The Benefits of Transit Options

May 6, 2025 / Blogs

A comparative look at the cost of vehicle ownership in our region.

In northeastern Illinois, transit is a major regional asset that gives people alternatives for getting around. We’re home to the second-largest transit system in the country. Still, the system has limitations. Much of our service is structured around traditional suburb-to-downtown commutes, with routes and schedules that don’t always align with today’s travel needs, especially with post-COVID travel patterns.

As a result, vehicle ownership is often the default or only option for many households. Whether by need or choice, cars remain the dominant mode of travel. But owning a vehicle comes with a cost. Two thirds of households in our region are spending more than 15% of their income on keeping and maintaining their vehicles.

The map below shows the cost burden of vehicle ownership across the RTA region, estimating how much households spend on vehicles as a percentage of their income. We estimated the average number of vehicles per household by dividing the total number of vehicles by the total number of households in each census tract. Then we multiplied that average by the annual cost of vehicle ownership — $9,452 in 2023 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Finally, we divided that figure by the average household income per tract to calculate the cost burden.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023), American Community Survey (2023)

Cost of living increasing

With vehicle ownership costing nearly $9,500 annually, and prices expected to rise due to tariffs and inflation, it’s worth asking: What else could households be investing in if less of their income went to maintaining a car?

Below is a breakdown of the average household income spent on vehicle ownership by county:

That’s nearly $50 billion every year not being spent on local businesses, healthcare, education, or savings just to keep vehicles running. A large chunk of this spending could be reduced if better transit options were provided.

Transit is an investment in economic freedom

Improving and expanding transit service, especially in dense suburban areas with density enough to support it (10k people per sq mile and higher), can help reduce our reliance on vehicles. While many major corridors still feed into downtown, investments in bus priority corridors like Pace Pulse and express suburban routes can dramatically improve access for work and nonwork trips.

Transit isn’t just about mobility, it’s about economic freedom. Better service means more people can choose to drive less, freeing up part of their budget for other needs. What if transit was good enough to compete with the car? Imagine the impact if households could have just one vehicle instead of two or more. What would it mean if people could save 10% of their income, or more each year?

Let’s be clear: owning a vehicle should remain a personal choice. But better transit means more choices and less financial pressure. That’s money people can put toward building a better future for themselves and their communities.