RTA Boss Doubts Plan For Transit Superagency
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The governor's task force on mass transit is expected by month's end to recommend dissolution of the Regional Transportation Authority and combining the CTA, Pace and Metra into one super-agency, but RTA Chairman John Gates said Wednesday that he doubts it will happen.
The superagency model is one that New York, Boston, Philadelphia and several other cities have adopted.
Speaking personally, and not as RTA chair, Gates said he likes the idea of a Chicago superagency.
"From the point of view of efficiency and economy and effectiveness, that can make a lot of sense," he said. "But politically, it has very little, if any, support both throughout this region and in Springfield."
Instead, Gates said, he wants the RTA to concentrate on what he considers doable -- and said his priority remains finding new money for capital repairs and rehabilitation.