Metra’s Financial Struggles Continue Due To COVID-19 Pandemic
August 20, 2020 1:56PM CDT
Metra continues to deal with financial struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chicago area’s commuter rail system increased its projected two-year budget deficit to 682-million-dollars at a virtual monthly board meeting yesterday. The agency warned that it will have to start cutting costs more aggressively without additional federal aid like the CARES Act. Metra has seen ridership plunge to about ten-percent of its pre-COVID-19 level. Train cars are still largely empty despite daily service being cut by more than half.
