NITA replaces RTA as Chicago area's mass transit oversight agency

A new era for public transportation in the Chicago region stared on Tuesday, as the Regional Transportation Authority – which oversaw the CTA, Metra, and Pace – was replaced by the Northern Illinois Transit Authority.

NITA has more funding and more oversight powers than the RTA, with big promises of better service and improved safety 

That's the big question on day one: what actually changes for the people using CTA, Metra, and Pace? The short answer is not much immediately.

NITA's chief transition officer, Maulik Vaishnav, explained what the Chicago area's mass transit users can expect and how the new agency will be held accountable.

For riders, the name on the agency might be different, but NITA has a lot more power, more funding, and more responsibility than RTA did when it comes to overseeing public transit.

NITA has 20 members on its board – five appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker, five appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, five appointed by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and one each appointed by the heads of the county boards in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.

But that raises another question. How does the law that created NITA prevent it from becoming just another layer of bureaucracy? How will the agency get things done with such a large board?

"A lot of the reforms and the deadlines have been included in the NITA Act," Vaishnav said. "They have already put in a lot of requirements to keep us on track."

Safety on transit it one of the biggest concerns for riders, but one highly anticipated safety program is not starting on Tuesday as originally planned.

The $9.6 million Safe Ride Specialist pilot program is now expected to launch in the coming weeks.

"Some of the SafeRide specialists will be out on the system, initially on the Red and Blue Lines, dealing with some of the issues that happen live. For example, if someone is facing a mental health crisis or if someone is experiencing homelessness and they need immediate resources," Vaishnav said.

Fares won't immediately change, but the board could consider increases starting next year.

"Starting with July of 2027, it will be up to the NITA board to see if the fares need to go up or not," Vaishnav said.

So the biggest changes are still ahead, and NITA said riders should be watching the numbers — not just the promises.

"All three agencies currently run service very differently from each other. So, we'll be working to define the on-time performance," Vaishnav said. "We want to make sure that NITA takes a holistic look, so that riders again don't have to do all this thinking behind the scenes of how on-time performance can be improved moving forward."

That might be the biggest accountability test for NITA: putting numbers behind those promises.

Vaishnav said riders should eventually be able to track safety online, and see updates on the operational performance for CTA, Metra, and Pace every month.

NITA also said the goal is a more unified fare system, but riders won't see that until 2030.