Dorval Carter Leaves Behind a Battered CTA

After nearly a decade at the helm of the Chicago Transit Authority, Dorval Carter is heading for the exit, leaving behind a system plagued by service disruptions, safety concerns, and financial instability. His resignation, long called for by frustrated commuters and city officials, marks the end of an era defined by dwindling ridership and a loss of public confidence. But with the CTA in worse shape than when he took over, finding his replacement may be an even bigger challenge.

Under Carter’s leadership, the CTA has struggled with unreliable service, most infamously through the phenomenon of “ghost” trains and buses—scheduled rides that simply never show up. For commuters, this wasn’t just an inconvenience; it became a defining feature of using public transit in Chicago. While Carter and CTA leadership often blamed workforce shortages and pandemic-related disruptions, other major transit systems managed to bounce back more effectively. In 2024, Los Angeles passed Chicago in terms of transit ridership, a stark sign of how much the CTA had degraded.

Since the pandemic, ridership has remained stubbornly low, with CTA failing to restore pre-2020 service levels until late 2024. The agency’s inability to deliver consistent, timely service has led to an erosion of trust among Chicagoans who rely on buses and trains to get to work, school, and other daily activities.

Beyond unreliable service, safety became one of the biggest complaints about the CTA during Carter’s tenure. Crime on trains and buses surged, with incidents of theft, assault, and harassment becoming increasingly common. While CTA leadership touted the deployment of security personnel and cameras, many riders felt these measures did little to prevent crime or make them feel safer.

Operators also raised concerns about their own working conditions. The tragic death of bus driver AntIa Lyons, who suffered a heart attack while on duty, brought attention to the immense pressure and stress faced by CTA employees. Operators have long complained about grueling schedules, lack of support, and unsafe working conditions, all of which contributed to an exodus of experienced staff.

Carter’s leadership style—often criticized as opaque and unresponsive—only exacerbated frustrations. He repeatedly skipped City Council hearings, even as aldermen and advocacy groups demanded answers about CTA’s failures. By mid-2024, more than half of the City Council had signed a resolution calling for his resignation or removal, citing his lack of accountability and failure to address core transit issues.

Instead of engaging directly with critics, Carter often defended his record in broad strokes, pointing to long-term infrastructure projects like the Red Line extension as evidence of progress. However, those investments did little to address the immediate concerns of daily commuters dealing with delays, safety fears, and inconsistent service.

With Carter gone, the CTA faces an uphill battle in finding a successor willing to take on the challenges he’s left behind. The next leader will inherit a transit system in financial distress, with ridership numbers still lagging and no clear plan to restore service reliability. Most importantly, they’ll have to repair the CTA’s relationship with both the public and state leadership, who have grown increasingly skeptical of the agency’s ability to function effectively. These concerns have led the state to explore merging all of Chicago’s transit agencies into one cohesive entity

Perhaps most critically, the CTA needs someone who can rebuild trust—someone who can reassure riders that their train or bus will show up when it’s supposed to and that they’ll be safe while using the system. After years of decline under Carter, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Chicago’s transit future.

Finding a suitable replacement won’t be easy. Given the public scrutiny and the entrenched issues within the CTA, many top transit executives may be reluctant to step into such a turbulent role. The ideal candidate must possess a blend of crisis management skills, transit expertise, and political savvy—an increasingly rare combination in today’s high-pressure public sector landscape.

Tomorrow, Mayor Johnson is expected to announce his interim replacement for Carter. Whether or not the mayor will appoint someone with transit experience remains to be seen.

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