When the CTA, RTA, and Pace all raised fares last fall, making Chicago-area transit one of the most expensive systems in the nation, board members hinted that their agencies weren’t out of the woods, despite the new revenues.

Yesterday, the Tribune’s Jon Hilkevitch reported that regional transit deficits have become “so bleak that the ‘doomsday’ service cuts and fare increases” of last year “appear mild in comparison to the sweeping measures that would be needed to fill gaping budget holes.”

This latest emergency should serve as a reminder to lawmakers—both at the city and state level—that we must substantially reform the way mass transit is funded. In the latest doomsday scenario, a sales tax slump, coupled with a stalled housing market, have canceled out the half-hearted political concessions made on behalf of transit last year when more of the region’s sales and real-estate transfer taxes were diverted to transit:

“We all thought that the hard-won … legislation would provide sufficient resources to operate our system,” RTA Executive Director Steve Schlickman wrote to the heads of the transit agencies. “And while that legislation did increase our funding, as soon as it became law, economic conditions wiped out much of what we gained.” [...]

“We’ve given the service boards some sobering indications of the trends and asked them to seriously look at their budgets, gauge the impact and address it,” Schlickman said.

While the RTA has the authority to take on $200 million in short-term emergency borrowing, Hilkevitch notes that CTA’s budget gap alone is $213 million. Fare hikes, service cuts, and layoffs all appear back on the table as both agencies try to close big budget gaps—10 percent and 7 percent of CTA and RTA entire operating budgets, respectively.

That should come as no surprise. For years, transit advocates have called for a more equitable transit funding formula. Not only have elected officials ignored their advice, they’ve have consistently failed to pass a capital budget, forfeiting millions in federal transit money and forcing transit agencies to use operating funds to cover infrastructure repairs. Equally disappointing is how little investment has been committed through two of the region’s biggest transit investment opportunities in decades: the stimulus package and Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid.

Let’s hope a new day has truly come and fresh leadership in Springfield will Illinois’ lawmakers to confront the underlying problems with transit funding. Until then, it looks like the growing legions of transit customers will be able to set their clocks by the annual doomsday scenario.

Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user paulmcdee.