CHICAGO: HOW ONE CITY COPED WITH TRANSIT'S RUDE REAWAKENING

Chicago's Regional Transit Authority, having faced the fact that funding for its bus and rail systems cannot be assured by either federal or state agencies, has taken steps to continue services within the limits of available resources. RTA came into existence in 1974 to direct and coordinate the operations of Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and suburban bus lines and commuter railroads which were privately operated. In 1981 RTA nearly collapsed under fiscal and political pressures. A major cause had been the split between urban and suburban areas, and a lack of a clearly defined role for RTA. RTA has now been stripped of operating functions, serving as a regional holding company with four tasks: Financial oversight; regulation, regional planning and coordination of the services of its subsidiaries. Actual operations are handled by CTA and the suburban bus and rail groups. A primary financial control is the state-mandated farebox recovery ratio. RTA is now involved in strategic planning to achieve calculated goals involving everything from demographic changes to transit marketing.