USDOT found Chicago Transit Authority’s safety plan insufficient to safeguard commuters on bus and rail as crime on Chicago transit nears decade high

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today issued a letter to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) directing the transit agency to submit a new Security Enhancement Plan with more aggressive crime reduction targets and countermeasures to restore safety for passengers and workers. If CTA does not submit a stronger plan within 90 days, FTA will withhold as much as $50 million in federal funding.

Under the leadership of U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Duffy, the Department is committed to standing up for riders and advancing safety on transportation systems nationwide. 

"I'll say it plainly: CTA, city, and state leaders are failing transit riders and operators," said Federal Transit Administrator Marc Molinaro. "This 'plan' fails to measurably reduce incidents of assaults and improve overall safety on buses and trains. If people's safety is at risk, so are federal funds. CTA must act to save lives and improve safety."

FTA determined CTA's Plan fails to address the high rate of assaults and other crimes against passengers and transit employees across CTA's system, as it did not include targets that effectively reduce assaults and other crimes.

FTA first issued the Special Directive 25-3 to CTA on December 8, 2025, after a violent attack on the CTA Blue Line in which a 26-year-old passenger was set on fire by a repeat criminal with a reported 72 prior arrests.

Additional Information:

If CTA does not comply, FTA will withhold 25 percent of Urbanized Area Formula program funds apportioned to CTA under 49 U.S.C. § 5307.

Blatant failures in the plan include how the CTA never targeted a reduction of more than one assault per month in any given category, and in many categories and months, CTA targeted zero reductions. Baseline data indicates that on the CTA today, roughly two transit workers every week are subjected to major assaults that put them in an ambulance or result in death.[1]

CTA touted an increase of 67 percent in security hours under the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) Voluntary Special Employment Program (VSEP), but that program is one small component of CTA's overall security strategy that does not meaningfully contribute to an overall increase in security hours across CTA's system.

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[1] The baseline metric for Major Assaults Against a Transit Worker is an average eight assaults/month, equating to two victims/week in a month with four weeks. The Dec. 15 Plan maintains that rate for the first three months of the Plan, and for the latter three months targets seven assaults/month, or 1.75 victims/week. “Major assaults” includes fatalities confirmed within 30 days and injuries requiring immediate transport away from the scene for medical attention. See Fed. Transit Admin., National Transit Database Safety & Security Policy Manual at 15 (Jan. 2025).