Mayor Daley, you can’t have it both ways: a $30 million deficit at CTA can only be solved with massive service cuts or a mild fare increase, unless of course the city, the suburbs, or the state are willing to up their pitiful contributions. Service cuts will further the death spiral that has seen ridership drop by nearly half just in my living memory. Maintaining artificially low (nickel) fares to satisfy politicians, while cutting back on services amidst wider demographic trends conspiring against transit, is what necessitated the original city bailout of the street railways.