When you tap your Ventra card in 2017, you'll be charged the same train and bus fares you've grown accustomed to over the past seven years. This morning, the Chicago Transit Authority presented its proposed budget for 2017 and it's keeping bus fares at $2 and train fares at $2.25. Prices for daily, monthly and weekly passes—all of which were raised in 2013—will also remain the same.
The CTA's proposed 2017 budget totals $1.524 billion, up from $1.475 billion in 2016. According to the CTA's report, the organization was able to balance its budget through operational cost savings, including pre-purchasing fuel and electricity. Even though proposed spending is on the rise, overall CTA ridership is expected to drop again in 2017. Projections show that CTA bus ridership will continue to drop while CTA train ridership will rise, likely buoyed by the recent spate of transit-oriented development projects along the Blue and Red Lines.
The CTA also announced a five-year, $3.5 billion capital improvement plan which will fund a variety of ongoing improvements to the system's facilities. This includes the completion of Washington-Wabash station in 2017, reconstruction of the Red Line's 95th Street Terminal, continued work on the "Belmont Flyover," continued planning of the Red Line extension from 95th Street to 130th Street and new stations at the Belmont Blue Line and
Garfield Green Line stops.
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