(A) The Commuter Rail Board of the Regional Transportation Authority (“Board”) firmly and without reservation states that it is committed to providing safe and reliable rail service to the northeast Illinois region to improve its economic prosperity.
(B) The Board believes that the current economic model is simply unsustainable and that Metra requires a long-term funding solution to meet the current and future demands of the system.
(C) The Board has frequently and publicly noted that safe and reliable service depends upon Metra’s state of good repair, which involves the perpetual maintenance and replacement of its track, signals, electrical and communications equipment, rolling stock, bridges, support facilities, vehicles, stations and customer parking facilities, as well as planning for future extensions to meet the needs of the region.
(D) Metra staff has informed the Board that the average age of the passenger cars and locomotives in its fleet is the oldest among Metra’s peer group and in excess of federal guidelines; and that Metra has the smallest number of “reserve stock” of its peer group, as well as portions of the infrastructure that are over 100 years old.
(E) To ensure this state of good repair and in order to plan for the future, the Board and staff have spent substantial time in reviewing and analyzing Metra’s assets, income, costs and the economic sources to fund its current and future obligations.
(F) The Board analysis has determined that:
(1) Metra’s deferral of those expenditures necessary to meet current and future needs due to the lack of funding has and will continue to decrease Metra’s reliable on-time service;
(2) Delays in the rehabilitation of equipment leads to a significantly higher cost than when work is performed in a timely manner;
(3) A single breakdown or delay has a ripple effect; and
(4) Extreme cold and hot weather-related conditions challenge the system and underscore the need to maintain the highest level of state of good repair.
(G) Repairing and maintaining safe and reliable equipment has become and will continue to be increasingly more difficult and will encumber the system at the current level of funding.
(H) Capital needs over the next ten years are currently estimated at $9,900,000,000, and are growing.
(1) Metra must invest $320,000,000 a year over this same period to keep pace with normal reinvestment.
(2) An additional investment of $6,600,000,000 over the same ten years is needed to eliminate the accumulated backlog of required projects.
(I) Governor Quinn’s Northeastern Illinois Public Transit (“NEIL”) task force report observed that there are significant portions of the region that are underserved by transit. Failure to invest in infrastructure and increased equipment capacity will further hinder plans to extend Metra service to meet the region’s changing transportation needs.
(J) The need to maintain the highest level of state of good repair necessitates sufficient, reliable funding.
(K) (1) The Regional Transportation Authority (“RTA”) Act (70 ILCS 3615/1.01 et seq.) reforms of the 1980s envisioned continued direct capital contributions from government sources while riders would pay a portion of operating costs.
(2) In the absence of appropriate levels of government funding, the alternatives are:
(a) Increased fares;
(b) Undertaking substantial debt that will require additional funds for repayment; and/or
(c) Contraction of the service levels.
(L) Prior Metra Boards failed to raise fares to regularly respond to the decreasing funding or to the increasing costs resulting in Metra fares failing to keep up with inflation or with its peer commuter rail agencies in the country.
(M) Exacerbating the problem is positive train control (“PTC”), a recent unfunded federal mandate, which is anticipated to increase Metra’s capital costs by approximately $408,000,000, as well as increasing the operating budget in the range of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 annually to maintain the new system after it is installed.
(N) (1) In 2011, the Board took preliminary steps to address this decreased funding issue by adopting a set of principles to serve as a guide in the development of fare policy to make up for increased costs.
(2) In sum, the policy stated that Metra would:
(a) Consider regular fare adjustments that ensure a balanced budget and keep pace with inflation;
(b) Avoid significant, infrequent fare increases;
(c) No longer divert capital-eligible funds to the operating budget;
(d) Acknowledge the total cost and the total value of providing services;
(e) Maintain a fair pricing structure that maximizes revenues;
(f) Review different fare instruments to improve fare collection and simplify overall collection activities and reconciliation;
(g) Minimize on-train transactions and overall transaction costs;
(h) Recognize that convenience has a value;
(i) Equalize fare differentials by zone over time; and
(j) Evaluate fare policies of sister agencies and peers.
(Res. MET 14-16, passed 10-9-2014)