A commute to work on the Lime Line may be the future for some Chicagoans thanks to Transit Future.

Transit Future has begun a campaign that aims to revolutionize the transit system in Chicago by expanding the “L” and other systems with more than $20 billion of improvement projects. The plan would be Cook County’s biggest investment in public transit infrastructure since 1947.

The Transit Future Campaign is being led by the Active Transportation Alliance and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT). The two organizations have rallied significant support for the project, both in government and the community. Among those who have shown support for the plan are nine Cook County Commissioners and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“The strength of the Chicago and regional economy depend on a diverse and interconnected transportation network that provides safe, reliable options to Chicagoans in every neighborhood,” Emanuel said at the launch of the Transit Future campaign April 3.

Transit Future’s vision of what Chicago and cook county transportation system could include not only extending the Red and Brown lines, but also calling for the creation of several new lines. The South Lake Front Service line would be built on existing track and would connect the South Side to the Loop. The Lime Line would act as a west side Red Line, connecting the Green, Pink, Blue and Red Lines.

In addition to making improvements to the “L,” the plan calls for the creation of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line on Ashland. The BRT would operate like a subway on the street creating new bus lanes and stations, as well as giving buses the ability to change lights to avoid getting stuck in traffic. The BRT would connect to five “L” lines and two commuter rail lines.

Improvements would also include modernizing the Red Line on the North Side from Lakeview to Evanston. By updating the Red Line, which is almost 100 years old, the plan hopes to make commuting from the far north side faster. Similarly the plan calls for the rebuilding of the Blue Line, which has many slow areas and has many stations that are not wheelchair accessible.

The vision calls for more transit service to the suburbs surrounding Chicago in the form of bus service and commuter rail lines. While the busses will not have their own lanes like the BRT, but they will be able to change lights to jump ahead of traffic at major intersections.

“This is not just about investing in transit for transit’s sake, it’s about helping people move around the region – to jobs, to school, to opportunities,” President of Cook County Toni Preckwinkle said at the campaign’s launch. According to the campaign, the South Lake Front Service line would help connect Chicagoans with 50,000 jobs in Hyde Park.

“Cook County should be a leader in developing transportation systems that drive a modern, sustainable and equitable economy,” Preckwinkle said.

Inspiration for the Transit Future campaign came from LA County where they were able to fund $40 billion of new and expanded infrastructure through raising sales tax by a half-cent and accessing federal funds through America Fast Forward.

America Fast Forward is a program that allows states, cities and transportation agencies to issue AFF bonds to create private sector jobs by borrowing capital on favorable terms. The program hopes to help create 500,000 engineering and construction jobs.

America is far behind Europe and China when it comes to investment in public transit. According to AFF, 2.4 percent of the United States GDP is invested in transportation infrastructure. In comparison, China invests 9 percent of its GDP and Europe has invested 5 percent.

“Building a world-class transit system requires a steady, long-term investment,” Jacky Grimshaw, vice president for policy at CNT and director of Transit Future said. “Creating a local, matching revenue stream can unlock billions in federal and other funding for the kinds of transit projects that can make our region more livable, economically competitive and environmentally sustainable.”

For the vision of Transit Future to be realized it would require an investment of $20 billion. In order to gain access to the federal funds Cook County must first create a local revenue stream that would be matched by federal funds. The Transit Future Campaign hopes to convince Cook County to create the revenue stream needed this year.

Since the campaign launched on April 3, Transit Futures vision has been shared 13,000 times on Facebook. The link to the same site has been tweeted 576 times. CNT also reported that the site had been viewed over 100,000 times in its first week of publication.