>> A longtime Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter is set to leave his job at the end of the month.

Carter has led the agency for nearly a decade after his appointment by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

His tenure was marked by major infrastructure projects, including the upcoming Red Line extension.

But in recent years, he's faced widespread criticism for issues like unreliable service and in consistent communication.

Our Nic Bloomberg joins us now with more.

Nic Carter say why he's resigning?

He didn't, although that Red Line extension project that you mentioned, that has been a major priority of his for many years last week, local and federal officials gathered for a ceremony to sign off on the 1.9 billion dollars in federal funding needed to help pay for the project.

That deal was inked on Friday.

This morning.

We got word from the CTA that Carter's leaving on January 31st.

In a statement, Carter said serving as president of this great agency has been an extraordinary privilege and I am forever grateful for what has been the opportunity of a lifetime.

It has been an honor to work on behalf of CTA customers and to advance our mission in a city that I love so dearly.

Carter first started working at the CTA in the 80's as a staff attorney.

He's been there on and off for a total of 26 years If we briefly mentioned it at the top, but remind us of some of the criticism the Carters been facing.

A lot of it began during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CTA kept running a full schedule because it was the only way for a lot of essential workers to get around.

But a shrinking CTA workforce that actually predated the pandemic was exacerbated by bus and train operators calling into work or leaving their jobs altogether without hiring.

That kept pace.

And that created a lot of anger around unreliable service.

Long wait times other things like the so-called ghost buses and trains out fears about customer safety complaints about cleanliness.

Now in recent months, Carter says increased hiring has allowed the agency to restore its service to pre-pandemic levels.

Of course, whether the agency always delivers its scheduled service.

Another matter.

Carter has had a very contentious relationship with some members of the city council in recent years.

Here's a bit of a meeting last May where he pushed back about as forcefully as he ever had public.

>> It's very easy to find someone to blame for everyone troubles and challenges.

It's much harder to find people to work, to find solutions to them.

I've been committed to finding a solution.

The problem ever since I came to this agency.

I think my track record on that has been pretty good.

I have been turned into a caricature.

I've been turned into something that left in a human being.

>> During his tenure, Carter oversaw some major projects like the red purple modernization effort.

There's that Green Line Station that just opened a in a plan to make all CTA stations fully accessible.

The agency is also facing a fiscal cliff of more than 500 million dollars when COVID relief money runs out next year.

State lawmakers are considering a plan to merge CTA, Metra Pace and the RTA, which as we've reported on Carter and his peers oppose some of those lawmakers have also floated the idea that boosting funding for transit should be tied to a leadership.

Change is what Mayor Johnson said about that last week.

>> We're certainly going to to to those levels of constraints.

Here's what we're committed to making sure that the Chicago Transit Authority is fully funded so that we can have affordable, reliable and safe transportation.

>> Carter plans to take a job as president of Saint Anthony Hospital on the Westside where his father practice medicine for 4 decades.

Mayor Brandon Johnson now gets to pick his replacement and brandis.

I'm sure a lot of people are very interested to see who that will be.

I am sure they are.

And I'm sure you will bring it to us when the time comes.

Nathan Burke, thanks so much.