Chicago-area transit agencies could see a drop in service of up to 40% in the coming years, their leaders announced this week, citing the upcoming end of COVID-19 pandemic funding.

Metra, Pace and CTA — along with other transit agencies nationwide — are bracing for a fiscal cliff in 2026, when pandemic aid runs out. As a result, the service could be reduced by up to 40% by 2027.

Metra was the first transit agency to address the issue — at a board meeting Wednesday — where members discussed the significant help the agency received through emergency relief funds of pandemic.

Transportation experts insist that such a reduction, if it were to occur, would be felt seven days a week at all levels of transportation.

“One thing you know, with a 40 percent reduction, is you just can’t reduce some rush hour trains, some late night trains,” said Joe Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University , expert in transport, public policy and urban planning. “It’s going to reduce the basic level of service we have – hourly service, or even better, on some routes, and that’s probably not going to be sustainable.”

Several runners said they were stunned by this possibility.

“It shocks me because… there are a lot of people on my train every day,” one said. “So I also don’t know what these other people are going to do once this is removed.”

“They’ve cut fares so much now that they’re trying to regain ridership that I think something must be working,” another passenger said. “And if they can’t do it by reducing fares to bring people back, they’ll just have to do that.”

The RTA called on state officials to come up with a possible solution.

“This was a problem that we were heading towards, but the pandemic has really accelerated it, so absolutely that the state will have to help create a solution here that maintains or potentially even improves our public transportation system,” said Maulik Vaishnav, Senior Deputy Executive Director, RTA. .