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The RTA Travel Information Center is available by phone from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day. Travel Center operators will help you find the best transit routes for your trip. Just call (312) 836-7000 or TTY (hearing or speech impaired): (312) 836-4949.
The RTA also offers trip planning on the Internet. Click here to plan your next trip.
Schedules for individual routes can be found on the CTA, Metra and Pace web sites. Click here for links to these sites.
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Complaints should be addressed to transit agencies responsible for the service.
- Contact the CTA at 1-888-YOUR-CTA (1-888-968-7282) or TTY (hearing or speech impaired): 1-888-CTATTY1 (1-888-282-8891) or by e-mail at ctahelp@transitchicago.com.
- Contact Metra at (312) 322-6777 or TTY (hearing or speech impaired) (312) 322-6774. Weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Contact Pace at (847)364-7223 or by e-mail at passenger.services@pacebus.com
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Contact the CTA, Metra or Pace at the number listed in the previous question for assistance in replacing damaged cards. Lost or stolen cards cannot be replaced.
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Persons 65 years or older or with a qualified disability are eligible for reduced fare benefits. A reduced fare identification card is issued by the RTA and qualifies the holder to purchase half-fare tickets and passes from the CTA, Metra and Pace. Click here for more information on how to apply. Or contact the RTA Travel Information Center at (312) 836-7000 or TTY (hearing or speech impaired): (312) 836-4949 to request a brochure.
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Paratransit service is shared-ride, curb-to-curb transportation. Paratransit service that compliments the routes traveled by regularly scheduled public transit services is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is intended for persons who due to the nature of their disabilities are unable to use accessible trains or buses. For more information on ADA paratransit service or to request an application, click here or call the RTA ADA Certification Help line (312) 663-4357 or TTY (hearing or speech impaired): (312) 913-3122.
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The RTA/CTA Transit Benefit Program allows you to take advantage of tax law changes to reduce commuting costs and your taxable income. As of January 1, 2001, employers can allow their employees to set aside up to $100 per month of their gross income ($1,200 annually) to pay for transit and vanpool commuting costs.
Employers can provide this benefit through vouchers such as those offered through the RTA/CTA Transit Benefit Program or through cash reimbursement of vanpool expenses. By taking advantage of this program, employees can reduce their taxable income and employers reduce payroll costs. For more information about the transit benefit program, click here or call 1-800-531-2828 between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Central Time.
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The RTA is the funding and financial oversight agency for the public transit operators in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois. The region includes Cook DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. The transit system overseen by the RTA is the second largest in the United States providing more than 2 million rides each weekday.
The RTA oversees the budgets and capital programs of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra commuter rail, and Pace suburban bus.
The RTA ensures that the region meets its statutory obligation to recover 50 percent of transit operating costs from fares or other income and distributes the portion of sales tax allocated to transit to the CTA, Metra and Pace. The RTA also issues bonds for the region¹s transit capital projects and has one of the highest bond ratings of any transit system in the United States (Aa2 by Moody's Investor Service, AA by Standard & Poor's and AA by Fitch Ratings).
The RTA also oversees transit planning efforts that have a regional scope and works with communities across the region to encourage transit-supportive development.
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No. The RTA's duties, as outlined by state law, extended only to financial oversight and planning. The CTA, Metra and Pace are the region's transit operators. They are responsible for establishing the fares, routes, schedules and all other operating issues.
However, to better coordinate services, the RTA does administer the region's reduced fare certification program, paratransit certification program and provides travel information for all the region's public transit services through its Travel Information Center and Internet trip planner. Top
The RTA system is the network of rail and bus services serving the six-county northeastern Illinois region. It is the second largest transit system in the United States providing nearly 2 million rides each weekday. The RTA system includes:
- The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), which provides bus and rapid transit service generally within the city of Chicago and to 38 suburban municipalities
- The Commuter Rail Division (Metra), which provides commuter rail service connecting downtown Chicago with communities throughout the six-county region
- The Suburban Bus Division (Pace), which operates fixed route bus service, paratransit and vanpool services in communities throughout the suburbs and from suburban locations to Chicago. Top
Nearly 2 million rides are provided by the CTA, Metra and Pace each weekday.
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The RTA system is required by state law to recover 50 percent of its operating costs from fares and other system-generated revenue such as advertising. A variety of other revenue sources are used to fund the remainder of the operating costs and the RTA system's capital program.
The RTA's system major source of non-fare box revenue is the RTA Sales Tax. The sales tax is imposed by the RTA in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois and collected by the State of Illinois. It is the equivalent of 1 percent on sales in Cook County on one-quarter of 1 percent (0.25%) in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. Proceeds from the RTA Sales Tax are distributed to the CTA, Metra and Pace and primarily fund operating costs not recovered through the fare box.
Other funding sources include the State of Illinois, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and RTA interest and investment income. These sources are mostly used to fund the RTA system's capital program.
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The RTA retains 15 percent of the total RTA Sales Tax proceeds and passes on the remaining 85 percent to the CTA, Metra and Pace according to a statutory formula.
Under this formula, the CTA receives 100 percent of sales tax proceeds collected in the city of Chicago and 30 percent of the sales tax proceeds collected in Cook County. Metra receives 55 percent of sales tax proceeds collected in Cook County and 70 percent of the proceeds collected in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. Pace receives 15 percent of the sales tax collected in Cook County and 30 percent of the sales tax collected in the five outlying counties.
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The RTA is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors. Twelve directors are appointed from within the six-county region: four directors by the Mayor of the City of Chicago, and a fifth director who is chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA); four directors by the suburban members of the Cook County Board; two directors by the Chairman of the County Boards of Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties; and one director by the Chairman of the DuPage County Board. The Chairman of the Board, its 13th member, is elected by at least nine of the 12 appointed members.
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The Regional Technical Assistance Program, or RTAP, is a program sponsored by the RTA that seeks to provide technical and/or financial assistance to various levels of local government in the six-county region to support transit planning studies and research that have the potential to increase transit use and improve mobility. Please click here for more information.
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