CTA reports November revenue above budget; $687 million federal relief held in reserve

Tom McComb, chief financial officer for the Chicago Transit Authority, told the board on Jan. 15 that November system-generated revenue exceeded budget and pushed year-to-date results above plan.

McComb said fares and passes each totaled about $14 million for the month, a bit above budget; overall revenue for the month was $1.4 million positive to budget and roughly $26 million higher than the prior year through November. On the expense side, he said labor was slightly negative to budget in November because of contract-related back pay for trades, and materials were slightly negative due to additional vehicle work. Power and fuel variances were favorable for the month.

The significance for CTA's finances, McComb said, is that public funding (sales tax and real estate transfer tax) was positive to budget in November, which moved the public-funding line to positive year-to-date after prior shortfalls. On federal relief, McComb said CTA drew $37.9 million earlier in the federal-relief program and that $687 million remained; he said CTA has eligible expenses against those remaining funds and “took the opportunity to go ahead and draw down those remaining funds and put them in a CTA reserve account so that we can continue to use them to fill in that deficit gap.” He added that the month-to-month slides will change to reflect the drawdown in the December close.

Director Eady asked for confirmation that the $687 million represented remaining federal-relief funding as of November; McComb confirmed that was correct and that eligible expenses exist against the amount. When asked later where the 18F consulting engagement would be paid from, McComb said the cost is budgeted under contractual services in an “other expenses” line and is part of a roughly $193 million bucket for contractual services next year.

Why it matters: CTA staff told the board the November results provided temporary breathing room as the authority heads into the final months of the fiscal year, but that a significant portion of the system's near-term deficit remains dependent on drawdown of federal relief and positive performance on public revenue lines.

Looking ahead, McComb said CTA has bought most of the commodities needed for 2025 and purchased a substantial portion of anticipated fuel for 2026; power pricing remains subject to an on‑going RFP.

Sources: Remarks by Tom McComb at the Jan. 15, 2025 Chicago Transit Authority Board meeting; questions from Board members.