These two companies ultimately formed the basis for the CTA.

CTA

The CTA was established by Illinois State law in 1947 . When it was founded, it took over the operation of the two companies mentioned. In 1953, despite protests from the company, she also took over the Chicago Motor Coach Company .

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) was established in 1974, and in 1983 the Regional Transportation Act was improved. In addition to the merging of providers of regional rail transport to METRA and companies that operated suburban buses to PACE, part of the budget sovereignty was transferred from the CTA to the RTA. Since then, the CTA has been required to generate at least 51 percent of its income from ticket sales and to have a five-year budget approved by the RTA. It is left to the CTA to determine the level and variants of the fares itself within this framework. After the Clinton administration cut federal grants to the CTA in 1997, it was forced to cut ten percent of its bus offer.

In 2005, the CTA found itself in a financial crisis with a deficit of $ 55 million. Blame was placed on the outdated funding model, and the State of Illinois adapted it. Without this measure, the CTA would have been forced to cut 36 percent of the services and increase tariffs. In May, Illinois lawmakers responded by assuming most of the CTA's debt for $ 54 million. However, the CTA continued to criticize the financing model and demand a change in order to avoid deficits in the future.

Today's operation

Chicago 'L'
  Red Line
  Orange line
  Yellow line
  Green Line
  Blue line
  Purple line
  Brown Line
  Pink Line

The CTA operates the second largest public transportation network in the United States after New York in Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs . On an average weekday, the vehicles transport more than 1.43 million passengers: 476,000 by rail and 952,100 by bus.

The heart of the CTA's operations is the Elevated Railway, also known as the "L". All - except for two lines that cross under the city center in a north-south direction - are routed over the loop , an elevated railway ring that, elevated above streets, surrounds the core of the city center. The CTA staffs the stations it operates with at least one customer advisor .

The CTA operates around 2,000 buses that serve around 150 routes and 12,000 stops. The bus network covers 2,273 miles (3,658 km).

gallery

  • A Red Line train is approaching Cermak-Chinatown station.

  • CTA trolleybus, 1968

  • CTA bus on Michigan Avenue

Web links