June 27, 2019
The Honorable Lori Lightfoot
City Hall
121 N. LaSalle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Dear Mayor Lightfoot,
Congratulations on your recent inauguration as mayor of Chicago! We are excited to work with
you on making Chicago’s transportation system deliver better economic and social mobility for
its residents, while also reducing congestion and harmful pollution caused by vehicles in the city.
As you consider ways to generate revenue to improve public transit, create a more equitable
transportation system, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution, we encourage
you to (1) consider and eventually implement congestion pricing with clear performance metrics
(i.e., revenue and congestion reduction targets); (2) structure the city’s ridehail tax in a more
equitable way that also encourages people to use shared modes of transportation instead of single
passenger private rides; and (3) dedicate revenue to improving sustainable forms of
transportation, including biking, walking, and public transit through capital investments,
equitable development in transit station areas, and embracing innovations such as microtransit to
extend the reach of the transit network.
First, we support congestion pricing, especially in areas with a high density of transit
options and bad congestion, such as the central business district and certain expressways,
with the goal of reducing road use, congestion, and pollution. A congestion pricing program
should account for the impact of all types of vehicles on Chicago’s streets, whether privately
owned cars, taxis, ridehail vehicles, or commercial vehicles. All take up space on the streets and
contribute to pollution. We also believe it is important that it be done on a dynamic, variable fee
basis that would account for the number of passengers in the vehicle, the time of day, the type of
vehicle, location, and passengers’ ability to pay. For example, single passenger trips that start
and finish in transit-rich areas during rush hour should come with a high fee, while shared trips
to and from transit deserts and low-income areas should be exempt or have a much lower fee.

 Comprehensive congestion pricing is a far better approach than a blunt cap on certain types of
vehicles, which could limit mobility for those who need it most and encourage people to
continue driving their own cars. We encourage you to instruct your administration to
expeditiously study how congestion pricing with variable fees could work equitably in Chicago
or to appoint an expert committee to do so.
Second, while we realize that implementing congestion pricing and a variable fee system may
take time to study and work through the legislative process, there are immediate, simple steps
you can take to move us in the right direction. As you review fees on rides provided by
ridehail companies (i.e., Transportation Network Providers or TNPs), it is critical to
distinguish between multi-passenger pooled trips and single passenger rides as other
jurisdictions have recently done. Chicago currently has a 72-cent flat, fixed charge per ride
booking which does not fully support the goals of equity or of reducing congestion and
greenhouse gas emissions. The 72-cent fee represents a much higher percentage tax on pooled
rides (typically two to three times as much) than on private rides of the same length. This
disproportionately impacts low- and middle-income Chicagoans who want to access these
mobility options by choosing the most affordable option. In addition, compared to people
driving alone in their cars or single-passenger private rides, pooled rides help reduce pollution,
greenhouse gas emissions, and traffic. Finally, the flat, fixed charge represents a very small
percentage tax on long, expensive single-passenger ridehail rides, which are the trips that cause
the most vehicle emissions and impact on road infrastructure.
Other states and cities recently imposing new fees have recognized the important differences
between single-passenger or private rides and pooled rides. For example, San Francisco’s Board
of Supervisors recently advanced a 3.25% tax for single-passenger trips, while only a 1.5% tax
on shared rides. Massachusetts and New York have also imposed much higher fees in certain
contexts for single-passenger ridehail trips than for pooled rides. And a recent expert task force
in Chicago recommended reforming tax policy to incentivize “multi-passenger rides.” We urge
you to substantially differentiate pooled rides and to apply the tax on a percentage basis.
Finally, we believe that any revenue ultimately generated by congestion pricing and that is
currently collected from the ridehail tax should go towards improving sustainable forms of
transportation, including biking, walking, and public transit through capital and
operational investments and embracing new innovations to extend the reach of the transit
network such as microtransit. This could be done both through operations and capital
investments and embracing new innovations that other states, public transit agencies, and cities
have deployed to solve transit “deserts,” provide better connections to existing transit, and create
new options for people with disabilities, older adults, those with limited income, and other
vulnerable populations.

 These principles are consistent with the widespread consensus of environmental advocates,
academics, transportation experts, and the more than 200 entities that have signed the Shared
Mobility Principles. These policies are also important to creating a more equitable transportation
system for all Chicagoans, one that will better connect every person regardless of income level or
neighborhood to jobs, education, healthcare, grocery stores, and social activities.
Our environment is also at stake. Transportation is now the #1 cause of emissions in our nation,
as well as in Illinois where more than half of carbon emissions from transportation come from
the Chicago area. As last year's definitive report on global warming by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found, there is simply no way we can sufficiently reduce the
climate impact of transportation through changes only to how vehicles are fueled; it is imperative
that many more trips take place by modes other than cars, and that trips that happen in vehicles
be increasingly shared.
We hold great hope that under your administration, Chicago can be a national leader in
delivering equitable public transit and managing a transportation system that delivers economic
and social mobility while reducing the threat of climate change and the damaging effects of air
pollution. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues in more detail.
Sincerely,
Joseph Schwieterman, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development
DePaul University
Kyle Whitehead
Managing Director of Public Affairs
Active Transportation Alliance

Sharon Feigon
Executive Director
Shared-Use Mobility Center
Audrey Wennink
Director of Transportation
Metropolitan Planning Council

Samuel Kling, PhD
ACLS/Mellon Public Fellow, Global Cities
Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Kate Lowe, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Urban Planning and Policy
The University of Illinois at Chicago

Elizabeth Irvin
Transportation Director
Center for Neighborhood Technology

Andrei Greenawalt
Head of Public Policy
Via

cc:

Alderman Pat Dowell
Chairman, Committee on Budget and Government Operations

 Alderman Debra Silverstein
Vice Chair, Committee on Budget and Government Operations
Alderman George Cardenas
Chairman, Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy
Alderman Samantha Nugent
Vice Chair, Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy
Alderman Scott Waguespack
Chairman, Committee on Finance
Alderman Leslie Hairston
Vice Chair, Committee on Finance
Alderman Howard Brookins
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Public Way
Alderman Michael Rodriguez
Vice Chair, Committee on Transportation and Public Way