Nov. 19--For the second year in a row, the CTA's public budget hearing was mostly not about the budget.
Most of those in attendance Monday night came to plead for the restoration of the No. 11 bus service along Lincoln Avenue on the North Side.
Last year's hearing turned into a gripe session about the rocky rollout of the Ventra fare card system.
Riders haven't had a lot to complain about with recent CTA budgets. This year's $1.4 billion plan holds the line on fares for the second straight year while adding a few trains on the Orange and Blue lines. It's the fourth budget in a row that doesn't raid the capital fund to pay for day-to-day expenses.
Give CTA President Forrest Claypool credit: There hasn't been a "doomsday" threat on his watch.
Yes, we would have been surprised to see Claypool trot out a 2015 budget that included higher fares or fewer trains, with his boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, seeking a second term. But this isn't just a good-news election-year budget.
"We've seen a significant fiscal turnaround for the CTA in its past three budget cycles," the nonpartisan Civic Federation reported Monday, bestowing its blessing on the 2015 plan.
During those three years, the CTA has balanced its budget without raising base fares or relying on one-time revenue gimmicks.
No running to the General Assembly for a bailout, the doomsday approach for which former CTA President Frank Kruesi was famous. No plugging the budget holes with $83 million in bond proceeds, the deal brokered by Gov. Pat Quinn to avoid fare hikes in 2010 and 2011.
The Civic Federation warns that the CTA pension fund is still on shaky ground. As its required payments into the fund increase, it can't rely on that rosy 8.25 percent projected return on its investments. Nor should the CTA count on the General Assembly coming through with increased subsidies for free or reduced transit rides. But overall, the Civic Federation noted "an improved level of fiscal stability."
Claypool inherited a $308 million deficit when he came aboard in 2011. How did he dig his way out of that hole?
Under a 2012 labor agreement, union employees pay a greater share of their health care costs.
The CTA cracked down on absenteeism, which cost the agency $40 million in 2011 and $30 million last year. Consistent enforcement of work rules is weeding out the chronic Monday-and-Friday no-shows, the fake injuries or family leave claims. Workers who don't do their jobs or who violate safety rules have also been shown the door. In the past, disciplinary actions were often turned over in arbitration because the CTA hadn't set or enforced clear standards.
The agency says it has cut liability claims by $15 million a year. Some of the savings comes from defending lawsuits instead of settling out of court. Thousands of new security cameras also help by capturing evidence to combat those claims. Claypool said the cameras have even filmed bystanders who inserted themselves into accident scenes after the fact to pose as victims.
Claypool also points to savings on maintenance and materials, more efficient scheduling and more revenue from advertising and parking.
Could the CTA be on track after all those years of mismanagement and underfunding? Regular riders have witnessed some real improvements. The CTA is adding and refurbishing stations. The $425 million reconstruction of the Red Line South was completed last year in five relatively painless months, cutting commuting times by 15 to 20 minutes. There are more trains and fewer slow zones. There are Train Tracker and Bus Tracker signs everywhere, and it's been months since we had a Ventra meltdown. Next year will bring more station improvements, more new buses and trains, dedicated bus lanes in the Loop, a Ventra mobile app and Wi-Fi in the subways.
On the horizon are plans to extend the Red Line to the south and rebuild the Red and Purple on the north. There's also a planned Belmont flyover that Lakeview neighbors aren't happy about and 16 miles of bus-only lanes on Ashland Avenue that sound like a terrible idea. We can argue about that later.
We'd all be better off if more people got out of their cars and onto the trains and buses. The way to do that isn't to make people miserable in their cars, it's to make mass transit more efficient and reliable. The CTA finally seems to get that.
