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The Active Transportation Alliance may be best known for supporting and promoting biking and walking in the greater Chicagoland region. But, last month, the advocates teamed up with the Natural Resource Defense Council to launch a new campaign that will unite and fight for transit riders.

With city officials facing tough budget decisions, Chicago transit agencies could see their funding slashed, and residents could be hit with service cuts and fare increases. Riders for Better Transit — the new initiative from Active Trans and the NRDC — is building a vocal constituency for increased investment and improved initiatives that serve riders’ needs.

“Transit reduces pollution, provides essential links to jobs and commerce, and offers an affordable transportation choice for Chicagoland residents,” Jennifer Henry of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a press release last month. “We need to use transportation dollars wisely and reinvest in existing communities and infrastructure.”

The Riders for Better Transit campaign has a vision for how to spend those dollars wisely and invest in a world-class transit system, including bus rapid transit, modernized rail service and a more-passenger-friendly Union Station. The campaign is also pushing for a universal fare system, real-time transit information and “complete stations” that are inviting and safely accessible by walking, biking, and persons of all abilities.

And, perhaps most importantly, the campaign will fight to prevent further service cuts and fare increases as transit agencies prepare to finalize their 2012 budgets.

“Riders across the region know our system is plagued by slow zones, overcrowding and deteriorating stations, and every community has a laundry list of needs, from restoring bus service that’s been cut to increasing train frequencies,” added Ron Burke, Executive Director of Active Trans. “Our region can barely maintain our current transit service, much less make improvements riders need. The bottom line is transit in our region is significantly underfunded.”

Read more on the campaign website.