The Chicago Transit Authority’s 2026 budget proposal includes fares increases for bus and rail services, beginning in February. Fares on Metra lines, which run in Chicago and many suburbs, are also set to increase, citing funding struggles that have persisted since the pandemic.

If the proposed budget is approved, CTA riders will pay an additional 25 cents for a single trip starting Feb. 1, raising the price from $2.50 to $2.75. The proposed budget plan also includes raising the one-day pass from $5 to $6, the seven-day pass from $20 to $25 and the 30-day pass from $75 to $85. If the changes go through, it will mark the CTA’s first price increase since 2018.

In October, the Trump administration in October froze $2.1 billion in federal transit funding for Chicago and other blue cities and states. On Oct. 31, the Illinois General Assembly passed a $1.5 million spending bill for mass transit in response to funding shortfalls. 

DePaul Information Services said in an email statement that the student prices, which are discounted, will not change during the 2025-26 school year.

“The CTA is required to provide advance notice of any price changes for the U-Pass, and DePaul has not received notification of a price increase,” the statement said.

The Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Metra trains, announced plans to raise its fares 13-15%, depending on the type of fare and number of zones travelled. For instance, the price for a trip from Union Station to Naperville will increase from $6.75 to $7.75.

Natalie Polinski, a junior secondary English education major at DePaul, has a car but prefers taking public transit. Commuting from Park Ridge, she often takes the UP-NW Metra line to the Clybourn stop, then the 73 CTA bus to campus. However, recent construction on Fullerton Avenue has turned her 15 minute bus ride into one hour. The delays have caused her to miss her connecting Metra train three times, she said. 

These delays, on top of proposed fare hikes, deter riders like Polinski from taking public transportation.

“If the Metra passes go up more, there will just be more of an incentive to drive,” Polinski said.

The CTA’s reduced fares for elementary and high school students and those with disabilities will remain at or below 50% of the full fare, per federal requirements. The three day pass will no longer be offered, the CTA said. 

Peyton Luedtke, a DePaul senior studying public relations and advertising, uses both the CTA and Metra. When Luedtke goes back to her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, she takes the Metra to the end of the UP-NW line and then gets picked up and driven 90 minutes to her home.

“Definitely will affect me next year when I’m not a student,” Luedtke said. “I try not to use my car often because it’s really hard to find parking and gas is really expensive.”

She suggested that Illinois could increase fares on tollways to deter traffic and encourage people to take public transportation. 

“People wouldn’t be as motivated to drive,” Luedtke said.

DePaul does not currently offer a discount or fare reduction for Metra services.

Levi Bjork, a junior game programming major at DePaul, uses the Metra to visit his parents. Though the price increases are small, Bjork said they add up, especially when making a round trip and travelling with others.

“Oftentimes, I visit my family with my girlfriend, and I always buy her a ticket,” Bjork said. “So now if it’s two of us and we’re making a round trip, $1 more is actually $4 more. 

“I’ll pay it, but I won’t be happy about it.”

Transit officials say the fare increases for the CTA, Metra and Pace bus services are a response to the exhaustion of federal post-Covid relief funds. Over the next few years, the RTA said it expects this budget shortfall to increase, saying that “severe service cuts and other actions will be needed unless the Legislature acts to increase funding for public transportation in Illinois to replace the Covid-relief dollars.”

A public hearing on the proposed CTA fare increase will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the CTA headquarters at 567 W. Lake St. in the second floor conference room.

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