(The following report appeared at the Crain’s Chicago Business website on May 12.)
CHICAGO — Metra posted its highest-ever first-quarter ridership numbers this year.
Ridership for the first three months of the year was 19.6 million, about 1% higher than Metra’s previous first-quarter best in 2001, Lynnette Ciavarella, Metra’s director of planning and analysis, said Friday at the agency’s monthly board meeting.
Metra attributed the record demand to rising gas prices, road construction projects and high occupancy rates in downtown office buildings, among other factors.
Compared with the same time last year, two Metra lines posted double-digit growth in March. The North Central line, which is anchored in northern Lake County, posted a 13% gain, and the South West line, anchored in Will County, posted a 12% gain.
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Still, the agency faces a $60-million hole in its $554-million operating budget unless Springfield lawmakers identify new sources of funding. If no new funds are received by July 1, the agency will be forced to begin diverting money earmarked for capital projects, such as upkeep of trains, tracks and stations, to cover operating costs.
Of the area’s three transit agencies — the Chicago Transit Authority and suburban bus system Pace are the other two — Metra was the only one to pass a 2007 “contingency” budget that laid out a spending blueprint in case the General Assembly failed to deliver a bailout. The CTA and Pace are considering service cuts and fare increases if the agencies don’t receive additional state funding.
Asked the main obstacle to closing Metra’s $60-million operating shortfall, Executive Director Phil Pagano supplied a one-word answer: “Springfield.”