If a Chicago area public transit merger happens, Germany has a model to consider

One of the most important legislative debates next year will be about reforming, restructuring and finding a way to fund Northeast Illinois’ public transportation system. Statewide taxes could possibly be raised to pay for this, so you should pay attention no matter where you live.

Gov. JB Pritzker has said he’s not endorsing current legislation that would force the consolidation of the various transit systems. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has two separate proposals about how to accomplish a reorganization ahead of an impending “transit fiscal cliff” of $730 million in fiscal year 2026 that will rise to $1.2 billion over the following five years.

The public appears open to at least the concept of consolidation, according to a new poll conducted by Global Strategy Group for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, which supports transit agency consolidation. The polling and consulting firm works for Pritzker’s campaign, among several others in Illinois.

According to the poll of 600 likely voters conducted September 16-19, respondents backed the general idea 46% to 21%. That’s more than two-to-one, but a third (33%) didn’t know enough to say.

Transit riders supported consolidation 55% to 20%; non-riders supported it 34%-23%. Chicagoans supported consolidation 54%-27%; collar county voters backed it 53%-%19; suburban Cook County folks approved it 49%-21%; and labor union households supported consolidation 42%-18%.

But this isn’t really surprising. People naturally favor broad concepts like consolidating government agencies, even if they know nothing about the specifics. And that sentiment intensifies if they’re told consolidation will save big bucks.

And 72% of people told the pollster that potential consolidation savings of $200 million to $250 million a year was a convincing argument. The savings range is claimed by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, but the Regional Transportation Authority says they have no idea where those savings numbers are coming from.

Half of Chicagoans, by the way, gave the Chicago Transit Authority a favorable rating, while 48% had an unfavorable view of the system. That’s somewhat surprising, given all the negative press about the CTA over the past few years. The group refused to provide full toplines or crosstabs.

Also last week, leaders of the Chicago-area public transit agencies gathered together on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight program and for the umpteenth time publicly rejected any managerial reforms while demanding a $1.5 billion increase in taxpayer funding.

That didn’t go over well with Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, is sponsoring the consolidation bill and has held numerous hearings on the topic.

‘Funding without reform is just not there. Period.’

“I have said from the beginning that we need to provide adequate funding for public transit,” Villivalam told me. “It is good for our local economy, public health, quality of life, mitigating climate impact and much more.”

However, Villivalam continued, “With that said, I have heard from colleague after colleague. The appetite to vote on this unprecedented amount of funding without reform is just not there. Period.”

More from Villivalam: “We need specificity on how they plan on using funds to make public transit more safe, reliable, accessible, coordinated, environmentally conscious, and economically strategic. There must be accountability and transparency.”

He’s not wrong on any of this. And the word “coordinated” is important because the transit agencies have long resisted a seamless payment system and synchronized scheduling, which is a major benefit of Germany’s transit system governance, known as Verkehrsverbünde.

Germany’s regional transportation associations don’t actually operate that country’s innumerable transit systems. Instead, the associations simply enforce and oversee unified fares and ticketing, and they synchronize the transit systems’ schedules. That might possibly be where the reforms here are heading, and a fact-finding trip to Germany is apparently in the works.

Even organized labor is taking a look at the German model, I’m told.

Despite strong public statements this year against consolidation from the Illinois AFL-CIO and the Chicago Federation of Labor, organized labor has worked over the past few months to bring together a multitude of smallish transit unions to quietly work on a solution.

Bringing those union locals together wasn’t an easy task by any means, because unions often side with their employers’ Statehouse positions. The pitch from above was to organize against any attempts to divide and conquer them by peeling off a few of the larger unions to support a solution that would benefit some and not others. That approach is apparently working.

The union locals want lots more money for transit. But the German governing model is something that could work for them because the various agencies would continue running their systems. Still, it’s way too early to say the unions could jump on board.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.

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