In a four-minute segment last week, CNN used Transportation for America’s handy map — which we created to document the 85 communities that are being forced to either cut service, increase fares, or lay off workers due to budget crises at the local and state level — and took an in-depth look at some of the impacts of cutting back public transportation at a time when Americans are riding transit in record numbers.

Chicago Transit Authority officials consider raising fares, and generating $42 million in revenue, in order to offset high fuel prices and a slumping economy. (Associated Press)

The Indianapolis Star looks at the city’s plans to increase bus fares and reduce service, criticizing the fact that “the nation’s 12th-largest city has allowed the core of its mass transit system to dwindle to 99th in size.”

Chicago Transit Authority becomes yet another agency to face soaring ridership and skyrocketing costs, and transit officials are now cutting $40 million and expecting to raise fares. (Chicago Tribune — Jon Hilkevitch)

Recently released numbers from the American Public Transportation Association reveal that Americans took 2.8 billion rides on mass transit from April through June — up 5.2 percent from the same period last year. But with underfunded transit agencies struggling to pay the bills, fare hikes or service cuts could be coming soon.

“Plowing new ground” with ridership numbers while facing rising costs for fuel, Virginia’s Prince William County may look to increase fares for public buses. (Washington Post — Jennifer Buske)

For bus riders in Gainesville, Florida, bad news comes in pairs — the regional transit authority is planning on raising fares while reducing service on some routes and eliminating others. (Independent Florida Alligator — Zahara Zahav)