(70 ILCS 3615/6.01)
    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)
    Sec. 6.01. Service standards.
    (a) The Authority shall adopt service standards to guide the provision of public transportation throughout the metropolitan region.
    (b) The service standards shall identify quantitative and qualitative attributes of quality public transit service using metrics drawn from the performance of high-quality transit systems in global metropolitan areas with populations and metropolitan economies comparable to the metropolitan region.
    (c) The service standards shall include a framework that describes the appropriate characteristics for each type of service or mode. These characteristics include, but are not limited to, mode, frequency, time span, vehicle type, stop spacing, vehicle and stop amenities, network connectivity, route directness, route deviation, and coverage of service. Consideration shall be given to vehicle revenue hours, vehicle revenue miles, passenger miles traveled, and unlinked passenger trips.
    (d) The service standards shall cover the entire metropolitan region and include the development of transit propensity thresholds for each type of service or mode. Transit propensity metrics shall include, but are not limited to, population density, employment density, low-income populations, disabled populations, zero-car households, intersection density, and the presence of sidewalks. The Authority shall develop weights for each metric and a scoring system to determine transit propensity.
    (e) The service standards shall be adjusted as appropriate to accommodate the addition of modes of public transportation not currently being provided by the Authority, which may include, but are not limited to:
        (1) streetcars;
        (2) light rail;
        (3) full-scale bus rapid transit;
        (4) a transition from commuter rail to regional rail
    
or a combination of commuter and regional rail; and
        (5) electrified versions of current combustion engine
    
vehicle systems.
    (f) A unit of local government may petition the Authority to increase the level of transit service provided above what would otherwise be provided through the service standards. The Authority may develop plans and policies to assist units of local government in identifying corridors where additional service could be provided.
    (g) The service standards shall include the transition of commuter rail in the metropolitan region to a regional rail service pattern or the retention of commuter rail with additional regional rail service.
    (h) Service standards and transit propensity thresholds shall be developed, adopted by the board of directors, and implemented by December 31, 2027.
        (1) The development of such standards shall be done
    
cooperatively by staff of the Authority and the Service Boards, including input from the bus and train operators and train operating crews employed by the Service Boards.
        (2) In developing and evaluating the service
    
standards, consideration shall be given to limitations experienced by the Commuter Rail Division due to shared infrastructure with freight rail.
        (3) After service standards are implemented, the
    
Authority shall meet with each of the Service Boards at least quarterly each year to ensure operations are continuing effectively and to discuss issues or concerns related to the service standards.
        (4) The Board shall review and make adjustments to
    
the service standards in conjunction with its adoption of the Authority's Strategic Plan.
    (i) Until December 31, 2030, this Section shall only apply to revenue generated by taxes under Section 4.03 and any funds distributed to the Service Boards based on Section 4.03.3.
    (j) Until December 31, 2030, the amount of funding distributed to each Service Board under this Section shall be, at a minimum, equal to the amount of funding distributed in 2025 under Section 4.03.3 to each Service Board. If the revenue generated under Section 4.03.03 in a year is below that of 2025, then the amount of funding distributed to each Service Board under this Section shall be reduced proportionally.
    (k) Following the implementation of service standards, the Authority and the Service Boards, their chief executive officers, and other employees as required shall, upon request of the General Assembly, attend a minimum of one hearing annually before an appropriations committee and a substantive committee of the House of Representatives and an appropriations committee and a substantive committee of the Senate regarding the implementation and efficacy of service standards and other issues as requested. These hearings may be conducted in Chicago or Springfield or any other location selected by the General Assembly.
    (l) The Authority shall compile and publish reports comparing the actual public transportation system performance measured against the service standards. The performance measures shall include customer-related performance data measured by line, route, or subregion, as determined by the Authority, including, but not limited to:
        (1) travel times and on-time performance;
        (2) ridership data;
        (3) equipment failure rates;
        (4) employee and customer safety;
        (5) crowding;
        (6) cleanliness of vehicles and stations;
        (7) service productivity; and
        (8) customer satisfaction.
    The Service Boards shall prepare and submit to the Authority the reports with regard to these performance measures in the frequency and form required by the Authority. The Authority shall compile and publish the reports on its website on a regular basis, no less than monthly. The Authority shall implement consistent data reporting standards.
    (m) The service standards and performance measures shall not be used as a basis for disciplinary action against any employee of the Authority or a Service Board, except to the extent that the collective bargaining agreements and employment and disciplinary practices of the Authority or the relevant Service Board provide for the action.
(Source: P.A. 104-457, eff. 6-1-26.)