2025 was a drama-filled year for the CTA.
Even if ridership has stabilized since the pandemic, it is still under 2000s levels, according to the University of Chicago. Because of this, along with threats from the Federal Transit Authority to cut funding due to safety concerns, the future of Chicago’s public transportation was up in the air, only saved by the new city budget passed at the end of the year.
Now, looking ahead to 2026, the CTA may have more bumps in the road that could affect Lane students’ ability to get to school. “I probably would have gone to my neighborhood school if the CTA wasn’t in existence,” said freshman Sarah Bagdy. “I need it to get home because parents aren’t free to drive all the time.”
Lane is a large school with a student population from all across the city. Buses and trains play a big role in getting students to school. According to the culture and climate survey, 36.7% of Lane students who responded use public transportation to get to school.
While the service is recovering from the pandemic six years ago, there is still a funding cliff of around $250 million. The cliff means that they are funding more than they can raise money for in the short term. They may be able to fill it this year, but it could reoccur year after year. Limiting the CTA’s ability to expand, according to the University of Chicago.
The CTA relies heavily on fares, so a slow decline in ridership since COVID has caused this underfunding. One way to help alleviate the cliff could be through cuts.
“There were lots of programs and spending that was added during the pandemic,” said Paul Sajovec, the chief of staff for Roscoe Village’s Ald. Scott Waguespack. “And there’s a camp of people who say these things are all warranted and they need to stay, and we can’t cut any of that stuff. And there’s another camp of people that say, ‘Look, you know, that was an emergency kind of a situation, and now […] that we’ve emerged from that, we have to take a really hard and careful look at all the stuff that was added and try to figure out whether or not all of it’s actually necessary moving forward.’”
Programs like the rigorous cleaning routine of buses and trains as well as discounts on passes during holidays such as Labor Day were implemented during the pandemic.
Any changes in service could result in more frustration for people such as Lane students who rely on buses and trains and have become accustomed to the new programs.
A way to address the cliff without cuts would be to find new streams of revenue for the CTA, Sajovec said, but that is much easier said than done. Raising fares has the potential to create a loop of losing ridership due to higher fares, and because of that needing to raise fares again according to WBEZ. And changing or raising taxes can anger residents.
“We hear from constituents all the time, and a lot of them in Roscoe Village in particular, that you know they’re sort of maxed out on their property taxes,” Sajovec said. “Their willingness to continue to pay more for this and that. There’s a sense sometimes from our constituents that they’re getting nickeled and dimed by all this stuff.”
Raising fares could put many students in a difficult position. When asked if they could get to school without public transportation, senior Zeke Bradshaw said, “In theory, yes, in practice, much more difficult. I can bike. It is technically faster, but it’s also more physically demanding, because I live very far and it’s somewhat hostile to bike on Addison.”
An increased fare would only add further obstacles to get to school. The current student fare is $0.75 while standard fare is $2.50 ($2.25 if using a Ventra card on a bus). The 3.2% funding increase that came with the city budget avoided raising fares or cutting programs. However the cliff still exists and will need to be addressed eventually, but how it will be dealt with hasn’t yet been seen.
