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Chicago Transit Authority misrepresented bus mileage, got millions in extra fed funds, watchdog says
Cause of Action (CoA), a government watchdog group, has accused the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) of defrauding the federal government of millions of dollars and the Obama administration of not doing anything about it.
The watchdog issued an October 18 report that “uncovered the potential of up to $150 million in taxpayer funds improperly being awarded to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) due to CTA’s potentially fraudulent reporting dating as far back as 1982 and possibly continuing to the present.”
Bloomberg then reported yesterday that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), an agency of the Department of Transportation (DOT), requested that the Chicago Transit Authority revise its 2011 mileage filing.
The transit authority inappropriately reported the so-called “deadhead” miles between the bus station and the first stop, during which the buses generally carry no passengers, as “revenue-producing miles,” according to reports.
The “CTA’s gotten more money than it deserves,” Cause of Action executive director Dan Epstein told the Washington Free Beacon.
“They may have over-reported these miles with knowledge” that the reporting practices failed to comply with federal regulations, Epstein added.
The Bloomberg report indicates the federal government may have known about the over-reported miles earlier this year. The Cause of Action report suggests it may have known earlier, however.
Stranded in Sonoma
October 26th, 2012
Would someone please explain to me how a massively subsidized public transit system produces any revenue? Remember, we’re talking NET revenue here. What the taxpayer spends versus what the transit authority takes in. It has to be negative. Considering union salaries and benefits into the equation.
persecutor
October 26th, 2012
Deadhead miles and dead voters–Chicago and Cook County, where the dearly departed never depart!
eternal cracker p
October 26th, 2012
CTA needs to go away. They are crying for money and threaten paying customers with shutting down routes, cook the books, plagued with graffiti, urine, feces, at least one shooting per day happens under an eL line, constant malfunctions, people who live near a train line are prematurely deaf, absolutely zero customer service, and their infrastructure is crumbling all around. But here come the brilliant ideas to save them.. Such as green energy and forcing cabbies to fork over more of their dollars to the city, hell you can’t even go a block after a flag pull for less than 7 bucks FFS.
Dr. Tar
October 26th, 2012
“One-Five-Oh Mil the taxpayers overpaid.
One-Five-Oh Mil wasted on us today-ay-ay Yeah.”
Sung to the tune of 25 or 6 to 4
(when the band Chicago was formed they called themselves the Chicago Transit Authority)
Rick
October 26th, 2012
The “CTA’s gotten more money than it deserves,”
That applies to just about any urban mass-transit organization.
vinnie f
October 26th, 2012
it might be a GONZO(<<i just made that up) scheme – meaning it's SO fukcing preposterous that most will say CAN'T HAPPEN…the NEXT level needs even MORE money to pay off the pro-DEM votes by union gummint workers. the next level…
pretty soon your local city gobt is several nillion in debt and needs a federal bailout or it goes bankrupt (ya mean like RIGHT NOW in several sities across the U.S AND europe?!?!?!)
review your agenda 21 material – it's REALLY about getting people used to traveling by govt transportation and taking from them their ability to choose where to go and when to go there AND choosing it for themselves…
molecular teleportation is more soylent green than star trek
Sarthurk
October 26th, 2012
Chicago is as Chicago does. Is it really news?
Mary Jane Anklestraps
October 26th, 2012
Privately run transit systems. It’s the only way to go. They can compete in each city and keep the prices down.
P. Hertz
October 26th, 2012
And…there’s nothing to the article. It’s not true. It’s old news now and no one cares. Why? Because it’s bogus.
The CTA generates 57% of its yearly budget at the turnstile. That’s a higher percentage than any other transit system in the US.
The CTA was formed from a group of BANKRUPT private transit systems.
Privatizing public transit has been a disaster everywhere it’s been tried.
The CTA moves millions of people to work every day.
Raad a little about it…it’s enlightening
GW Bear
October 27th, 2012
In Cleveland, CTS, the Cleveland Transit System was a privately run company that “only” managed to have a 2 to 3 million dollar profit annually. The local pols claimed the county could run it more efficiently and convinced the voters to fund RTA, the Regional Transit Authority. Kind of like when the federal government federalized the railroads and created Amtrak.
Twenty-five years later, RTA “only” has deficits of 20 to 30 million dollars annually. They have hundreds of foreign built buses they can’t get parts for sitting in boneyards, the same with the trains. They’ve cut back routes leaving some communities without any bus service at all and best of all the workers are all unionized.
Every time any government tries to run a business it is always worse. Always.