Study lays groundwork for Illinois regional transit under NITA

The NITA Act, which came into effect on June 1, 2026, establishes NITA as the governing body responsible for overseeing the entire public transportation network across the six-county metropolitan Chicago region. RTA will officially transition to NITA on September 1. NITA will adopt regional service standards and transit propensity thresholds by the end of 2027; by 2028, NITA will lead an annual planning process that produces a unified plan for the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra commuter-rail system and Pace bus services. Presented to the RTA board in July, the study establishes a baseline for improving interagency connections and offers recommendations for improving coordination of schedules, service planning, data and public engagement before NITA's reforms in 2027 and 2028. The study analyzed more than 140,000 scheduled connections at more than 60 locations served by CTA, Metra and Pace. The locations were reviewed at all time periods on weekdays and weekends, with a target window for transfers between agencies of 3–15 minutes. The study aims to find ways to provide riders with more reliable connections and a transit network that functions more effectively across agency boundaries, RTA officials said. CTA, Metra and Pace are also conducting major network-planning initiatives, which share several priorities, including more frequent service, improved off-peak and weekend travel and better connections.