What transit riders are telling us: 2025 Customer Satisfaction Survey Results

The RTA conducts multiple rider surveys that get to the heart of regional transit customers' satisfaction with service, transit usage, and priorities for improvements. At the September 2025 RTA Board of Directors meeting, staff presented preliminary results from the 2025 Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS)-the fifth large-scale effort conducted in partnership with CTA, Metra, and Pace. More than 25,000 riders responded, making it one of the most robust snapshots of regional transit use and expectations to date. Survey results will be released in a report later this month.

The survey comes at a critical moment. With the looming 2026 fiscal cliff, understanding what riders value most is essential to protecting service for the people who depend on it.

The results of the survey provides insights into key focus areas, including:

• Who is riding transit?
• How do riders use the system?
• What are riders most or least satisfied with?
• What should RTA and the Service Boards focus on to improve rider experience?

Who are our riders?

Transit in northeastern Illinois serves a wide spectrum of people-all ages, all income levels, car owners, and the transit-dependent. The 2025 CSS highlights how these profiles differ by service, and why service cuts would have disproportionate impacts across the region.

Demographics

• Overall ridership across the three Service Boards skews older in 2025 compared to 2022. The 18-24 age group declined by 5 percentage points, while the 65+ age group increased by 5 points. CTA riders skew youngest among the three operators, with 40% of CTA riders aged 34 or younger, compared to 35% of Pace riders and 20% of Metra riders.
• The gender distribution showed little change from 2022, with more women riders than men. CTA has the highest share of female riders at 55%.
• In 2025, the share of riders identifying as White increased by 8 percentage points compared to 2022. Racial and ethnic composition varied across the Service Boards, with Metra riders being predominantly White (68%) compared to 46% of CTA and 24% of Pace riders. Black/African American riders made up 40% of Pace's rider base, versus 27% on CTA and 13% on Metra. Hispanic/Latino riders composed 27% of Pace riders, 22% of CTA riders, and 12% of Metra riders. The Asian rider share was 9% across all Service Boards.
• Across all Service Boards, 15% of riders reported having a disability, up 4 percentage points from 2022.
• Between 2022 and 2025, the most notable change was a return of higher-income riders to transit.
• Across the system, 14% reported being in a household receiving SNAP benefits. The distribution among the Service Boards was significantly different: 24% of Pace riders reported that their household received SNAP benefits, compared to 15% of CTA riders and 3% of Metra riders.
• 2025 saw a 2% increase in car availability among rider; 44% of survey respondents indicated they had access to a car for their typical transit trip. Most Metra riders (80%) report having a car available for their typical trip, compared to 40% of CTA riders and 24% of Pace riders.

These demographic results underscore the stakes of the fiscal cliff. Transit is not a niche service-it is a backbone that supports millions of riders across income levels, racial and ethnic groups, and employment situations. Cuts would harm riders who have no alternatives, as well as those who choose transit to reduce traffic, save money, or improve quality of life.

Whether or not a household receives SNAP benefits was a new question in the 2025 survey. SNAP is a federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income persons. RTA's Access Pilot Program currently provides half-fare rides on Metra for SNAP recipients. This information confirms that expansion of the program to CTA and Pace will benefit many riders but is also going to cost more money to operate.

How do riders use the system?

The survey also shows how people rely on CTA, Metra, and Pace day-to-day, revealing both patterns of use and the limited options riders have if service is reduced.

Usage

• Compared to 2022, the 2025 results show a modest shift in how often riders use transit. The share riding five days a week declined by 5% (from 28% to 23%), while the share riding one day per week or less frequently increased by 4% (from 16% to 20%).
  
• Commuting between home and work remained the most common trip purpose across all Service Boards.
  
• CTA and Pace ridership remains steady throughout the work week, with 72-79% of CTA riders and 67-76% of Pace riders traveling Monday through Thursday. In contrast, Metra ridership peaks midweek, with 78-79% of riders traveling Tuesday through Thursday. Weekend ridership is significantly higher on CTA.
  
• Telecommuting patterns among full-time employees varied significantly across the Service Boards. Metra riders were the most likely to telecommute, with 43% doing so 1-2 days per week and another 21% 3-4 days per week. CTA riders saw significant gains in the ability to telecommute; 27% do so 1-2 days per week, 16% 3-4 days, and 16% 5 or more days per week. In contrast, 16% of Pace riders telecommuted 1-2 days per week and 11% 3-4 days, and 42% reported their employer does not allow telecommuting at all.
  
• The 2025 survey asked riders what they would do if their current transit mode was unavailable. CTA and Pace riders were more likely to remain on public transit or use rideshare options such as Uber or Lyft. Metra riders were most likely to say they would switch to driving.

Taken together, these results make one thing clear: transit is indispensable for millions of riders in the region. The fiscal cliff is not just a funding challenge-it is a direct threat to how people get to work, school, healthcare, and daily life. If service is cut, traffic congestion will worsen, costs for riders will increase, and some trips will simply become impossible.

What are riders most or least satisfied with?

The 2025 CSS results show that a majority of riders are satisfied with their transit service, but the findings also make clear that there is room for improvement, especially in areas like cleanliness, safety, and service frequency. The CSS uses a multiple regression model to assess the statistical relationship between various service attributes and respondents' overall satisfaction scores. This is called a "derived importance" approach, that goes beyond what the respondent indicates by helping identify which service aspects have the greatest impact, even if the respondent doesn't consciously highlight them.

High importance, low satisfaction (These areas in particular need improvement to increase rider satisfaction.)

• CTA: Cleanliness, onboard personal security, infrastructure condition, and accuracy of real-time bus information
• Metra: Nothing rated here, indicating that Metra performs well on the aspects of service that riders value most
• Pace: Accuracy of real-time bus arrival information, accuracy of schedule and route information

High importance, high satisfaction (It is critical to maintain performance in these areas to keep riders satisfied.)

• CTA: Service availability when and where needed, accuracy of real-time train information, and on-time performance
• Metra: Getting to your destination on time, service available when and where needed , accuracy of real-time travel information, accuracy of schedule and route information, cleanliness of train interior, and onboard staff courtesy
• Pace: Customer service, service available when and where needed go, availability of public transportation throughout the six-county Chicago region when and where needed

Low importance, low satisfaction (These areas require improvement but have less impact on overall rider satisfaction.)

• CTA: Announcements regarding delays at stations and the amount of time between buses and trains
• Metra: Condition of transit infrastructure, availability of public transportation throughout the six-county Chicago region when and where needed, amount of time between trains at rush hour
• Pace: Transfers (waiting time reliability), condition of transit infrastructure

Low importance, high satisfaction (Survey results indicate no immediate action is needed in these areas.)

• CTA: Bus operator and station attendant courtesy, and total travel time
• Metra: Total travel time, personal security at the train station
• Pace: Ease of transferring to other transit services, bus operator courtesy, service available when and where needed, total travel time, and cleanliness of bus interior

In terms of overall satisfaction, a resounding majority of riders are satisfied with our system. Seventy percent of CTA riders said they were satisfied, which is down 5 points from 2022 (75%) and 15 points from 2016 (85%). Ninety-one percent of Metra riders reported being satisfied, virtually unchanged from 92% in 2022. And 84% of Pace riders said they were satisfied, relatively stable compared with 83% in 2022 and slightly below 88% in 2016.

Across all three agencies, the story is consistent: riders appreciate the value and availability of transit, and the majority remain satisfied overall. It is also clear that satisfaction is tied to service reliability, frequency, and public safety.

These are also the very areas most at risk if the fiscal cliff forces service reductions. Cleanliness, public safety, and reliability require continued investments-and without stable funding, riders' most pressing concerns will go unmet.

Chicago Region Transit Dashboard: Quarterly RTA Customer Panel Survey results

The latest addition to RTA's Chicago Region Transit Dashboard is a new page devoted to the agency's survey efforts and will provide results from our regular quarterly panel survey efforts.

The quarterly customer panel survey was developed to act as both a supplement to the triennial Customer Satisfaction Survey, to track a cohort of customers over time, and to provide real-time insights on issues riders and the system face. Panel surveys are much shorter and each one includes question about customer satisfaction, service quality, personal safety, and timely special topics.

Results on the dashboard are from the spring 2025 survey, which was conducted in May. Respondents rated their satisfaction with various aspects of service quality such as service availability (which ranked the highest), on-time performance, personal security, cleanliness, staff, and real-time information. The next quarterly panel survey results will be available later this month and posted to the dashboard.

Learn more on the Chicago Region Transit Dashboard.

Next steps

RTA and the Service Boards will soon finalize and publish full reports of the 2025 Customer Satisfaction Survey. September 23rd RTA and Service Board staff will also lead a Transportation Tuesday webinar on customer insights, diving deeper into details on the 2025 CSS, RTA quarterly panel survey, and focus groups CTA has recently completed.