President's Report

SYSTEM RIDERSHIP TREND

Ridership has increased significantly since 1997

PRELIMINARY AUGUST RIDERSHIP

System: Up 45.6 million (9.7%)
Bus: Up 27.8 million (10.6%)
Rail: Up 17.7 million (8.3%)

YEAR-TO-DATE THROUGH AUGUST

System: Up 17.8 million (5.3%)
Bus: Up 14.0 million (6.9%)
Rail: Up 3.7 million (2.9%)

JULY/AUGUST RIDERSHIP BY TIME

All times are strong, but off-peak is strongest

Weekday Rush:
Bus: 8.8%
Rail: 4.9%
Total: 7.1%

Weekday Off-Peak:
Bus: 10.9%
Rail: 5.8%
Total: 9.0%

Weekends:
Bus: 13.5%
Rail: 9.0%
Total: 11.8%

RIDERSHIP UP

Through July Ridership is up in most places 

Notably down are Midway and O’Hare Airports

FREE SENIOR RIDES STILL GROWING

Average CTA Senior Free Rides by Day:

Mar. '08 (Program start: March 17th): 28,256
Apr. '08: 71,357
May '08: 82,142
Jun. '08: 87,685
Jul. '08: 90,223
Aug. '08: 91,903

MILITARY SERVICE FREE RIDES

Free rides for military personnel and disabled veterans continue to grow

1st Week: 5,954
2nd Week: 7,998
3rd Week: 8,543
4th Week: 13,004

SLOW ZONES

Slow Zone elimination continues 

Oct. '07: 263,253 feet (22.5% of slow zone feet)
Nov. '07: 227,790 feet (19.3% of slow zone feet)
Dec. '07: 200,250 feet (17.0% of slow zone feet)
Jan. '08: 195,042 feet (16.5% of slow zone feet)
Feb. '08: 204,393 feet (17.3% of slow zone feet)
Mar. '08: 199,796 feet (16.9% of slow zone feet)
Apr. '08: 184,478 feet (15.6% of slow zone feet)
May '08: 173,264 feet (14.7% of slow zone feet)
Jun. '08: 150,754 feet (12.8% of slow zone feet)
Jul. '08: 133,380 feet (11.3% of slow zone feet)
Aug. '08: 130,155 feet (11.0% of slow zone feet)
Sep. '08: 117,095 feet (9.9% of slow zone feet)

Creating A Performance-Focused Budget Process

NEW BUDGET PROCESS

New ‘09 budget process with focus on the integration of performance 
Management

Hard decisions based on top-most priorities will drive our expenditures 

Expenditures will be directly related to outcomes and targets and PM 
and Transformation goals

‘09 BUDGET GOALS

Capital and operating budgets integrated

Greater accountability for departments

‘09 BUDGET TIMELINE

RTA Releases Mark: September 15, 2008

Recommended 2009 Budget Presented To The CTA Board: October 8, 2008

2009 Recommended Budget Document Available to the Public: October 8, 2008

Public Hearing on 2009 Recommended Budget: October 29, 2009

CTA Presentation To The Cook County Board: November 5, 2008

RTA Board Approval Of CTA 2009 Budget: December 14, 2008

$40 Million CTA Belt Tightening

2008 Budget
 
3 areas are driving a gap between operating expenses and revenues

Decreased Revenue:

- Senior Free Rides
- Military Free Rides (Active duty and disable veterans)
- Circuit Breaker Disabled Free Rides

Decreased Public Funding:

- Reduced Fare Reimbursement
- Chicago Real Estate Transfer Tax

Increased Expenses:

- Fuel
- Power
- Labor

Keeping the CTA On Track

Believed ‘07 legislative action would result in financial smooth sailing

Good News
- Pension plan is financially healthy
- Retiree health care seeded and in the hands of a Health Care Trust 

Like many Chicago households, CTA is feeling pinch of the economic down
turn

Lack of new capital funding puts additional pressure on the budget

Negative Budget Drivers

Higher Fuel/Energy Expenses

Fuel: $30.1 million increase

Energy: $7.2 million increase

Free Senior Rides Still Growing

Average CTA Senior Free Rides by Day:

Mar. '08 (Program start: March 17th): 28,256
Apr. '08: 71,357
May '08: 82,142
Jun. '08: 87,685
Jul. '08: 90,223
Aug. '08: 91,903

Veto Impact -- $16 Million in 2008

Increases:
- Military/Disabled Veteran Free Rides
- Senior Free Rides
- Circuit Breaker Disabled Free Rides

Decreases:
- State Subsidy

Belt Tightening Initiatives

Leaning Administration in ‘08

- 43 non-union positions - $4.9 Million
- 80 positions by year end

Outsourcing Refuse Collection: $500,000 in savings

Changing the Labor Mix

Budget uncertainty prevented hiring in early ‘08

Fewer new and part-time employees

To put buses out, forced to use full-time employees with seniority 
working OT

Bus Operations Overtime and Hiring:
- Overtime: Decreased 47% from March 08 to July 08
- New Hires: 423 from March 08 to July 08

Bus Maintenance Savings

Replacing 1991 buses with leased New Flyers, has saved about 
$32 million in ‘08 

Technology Improves Supervision Efficiency

Bus Tracker Units:
- 16-hour-a-day coverage
- Focus on most delayed routes

Incident Response Units:
- Handle street blockages, accidents/incidents, disturbances,
equipment defects, etc

Special Events Units

- Supervisors will be assigned across the City based on the number
of special events