Stevens Institute Technical Memorandum

To: Prof. Wakeman

From: Ricardo Vital Barroso
Date: April 7, 2014
Subject:

Reinventing mass transit in metro Chicago

There is a new task force that suggests the reinvention of mass transit in metro Chicago
by assigning oversight of the region's three transit agencies to a single board. The article
was written to the Chicago Tribune at April 7, 2014.
The task force recommend replacing the current setup four separate boards, with 47
members appointed by 21 elected officials with a single board, representing the same
stakeholders, charged with forging an integrated regional transit system.
One of the reasons to adopt a new model is that Metro Chicago's fragmented transit
system is falling behind peer systems in locales that have strong regional oversight. It
would not control day-to-day operations at the agencies. But it suggests measures to
curb the political meddling, reducing corruption simply by limiting the number of actors.
The lack of coordination between the three agencies means that riders whose
commutes involve switching from bus to train or vice versa are stuck with long waits,
poor connections and multiple fare systems. Thus, the oversight board recommended by
the task force would be in charge of strategic planning, and individual agencies would
continue to make operating decisions.
It is hard to implement these sweeping proposals, since there is a malfeasance
associated with the wasting of tax dollars. But the reinvention of mass transit in Chicago
is absolutely necessary to provide the service with wich suburbanites can get to work in
proper time.

I pledge my honor that I have abided by the Stevens Honor System.

Ricardo Vital Barroso