Chicago Transit Leaders Look to NITA to Strengthen Regional Service
10/21/2026
The transition from the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) offers an opportunity to reshape public transportation across northeastern Illinois, with regional leaders focused on expanding service, improving safety, and making connections between transit systems easier for riders.
During the session Chicago Transit Leaders: What’s Next at APTA’s 2026 TRANSform Conference & EXPO in Chicago, IL, representatives of NITA, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, and Pace Suburban Bus discussed their priorities under the new structure. NITA officially began operations Sept. 1, replacing RTA as the region’s transit governance and financial oversight body, while CTA, Metra, and Pace remain independent operators.
Leanne Redden, Immediate Past Chair, APTA, and outgoing Executive Director, Chicago Regional Transportation Authority, was moderator. UZURV sponsored the session.
Maulik Vaishnav, NITA chief transition officer, said the immediate challenge is balancing the time required to establish a new governance structure with riders’ expectations for tangible improvements.
“Riders are not going to wait for the governance changes,” he said. “Those will take time, but riders are looking for better service.”
New state funding has helped shift the region’s outlook from concern about potential service cuts to opportunities for investment. Vaishnav said Illinois is providing $1.5 billion annually in additional funding, helping address an operating funding shortfall of approximately $700 million a year following the COVID-19 pandemic.
NITA is prioritizing service expansion, public safety, digital infrastructure, and an improved customer experience. Meanwhile, the agencies are determining which functions should be consolidated under NITA and which should remain with the operators. A consolidated regional budget is planned as part of the transition in 2027.
For CTA, the new funding is already supporting improvements to bus and rail service. Acting President Nora Leerhsen said the agency is completing its Frequent Network initiative, which will provide service every 10 minutes or better throughout the day on 24 routes. Each route connects with either Metra or Pace, demonstrating how investments by one operator can benefit the wider regional network.
CTA bus ridership has recovered to more than 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Leerhsen said. The agency also has removed more than 10,000 feet of slow zones on its Red, Green, and Yellow lines, improving rail speed and reliability.
Safety is another major priority. CTA has expanded law enforcement partnerships with the Chicago Police Department and Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and Leerhsen reported that major crime on the system was down 30 percent year to date compared with the previous year. A new SafeRide Specialist program will add crisis intervention resources, complementing law enforcement and existing social services. CTA hopes its experience will help inform NITA’s planned Transit Ambassador program.
Leerhsen emphasized that the region’s extensive transit network must offer an attractive alternative to driving. “It is time to really change our whole region historically from a transit perspective,” she said.
Metra faces a different set of challenges as it adapts commuter rail service to changing travel patterns. Executive Director and CEO Jim Derwinski noted that ridership and commuting patterns have continued to evolve since the pandemic, with demand varying considerably by day of the week. Metra has responded with its Regional Rail approach, increasing service frequency throughout the day rather than concentrating as heavily on traditional peak-period commuting.
Greater integration with CTA and Pace will be essential, particularly where buses feed passengers into rail stations. Derwinski said coordinated schedules could reduce missed connections, especially on routes where trains operate hourly. He also identified integrated ticketing and fare capping as important long-term goals. Metra has already reduced its fare structure from 10 zones to four, simplifying the system as it works toward a more seamless regional ticket.
For Derwinski, the objective is straightforward: “I think flexibility and frequency are really key to all of that across really all the modes.”
Pace, which serves 274 communities across 3,600 square miles through fixed-route buses, paratransit, and vanpool services, sees NITA as an opportunity to address longstanding gaps in suburban transportation. Executive Director Melinda Metzger said travel patterns have changed since COVID-19, with more trips between suburbs rather than solely toward downtown Chicago. Many communities still lack adequate coverage, and Pace is preparing to seek public feedback on a redesigned network developed in coordination with NITA.
Metzger stressed that simply coordinating existing services will not be enough; the region must provide more frequent, faster service. Hourly bus schedules can make connections difficult, while more frequent service gives riders greater flexibility. Pace is also using traffic signal priority and highway shoulders to help buses avoid congestion and compete with cars on travel time.
“Frequency, frequency, frequency,” Metzger said, describing what she sees as a central requirement for the system’s future.
Despite their different operating environments, the agencies share a common objective: making public transportation more useful across the entire region, rather than treating each system as a separate service. NITA can help align planning, funding, fares, safety initiatives, and customer information while allowing the operators to focus on delivering service.
The transition will require careful coordination, new processes, and clear communication with employees and riders. Vaishnav acknowledged that building the new authority properly may take longer than some expect. But with additional funding and a mandate to improve regional service, the opportunity is significant.
Ultimately, NITA’s success will depend not simply on establishing a new agency, but on translating regional cooperation into measurable improvements: more frequent service, better connections, safer journeys, and a simpler experience for passengers. For Chicago-area transit leaders, the task ahead is to turn that promise into a network that encourages more people to leave their cars behind.