Susie An: This is Reset. I'm Susie An in for Sasha-Ann Simons. Public transit has never quite been the same since COVID-19 took hold two and a half years ago. Ridership, reliability, safety, they all took a hit during the pandemic. The CTA is taking steps to address those issues with its meeting at the moment campaign. Meanwhile, Pace, the suburban bus system is out with its budget proposal, which shows that pandemic effects continue to force the hand of transit agencies. Here to discuss is WBEZ Reporter, Michael Puente. Hey Mike.

Michael Puente: Hey Susie, how are you?

Susie An: I'm doing well. Well Mike, I want to start with Pace. You know, the big headline on its budget proposal is a plan to permanently cut 69 routes that were suspended during the pandemic. I mean that sounds pretty big. What's been going on with Pace?

Michael Puente: Well that's right, Susie. Well, when you mentioned when the pandemic first started ridership on Metra, CTA and Pace all plummeted. All the transit agencies have to scale back services and provide service on those routes that have the most demand. Well ridership on all three services are picking back up including Pace. But now with the suspension of the 69 routes back in spring of 2020, Pace feels they are no longer needed and wants to cut them and use those monies in better ways. Those are routes in Naperville, Schaumburg, Rosemont, there's a whole list of them on their website. But these are routes that Pace says aren't in demand, and so they want to cut them.

Susie An: And a note to our listeners hearings start this week about the Pace budget. Riders can comment on the route eliminations during those hearings which run Thursday through next Friday. They can also email Pace at public.hearings@pacebus.com. Mike, what will you be listening for in these hearings?

Michael Puente: Well Susie, I'm sure we're going to hear some stories on how these routes are needed, but they haven't been around for almost two years. So adjustments have been made by those who used to use them. But I'm sure Pace is going to listen to decide if any of those routes can be saved or just cut as Pace has them planned. Now, some of these meetings as you said start on Thursday. Some are in person, and some are virtual. There's a full list on the meeting dates and times on Pace's website.

Susie An:: Meanwhile, the CTA has had its share of challenges. Remind us of what the Chicago Transit Authority has been facing during the pandemic, but especially in recent months.

Michael Puente: Well Susie, we all know about the violence that has been the big issue on CTA trains and buses. And CTA is trying to address those with additional security. But CTA is also seeing a surge in ridership as more people hit the downtown for fun and work – 935,000 riders alone reported by CTA in September. That's a new post pandemic high. But some trains and buses are not arriving on time. There are groups such as Commuters Take Action that monitor CTA's on time performance. They have said CTA is also often unreliable with riders having to opt for Uber or Lyft.

Susie An: Yeah. Yeah definitely. Well the CTA says it's quote "meeting the moment." That's the name of its campaign for addressing some of these issues. Is the CTA in fact meeting the moment? Or how are they meeting the moment, Mike?

Michael Puente: Well, clearly not all the time or not nearly enough for some people. That's why CTA is doing this effort. They want ridership to increase, but if riders don't feel they can get to their destination on time that's not gonna happen. As of the latest scorecard reliability for CTA Trains is at 75% as of September. That's up from 72% in August - and for buses it's 80% reliability in July. Up to 83% in September. So it's going up, a little bit here a little bit there, but one of the biggest things is just having enough workers and operators and mechanics so they can meet that ongoing demand

Susie An: And what's the CTA Been saying about those challenges of, you know, getting the score up on their on time scorecard, like the hiring. What's the CTA been saying about those efforts?

Michael Puente: Well that is an issue the CTA says it's trying to address, and it's very frustrating. They are having hiring events. Like, just back in October 1st, they had a job fair. They need... they want... they're looking to hire... they need 450 new bus operators - they feel that - I think they've hired like 323. But it all comes down to that... more workers to meet the demand of new routes that they're trying to add, especially the blue and red lines. Although they're more... the most on demand routes. But if they don't have the workers to address the needs of the growing ridership it's still gonna be a problem. But that's that's what they're trying to hope to address.

Susie An: Yeah. Has the CTA explained why, you know, riders are seeing these ghost buses and trains. You know the ones that show up on on the app, but don't show up in real life.

Michael Puente: Right. Right. Those are those also happen with staffing issues and that happens for a lot of reasons too. Just um, there could be scheduling conflicts. There could be something with mechanical problems, and they are trying to address that. They're trying to you know increase the reliability and those ghost trains and buses can be very frustrating. But a lot of it has to do... goes back to just not having enough operators, but they are trying to reduce that.

Susie An: Well finally Mike, what else will you be keeping your eye on in the public transit front?

Michael Puente: Well, we're hearing about the surges in COVID, so I'm interested in that – how that might impact ridership as we head into the winter. But also how ridership could increase as those gas prices keep going up. And there are so many things that impact ridership on area transit, including the economy and jobs. So those are all interconnected. And we all want... we also want to see how crime is reduced on the CTA. They've got extra security, more Chicago police department officers on there and K9 units. So it remains to be seen though how that is going to impact ridership on the CTA.

Susie An: Yep. That's WBEZ reporter Mike Puente. Thanks Mike.

Michael Puente: Thank you Susie.

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