With train and bus cuts possible, transit leaders anxious, frustrated with 1 week left to pass funding bill.

The Regional Transportation Authority’s board of directors expressed feelings ranging from frustration to hopelessness during a board meeting Thursday, as time winds down in Springfield for lawmakers to pass a funding bill that saves the CTA, Metra and Pace from drastic service cuts beginning in the last half of 2026.

Springfield’s fall veto session ends next Thursday. And lawmakers have yet to call a bill that’s expected to reform Chicago area transit agencies and fill budget holes as federal COVID-19 pandemic funds run dry next year.

The RTA, which oversees the other three transit agencies, says train and bus service could be cut up to 40% if the state doesn’t provide more money to cover rising costs and diminished ridership that hasn’t recovered since the pandemic.

RTA board member N