A taxi on Wacker Drive in Chicago. The Regional Transportation Authority is proposing to increase fares and cap the number of trips riders with disabilities can take under the Taxi Access Program. (Photo by Igor Studenkov/For Chronicle Media)

The Regional Transportation Authority, which provides oversight for Chicago area public transit, is considering raising fares and making other changes to programs that subsidize taxi and ridesharing for individuals with disabilities.  

Taxi Access and Rideshare Access programs are administered by the Pace suburban bus transit agency, which is responsible for providing paratransit in a six-county region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties). Both programs mostly function the same way. The rider pays a baseline fare, currently $2 per ride, the same as regular Pace bus fare, and Pace covers the rest of the fare up to $30. Riders must cover anything above $30 out of their own pocket. Since 2024, paratransit riders who are in either program can ride regular Pace buses for free. 

Under the proposed changes, the base fare will go up to $3.25 per ride, the same as the traditional paratransit fare. Pace would also only subsidize up to 30 trips per month. On the other hand, riders in the Taxi Access and Rideshare Access programs would be able to ride CTA buses, ‘L’ trains and Metra trains for free. 

Since Pace operates both programs, it is responsible for holding public hearings, which will take place throughout the Chicago area. 

RTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Bueso made it clear that the changes had nothing to do with the looming fiscal cliff all Chicago area transit agencies face. For the past few months, Taxi Access and Rideshare Access use continued to climb, outpacing the traditional paratransit, and those measures are designed to offset the growing expenses. The RTA Board is expected to vote on whether to approve the changes in September as an amendment to the existing 2025 budget, and Pace is expected to consider whether to make them permanent as it plans the 2026 budget. 

TAP was created to supplement Pace’s traditional paratransit service, which uses minibuses to pick up and drop off multiple drivers on request. RAP launched in March 2024, and it currently only works with Uber and UZURV, a rideshare company specializing in paratransit. 

Both TAP and RAP are open to riders with disabilities who have RTA reduced fare permits. Riders must sign up for one of the programs in order to get the subsidized trips, but they can’t sign up for both. Each program has its own service limits. TAP trips has to start or end in the City of Chicago, and Pace will only subsidize RAP trips if they fall within the three-fourths of a mile of any CTA or Pace bus route. This makes RAP more useful in the suburbs, but only to a point. In collar counties, Pace has little service outside major corridors and larger cities like Elgin, Aurora, Naperville and Waukegan.  

Bueso explained that, while the 2025 budget assumed that traditional paratransit ridership would be twice that of TAP/RAP, it remained relatively steady, hovering within 200,000 to 250,000 a month range. Meanwhile, TAP/RAP ridership has been consistently increasing, shooting past traditional paratransit in January and going about 250,000 riders a year in March. 

In May, RTA board agreed to use $25.5 million from ADA Reserve fund to fill the growing budget gap. Bueso estimates that the proposed reforms would save between $7.5 million and $12 million. But he warned that it might not be enough to close the gap, saying that the deficit could grow to as much as $65 million. 

RTA is considering creating a fund dedicated specifically to paratransit, as well as potential reallocation of the sales tax revenue. The next RTA board meeting is at 9 a.m. Thursday on the 16th floor of 175 W. Jackson Blvd.  

Hearings schedule 

Pace scheduled six hearings, one per each county: 

• Lake County — 3:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday at, Waukegan Public Library’s Bradbury Room, 128 N. County St. 

• McHenry County — 3:30-5:30 p.m. Monday at Crystal Lake City Hall Council Chambers, 100 W. Woodstock St. 

• DuPage County — 2-4 p.m. Tuesday at DuPage County JTK Administration Building Auditorium in Wheaton, at 421 N. County Farm Road. 

• Cook County — 1:30-3:30 p.m. July 30, at Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, which is located in Central West Community Center, 2102 West Ogden Ave. 

• Kane County — 4-6 p.m. July 31 at Kane County Government Center Auditorium in Geneva, at 719 S. Batavia Ave. 

For more information about the hearings, and how to submit written comments, visit https://www.pacebus.com/public-hearings-tap-rap