Summary

This briefing report reviews efforts by the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority to assess public transportation in an area known as the South Corridor. Concerns had been raised that the alternatives being considered could cause economic harm to area businesses and residents. GAO discusses the (1) process that study participants used to develop alternatives for "rationalizing" transit service in the study area, (2) degree to which the public participated in decision-making, and (3) projected time frames for implementing alternatives that would expand or eliminate existing service in the study area.

GAO found that: (1) RTA used a multiphase process to develop planning alternatives for rationalizing transit service in the South Corridor; (2) public participation in the planning process was limited, since no federal, state, or local regulation require community participation for this type of long-range planning study; and (3) actual changes to transit service in the South Corridor are not imminent.