Chicago's Transit Is Heading Towards Disaster (But we can do something!)

UPDATE - December 19, 2025: The State of Illinois has taken action to avert the crisis described in this video. This video continues to provide a good illustration of the important role that transit plays in our city and why these kinds of issues matter so much. For an update on the state of Chicago's transit and more of my thoughts, see my follow-up video:    • Did We Save Chicago's Transit?   -- ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION (MARCH 31, 2025) -- Chicago is in danger of a transit disaster! Faced with an ever increasing challenge to keep our buses and trains funded, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) has outlined MASSIVE service cuts that could come as soon as 2026 if they are unable to secure more funding soon. In this video, I will explain the potential devastating effect these cuts may have on not only transit, but the city of Chicago as a whole, as well as what I am doing and what other residents of Chicagoland can do to help prevent this from becoming a reality. I need also to shoutout the "Trains Are Awesome" channel (one of my personal favorite transit YouTubers) for his video helping to sound the alarm on this crisis facing Chicago. He also provided the link to the RTA Board meeting which discusses the current situation in great detail. Both videos can be found at the links below: TRA Video:    • Chicago Transit is in Danger   RTA Board Meeting from March 27, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/live/QQkMREMp... Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:54 - Overview of the issue 5:09 - CTA Train Service Cuts 8:04 - CTA Bus Service Cuts 10:14 - Metra Service Cuts 11:23 - Pace Service Cuts 12:36 - Consequences of Service Cuts 13:43 - Why we can't all drive instead 17:07 - Why we can't wait for the political issues to blow over 19:35 - Why we need to take this seriously and what we can do 21:04 - Final Thoughts