Last updated September 2026
If you’ve heard “NITA” on the news and wondered whether your commute is about to change, the short answer is: not yet, and not in a way you’ll notice day to day.
Nothing changes at the turnstile right now. Your Ventra card, the Ventra app, fares, routes, and station names all stay the same. Fares are frozen through at least July 1, 2027.
What NITA changes is who’s in charge. One regional board now has the power to set fares, coordinate schedules, and divide funding across CTA, Metra, and Pace. The rider-facing payoff, a single unified fare system, is due by early 2030.
What NITA Actually Is
The Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) officially replaced the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) on September 1, 2026. The RTA had overseen CTA, Metra, and Pace since 1974. NITA is governed by a 20-member board appointed by the governor, the Chicago mayor, the Cook County Board president, and the board chairs of Kane, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, and Will counties.
The key difference from the old RTA is authority. NITA can set fares, create and enforce service standards, and set schedules across all three agencies, powers the RTA never fully had. Seventeen of the 20 NITA board members also sit on the CTA, Metra, or Pace board, which is designed to force cooperation instead of three agencies working in silos.
NITA’s First Leaders
At its first meeting on September 10, 2026, the NITA board unanimously elected Tom Kotarac as board chair and named Jamie Rhee interim executive director. Kotarac leads transportation and infrastructure work at the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Nothing changes right now. Ventra works as before, including the Regional Day Pass, which covers unlimited rides on CTA, Metra, and Pace in one day. It’s sold only in the Ventra app as an add-on to a Metra Day Pass: $10, $13.50, or $16 on weekdays depending on Metra zones, and $9.50 on weekends.
The Timeline
| Date | What Happens |
|---|---|
| June 1, 2026 | NITA Act takes effect and the transition period begins. Summer service increases start rolling out. |
| July 1, 2026 | A share of the state sales tax on motor fuel starts flowing to transit. |
| August 1, 2026 | Regional transit sales tax rises 0.25% in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties. |
| September 1, 2026 | NITA formally replaces the RTA. New board terms begin. |
| September 10, 2026 | First NITA board meeting: chair and interim executive director named, reduced-fare program expanded. |
| September 29, 2026 | Deadline for all 33 new NITA, CTA, Metra, and Pace board appointments to be seated. |
| December 1, 2026 | Law Enforcement Task Force delivers preliminary recommendations for transit crime prevention. |
| July 1, 2027 | Fare freeze runs through at least this date. Process for buying a universal fare system due. |
| 2027 | NITA must set service standards for the region. |
| 2028 | Regional service plan due, the first real attempt at one coordinated network. |
| Early 2030 | Universal fare collection system due across CTA, Metra, and Pace. |
What’s Already Different
- More service. Summer 2026 brought added service on Metra’s Electric and Rock Island lines, more frequent Pace buses and longer hours on busy suburban corridors, and a new stop at the Obama Presidential Center on the CTA’s #10 bus.
- Reduced fares for SNAP recipients across the whole system. The Access Pilot, which gave SNAP recipients reduced fares on Metra, is being made permanent. On September 10, the NITA board voted to expand it to CTA and Pace. Riders can apply at getaccess.org.
- Simpler student fares. Student fares on CTA and Pace are now standardized at 75 cents a ride, down from $1 on Pace.
- A transit safety plan in progress. A regional Law Enforcement Task Force is developing a coordinated crime-prevention approach, with preliminary recommendations due December 1, 2026.
What Hasn’t Changed (Yet)
Fare integration is an early-2030 deadline, not a 2026 reality. If you regularly transfer between CTA and Metra, or Metra and Pace, you still pay each system’s fare separately. The Regional Day Pass is the closest thing to a unified fare today.
Route numbers, station names, train lines, and bus routes are all unchanged. This is a governance and funding overhaul, not a system redesign. The 2028 regional service plan is where riders may start to see real route and schedule coordination.
What Suburban Commuters Should Watch
If you combine Metra with a CTA or Pace connection, the universal fare system is the change to watch. Until it arrives, budget for each system’s fare separately, and use the Regional Day Pass on days that involve more than one system.
Why This Happened
Heading into 2026, CTA, Metra, and Pace faced a combined budget shortfall as federal pandemic relief ran out, with service cuts and fare hikes on the table. The NITA Act, signed in late 2025, averted that with new funding, mainly the 0.25% regional sales tax increase (projected at $199 million for the rest of 2026 and more than $500 million in 2027) and a redirected share of the state sales tax on motor fuel. It also created a stronger regional authority to fix the coordination problems the RTA couldn’t.
NITA FAQ
What is the Northern Illinois Transit Authority?
NITA is the regional agency that oversees CTA, Metra, and Pace in the six-county Chicago region. It replaced the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) on September 1, 2026, and has more power than the RTA to set fares, schedules, and service standards.
Are CTA, Metra, or Pace fares going up?
Not in the near term. The NITA Act freezes fares through at least July 1, 2027.
Do I need a new Ventra card?
No. Ventra cards, the Ventra app, and existing passes all work the same as before. Riders don’t need to take any action because of the transition.
When will CTA, Metra, and Pace have one fare system?
The NITA Act calls for a universal fare collection system by early 2030. Until then, the Regional Day Pass in the Ventra app is the only product that covers all three systems.
Who runs NITA?
A 20-member board appointed by the governor, the Chicago mayor, the Cook County Board president, and the chairs of Kane, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, and Will counties. Tom Kotarac is board chair and Jamie Rhee is interim executive director.
Quick Reference: NITA for Riders
- What it replaced The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), on Sept 1, 2026
- What it oversees CTA, Metra, and Pace: fares, schedules, service standards, funding
- Leadership Chair Tom Kotarac, interim executive director Jamie Rhee
- Ventra Unchanged; Regional Day Pass still covers all three systems
- Fares Frozen through at least July 1, 2027
- Unified fare system Due by early 2030
- Regional service plan Due 2028
- Reduced fares SNAP recipients can apply at getaccess.org
NITA is a real structural change, but for a rider tapping Ventra tomorrow morning, nothing looks different yet. The changes that will affect your commute, unified fares and coordinated schedules, are multi-year projects. Keep using Ventra as you do now, and watch the 2028 service plan.