March 10, 2021

Kevin Brubaker

Chicago transportation organizations praise thoughtful transit funding dispersal

Update: Heeding our call, the Regional Transportation Authority approved the proposed process for allocating funding from the second COVID relief bill. For more information on RTA’s decision, see a staff memo describing these allocations and a Sustaining Critical Transit in 2021 report, and a YouTube video of the full Board meeting is also available.

ELPC and a coalition of Chicago-area organizations sent a supportive letter to the Regional Transportation Authority, on their transparent and data-driven approach to allocating the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act transit funding. The letter reads, in part:

“The approach proposed to distribute CRRSAA funding among the service boards was a welcome innovation, given its transparent use of data to prioritize support of operations during the COVID-19 crisis… We support your attention to defining transit Critical Need Areas. A combined approach which includes data on transit propensity, regional equity, and high mobility industries is a critical and promising strategy… As relief funding is deployed, we encourage the RTA to evaluate how the allocation impacts mobility outcomes — with a focus on racial equity — and to continue evolving data-driven methods in the future. Our organizations would be happy to assist the RTA in these efforts.”

Read Full LEtter

Signed by:

Active Transportation Alliance

Center for Neighborhood Technology Chaddick Institute at DePaul University

Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago

Elevated Chicago

Environmental Law & Policy Center

High Speed Rail Alliance

Illinois Environmental Council

Metropolitan Planning Council

Respiratory Health Association

Shared-Use Mobility Center

Union of Concerned Scientists