Regional Transportation Authority Applauds FAST Act

December 7, 2015

Marks First Long-Term Federal Transportation Funding Bill in a Decade

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) applauds President Barack Obama for signing into law today the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). The five-year package, which includes $61 billion for public transportation, makes critical long-term investments in the nation’s transit networks and provides the certainty needed for transit leaders to bring fleets and infrastructure into a State of Good Repair.

“This new law marks the end of years of uncertainty due to stopgap federal funding measures,” said Leanne P. Redden, Executive Director of the RTA.  “With this investment in the future of America’s transportation networks, the CTA, Metra and Pace now have some certainty in federal funding as they move forward in plans to maintain and enhance our regional public transportation system. We would like to thank our regional delegation in Washington, D.C. for their leadership in advancing this important bill and the president for signing this bill into law.”

As the only agency charged with regional oversight of public transportation, and the founder and member of Get America to Work, the RTA has long played a leading role in urging Congress to address the nation’s transportation needs with a fully-funded, multi-year bill that enhances federal funding for public transit. The RTA applauds Congress and the president for taking this action.

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About the RTA

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is the only transit agency charged with regional financial oversight, funding, and transit planning for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace bus and paratransit.    Riders take more than two million trips each weekday on the RTA region’s transit system in six counties with 7,200 transit route miles throughout Northeastern Illinois.  The Agency also provides customer services including online and telephone travel planning assistance and travel training for seniors and people with disabilities.  For more information, visit www.RTAchicago.org.