Metra riders were given some good news on Wednesday as the agency announced that it will not increase fares in 2019, but that good news came with a dire warning.
In a tweet, the agency says that they will need the public’s help in securing a sustainable capital funding source moving forward, or they may be forced to drastically reduce service.
“If no sustainable funding source materializes, there will be a rapid deterioration of Metra service as it exists today,” the agency said.
Over the last four years, the agency has raised fares to deal with capital expenditures on new trains and equipment, and has also had to spent hundreds of millions of dollars to adhere to a new federal mandate called “Positive Train Control,” which was designed to help prevent derailments and crashes but did not come with any additional money from the government, according to the agency.
The agency’s 2018 budget included fare increases and service cuts to help close a $45 million budget deficit.
