Chicago Transit Authority riders expressed their displeasure about the transit authority’s proposed fare increase and service cuts during two public forums last week.

On Nov. 2 – Nov. 3, hundreds of people came to speak out against the changes, which many said would hurt the passengers who are poor as well as disabled passengers who most rely on public transit. Others complained that the CTA was still not fully accessible to disabled riders and that the proposed cuts would only exacerbate accessibility problems.

The Nov. 2 public forum was held at Lane Technical High School, 2501 W. Addison St., on Chicago’s North Side. The meeting on Nov. 3 was at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive. Each meeting was attended by about 150 people, with around 60 people standing to speak at the respective forums. The CTA organized and hosted each of the forums.

The second meeting, on Chicago’s South Side, had about 20 Chicago teenagers in the audience. One of the teens told CTA officials at the meeting, including President Richard Rodriguez, that service cuts would make the city’s school children less safe by forcing them to wait longer at dangerous bus stops.

Chicago resident Michael Verner said that it seemed like for the past three years, the CTA has increased fares.

“Every year they are asking for 20 to 30 percent more [in fares],” Verner said. “I’m not getting 20 to 30 percent increases in pay; I’m getting pay cuts and less time.”

Rodriguez proposed a budget last month that included an increase in bus fares from $2 to $2.50 and an increase in rail fares from $2.25 to $3. The proposed plan includes a new fare designation for express bus routes at $3.

Along with the fare hikes, the president proposed an 18 percent reduction in bus service and a 9 percent reduction in rail service, which means buses and trains will not come as often and will be more crowded when they arrive.

The cuts will be made by slashing nine express bus routes, shrinking the running times of 41 buses and making service more infrequent on 110 bus and rail routes.

The CTA’s Vice President of Media Relations Noelle Gaffney said that public reaction has swayed the decisions of the CTA Board in the past. The board is scheduled to vote on the president’s proposed budget on Nov. 12.

“The reason we hold hearings, and the reason we are doing multiple hearings and have them in different locations is to get public reaction and give people the opportunity to comment,” Gaffney said. “The board wants to hear from the public … they want to hear what people have to say before they vote on the budget.”

The group No CTA Cuts has organized protest outside of the CTA headquarters, 567 W. Lake St., on Nov. 12 in anticipation of the board’s vote, and one man at the Nov. 3 forum called for a boycott of the CTA on Feb. 7, 2010, when the new budget is set to take effect.

“We reject the notion that there is no money to pay for the CTA,” said Daylene Dufelmeier, a member of No CTA Cuts. “Last year there was a doomsday, this year there is a doomsday, what is the CTA doing?”

Dufelmeier noted that the CTA 7-day passes would increase by $7 under the new plan, which could mean an increase of more than $350 a year for a person purchasing a pass every week.

“That is a lot of money for people,” he said.

According to Gaffney, the CTA is facing a budget deficit in 2010 because the struggling economy has resulted in the authority receiving far less in taxes than had been anticipated.

“We are facing a $200 million shortfall, so there are going to have to be some painful choices made,” Gaffney explained.

In Lane Tech’s auditorium, seven CTA representatives sat at a long table on the stage facing the angry crowd. Activists from Citizens Taking Action, a group that advocates for transit-dependent riders, held up foam tombstones to symbolize the death of public transit services in Chicago, according to group spokesman Charlie Yale. The officials and board members sat listening; often appearing bored, and offered no response to any complaints from the public.

The meeting on Nov. 3 featured no tombstones and was lighter in listeners from the transit authority as well. Only two board members accompanied Rodriguez to the meeting on the South Side.

In explaining why there were so fewer board members at the second meeting, CTA spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall said that two of the board members were sick, one had a previous engagement planned before the forum date was set and another was detained for unspecified reasons.