August 2007 Archives

Posted by Jim Walsh- 3:59 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007

So is anyone else freaked out by this e-mail the CTA sent out last night? We had an item about it in today's RedEye, and Jane had some thoughts about it in her post below.

I mean, I appreciate the CTA letting me know what's up with fare changes. In fact, that part is pretty cool. Just seems weird to me to hear about it via e-mail.

Posted by Scott Kleinberg - 3:35 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007

I'm torn. I ride the 157 Streeterville bus every day, and if Doomsday comes to pass, the 157 is history.

That makes me mad.

Twice in three days, the same bus driver has gotten into the left lane at Canal and Monroe and floored it ... passing the busy intersection and yours truly.

That makes me madder.

And on a side note, CTA, you can't do express. All your express buses stop at way too many stops.

And now this.

So here's a little lesson, Speedy Sally (I don't know your name, but can I call you Sally? Great, thanks).

When I'm standing at the bus stop, Chicago Card Plus in hand and raising my left (and then right) hands to flag you down, that's me asking you to stop.

That's not me doing the chicken dance or fanning myself on a hot day or playing charades. That's me motioning to you to pull the bus into the right lane, come to a complete stop, open the doors, say hello, let me on, and drive away -- with me on the bus, not standing at the corner calling 1-888-YOUR-CTA to complain about you.

How can I make this even more abundantly clear, Sally? Am I missing something? When I call to complain, a CTA customer service representative tells me how ridiculous what I'm saying is because buses don't belong in the left lane when we drive on the right side here in the States.

BINGO!

So before the 157 is kaput in 18 days, how about giving me a lift?

Anyone out there run into Sally lately? You gotta be quick, though, she's in a hurry.

Doors closing. Until next time.

Assuming your bus or train doesn't pass you up, check out Scott's blog "iPhone, Therefore I Blog,” RedEye's hip spot devoted exclusively to the iPhone featuring tips, tricks, wallpapers and so much more.

Posted by Cara DiPasquale - 3:02 p.m., Aug. 30

According to Mapquest, it should take me 12 minutes to drive the 5.54 miles from my house in Roscoe Village to the Tribune Tower, where I work.

Why, then, does it take me more than an hour to get home on the CTA?

I blame the evening rush. Until recently, I traveled to and from work after the early morning and early evening crunch times. Seats were plentiful. Trips were relatively quick.

Now I'm heading home at 5:30 p.m. And if I make it home by 6:30, it's a good day. I've tried two buses. I've tried a bus and a train. I understand that buses have to wait in traffic just like everyone else. And I know the Brown Line rehab project is affecting North Side "L" service. But come on, CTA. I live 5 miles from work.

Maybe I should try walking instead.

Posted by Jane Hirt - 2:30 p.m., Aug. 30

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to wonder if that CTA funding is going to come through or not.

I know  politics works in mysterious ways--and there probably are groups of white guys in ties sitting around trying to work this out--but we’re getting mighty close to the Sept. 16 deadline.

That’s doomsday, people. That’s the day CTA has said fares will go up and routes will be cut if money is not forthcoming.

The first shades out doubt crept into my mind when I got this e-mail yesterday from the CTA:

Dear Valued Chicago Card Plus Customer: Due to insufficient state funding, the Chicago Transit Authority Board recently approved a contingency plan which includes changes to CTA service and fares.

Without additional funding, this contingency plan will take effect on September 16, 2007. Customers who pay with cash or Transit Cards and use the CTA weekdays will pay higher fares at rail stations and on buses (depending on the time of day they ride).

Fares will also increase for customers who use Chicago Card® and Chicago Card Plus®. Visit www. transitchicago.com to learn more about CTA's 2007 fare changes. Under this plan, beginning September 16, the fare for Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus customers will increase from $1.75 to $2.00 per ride, and 25¢ for a transfer (which allows two additional rides within two hours of issuance), regardless of the time of day.

However, the bonus structure currently in place will remain, providing a $2 bonus for every $20 of Pay-Per-Use value added to an account. The cost of a 30-day unlimited Chicago Card Plus card will also increase from $75.00 to $84.00.

If the fare change goes into effect on September 16, the new $2.00 fare will be deducted from your Pay-Per-Use Chicago Card Plus account. Those who use the Chicago Card Plus 30-day unlimited ride pass, and whose reload occurs on or after September 16, will be charged the new rate of $84.00 on their accounts.

Back to me: Tick tock!

Posted by Jane Hirt - 12:30 p.m., Aug. 30

A reader called the RedEye newsroom yesterday, wanting to vent about the CTA.

One of his biggest gripes involves the stroller for his year-old baby. He said he tries to be polite and stay out of people’s way and he can understand why some on the bus might be annoyed.

But what annoys him are the "kids" who sit in the handicapped-accessible seats and just stare at him as he tries to juggle his baby and the stroller.

Not only do they not move, they also give him attitude.

This dad believes handicapped-accessible seats are reserved for people with strollers when they’re not being occupied by wheelchairs.

Is that true?

I asked our CTA columnist, Kyra Kyles, if there are any hard-and-fast rules for those handicapped-accessible seats. She said the CTA has told her those seats are for whomever needs them most—but nobody, even a lazy teen with a ‘tude, can be forced to move.

So it’s up to people to show some common decency and give a parent with a stroller or a person in a wheelchair a break.

Will you do it? Or are you one of those people who thinks it's not your problem that someone decided to have a baby or needs a wheelchair?

Posted by Jimmy Greenfield - 10:34 a.m., Thursday, August 30

We've gone round and round on this blog about the merits of baby strollers, which some people believe to be the bane of all CTA evil.

Now let's turn our attention to backpacks. Not whether they should come on board, but where they should be once on board.

I'm a backpack wearer who just yesterday realized I have got to take more precautions with it when I get on a crowded train.

I was on a packed Green Line train around 5:30, among the standing room only crowd. There was a lot of movement when stops were made and my pack repeatedly bumped into other passengers.

It wasn't exactly Borat walking through an antique shop but I was definitely a nuisance.

I'll point out that nobody said a word to me, so I'm not sure if the other passengers were sympathetic, mumbling angrily to themselves, or just weren't all that bothered.

Whatever they felt, it's the last time I keep the pack on when I'm in the SRO crowd. Hope you do the same.

Posted by RedEye - Tuesday, August 28

By Kyra Kyles
RedEye

Break out your old-school Bazooka Joe gum wrappers, kids—it's joke time:

Q: What's slow, wet and red all over?
A: The Red Line on the North Side.

I know it's a knee-slapper, but don't laugh too hard, especially not in front of the far-North Side riders who have been griping to "Going Public" about leaky stations, service snags at the Howard stop and slow zones they say are equally or more annoying than those on the Blue Line.

In the wake of a wave of rail rage from our neighbors up North, I checked in with the CTA regarding three highly complained-about issues.

Slow motion

"What could possibly be the reason for how slow the Red Line now goes between Sheridan and Wilson?" Uptown's Andrew Stimpson, 26, asked in an e-mail. "It's a long, straight stretch that just creeps along these days."

The slowness is for safety, said CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory, adding that track inspections have revealed that the area—as well as 17,050 feet of track between the Howard and Lawrence stops—contain deteriorating wooden rail ties and have been designated as slow zones.

Work to replace rail ties, under way all summer, should wrap up by the end of this year, Gregory said.

Missed connections

Yellow and Purple Line connectors have told me they are getting left behind at Howard, the transfer point for Yellow, Purple and Red Line trains. They say this seeming rail rudeness occurs mainly in the mornings and wanted to know who makes the call for Red Line trains to pull out when their trains are arriving.

More importantly, why not just wait for connecting riders?

The on-site rail supervisor decides whether trains should wait to make a connection, Gregory said, and since there only are two tracks for the three train lines at Howard, decisions are based on keeping the tracks as clear as possible to speed up service.

"Red Line trains operate approximately every three-and-a-half minutes," Gregory said of rush-hour intervals. "Therefore, if customers see a Red Line train leaving as they approach the station, by the time they unload from the train and arrive at the appropriate platform, the wait for the next Red Line train is minimal."

Soggy stations

Last week, Edgewater rider Cynthia Fox told "Going Public" that she and other riders were nearly soaked because "a huge section of the ceiling inside the station had collapsed" at the Berwyn stop. She recalled seeing a number of buckets collecting "smelly, urine-like" water.

Fox covered her head with a bag to keep from getting dripped on and came up with some ideas to put a stop to the problem, which she said occurs every day it rains.

"I could buy some steel sheeting and screws and fix the ceiling above the stairs and stop the smelly water from dripping on people," Fox wrote.

The CTA is aware of the leaking problem at Berwyn and other Red Line stations, according to Gregory, who said the agency is working with its existing construction contracts to make repairs, but there are infrastructure issues that cannot merely be patched up.

"In the meantime, maintenance crews are monitoring those areas where water is known to pool and are working to ... drain the water and keep those areas clear as best they can," Gregory said. "When it rains heavily, as it has been recently, it can be challenging."

Posted by RedEye - 2:50 p.m., Monday, Aug. 27, 2007

RedEye lets you talk...we just hope the CTA is listening.

Posted by Scott Kleinberg - 1:11 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007

I've never had faith in state government.

Not when I lived in New Jersey.

Not when I lived in Pittsburgh

And definitely not now.

So of course, whether or not the CTA implements it's so-called "Doomsday Plan" is up to the fine folks in Springfield ... the folks who really don't think about the needs of the many and instead concentrate on the needs of the few.

My need is a small one. It's the 157 Streeterville bus, which I enjoy taking each day to work. Can I take another bus? Sure. But I want the 157 because it's the least crowded and closest to my house. But it's on the list of routes to be cut if the plan is implemented on Sept. 16.

When I lived in Pittsburgh, we came within a few hours of a total transit strike twice and both times we were saved at the end. That wasn't the case in 1992, when there was a full strike and people were really stuck. In Pittsburgh, the saying was "up a crick (creek) without a paddle."

Let me make this abundantly clear. I think the CTA could do so much more to save money. I don't think it should have come to this. But the reality is it has, and rather than cast blame it needs to be fixed. Now.

So Springfield, news flash ... without you, we're up a crick without a paddle. While whatever you provide is nothing more than a band-aid for a bleeding mass transit agency, it's a necessary band-aid for millions of people who rely on the CTA every day ... not just people like myself who like the 157, but people who need certain bus routes and will face hardships without them.

So, C'mon, Springfield. Start paddling.

Doors closing. Until next time.

Posted by RedEye - Wednesday, August 22

By Kyra Kyles
RedEye

The number of lengthy, angry e-mails; desperate-sounding phone calls; and handwritten letters decrying CTA conditions seems to have spiked over the past few weeks.

A number of riders have told "Going Public"—whether in wobbly, weary-looking handwriting or ALL CAPS e-mail missives—that if fares increase next month, they will take a powder on public transit.

"If CTA goes up on the fare, we need to strike [or] start carpooling," West Side rider Patricia Taylor, 32, wrote in an e-mail that complained of crumbling conditions on buses and trains. "And if that doesn't work, go and buy a bike."

If you're about to add an "amen" to that, I hear you. We've all had that horrible moment on a leaky bus, slow-moving "L" train or in a sweltering station.

But how many of us really mean it when we say no more CTA? Put your transit frustration to the test, or, to be more specific, to the quiz. Answer the questions below and calculate your score. Then tell us how you did—and whether or not you think it reflects reality—at goingpublic@tribune.com.

1. If one more rider steps on your foot on a crowded "L" train, you will:
A. Shoot them a quick dirty look and go back to solving Sudoku.
B. Yell "ouch" to alert them to your public-transit pain.
C. Roar like a panther and body slam them using some old-school Hulkamaniac moves.

2. When your bus doesn't arrive on time and you've been waiting an additional 20 minutes, you:
A. Roll your eyes and sit on the bench.
B. Use the time to scrawl a speech to deliver to the errant driver, his or her supervisor and the entire CTA board at the next public hearing.
C. Jump into a cab, but call CTA customer service to complain later.

3. If your fare card doesn't work at the "L" turnstile, you:
A. Jump the turnstile and dare anyone to try to stop you.
B. Keep trying until it works or until a customer assistant comes to your aid. If it doesn't work, just resolve to buy a new one.
C. Shout an obscenity and then keep trying until a customer assistant comes to your aid.

4. The number for CTA customer assistance is:
A. Programmed into your cell phone.
B. 1-888-YOUR CTA, but you rarely call it.
C. Useless. Better to pen an angry message to the mayor's office demanding restitution for CTA wrongs.

5. When you see solicitors on the train, your reaction is to:
A. Hide behind your morning newspaper.
B. Change trains in a considerable huff, grumbling all the while.
C. Take a photo of them with your camera phone, have the photo enlarged and hand-deliver it to police patrolling the platforms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWER KEY
Add up your score to find out how fed up you are:

1. A=1, B=3, C=5
2. A=1, B=5, C=3
3. A=5, B=1, C=3
4. A=3, B=1, C=5
5. A=1, B=3, C=5

How'd you score?

21-25: Ride It Out. You are fed up with the CTA and ready to blow at any moment. Buy a bike or join a carpool before you do.

16-20: Publicly Peeved. For now, you're rolling with the public-transit punches, but a few more bunched buses, and you could join the Ride It Out rowdies.

11-15: Frustrated, But Fare-ly Optimistic. You will cringe if you have to pay more for your ride, but it's cheaper than driving.

0-10: No CTA Stress. Public transit is what it is, and you totally accept it.

Posted by Scott Kleinberg -- 2:18 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 19

Changes coming up on the Red and Blue Lines could impact your commute.

Blue Line The O'Hare branch of the Blue Line will operate on a single track Mondays through Fridays, from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., until mid-September, the Tribune and the CTA report.

Red Line Southbound Red Line trains from Fullerton to Cermak/Chinatown, which normally operate in the subway, will be rerouted to the elevated tracks from 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 20, says the Tribune.

And, northbound on the Red Line, the CTA says trains from Cermak/Chinatown to Fullerton will be rerouted to the elevated tracks between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. each day Monday, Aug. 20 through Thursday, Aug. 23, and then again each day Monday Aug. 27 through Friday, Aug. 31 between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.

As always, we'll keep you posted on the latest CTA construction. And feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Doors closing. Until next time.

Posted by Jimmy Greenfield - 9:21 a.m., Friday, August 10

Well, we're one step closer to slashed service and raised fares without any promise of better service.

State senators early this morning approved a budget that doesn't provide a dime for the CTA.

There's still time to go before the doomsday plan would be put into effect. But right now it's not looking good.

Posted by Jimmy Greenfield - 5:20 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 9

To anybody who's wondering what's wrong with the CTA, here are three things:

I'm standing on the State/Lake platform at 5:20 and three Brown Line trains pulled up back to back to back. So one train was stuffed and two trains were virtually empty.

Good times.

Posted by Scott Kleinberg - 1:11 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007

Here's something funny coming from RedEye's iPhone expert:

GET OFF THE PHONE!

I got on the 157 Streeterville bus today at Canal and Monroe at 1:04 p.m. and was "greeted" by my 30-something driver talking loudly on his cell phone via bluetooth headset. So instead of good afternoon, I got ..."Oh no she didn't! You serious? Awwwww man that ain't right!"

I don't know if she did, but I'll tell you what ain't right my friends: CTA bus drivers have no business doing anything or thinking about anything other than what's on the road around them.

This is Downtown Chicago. Wacker Drive. Taxi cabs moving over 4 lanes without so much as looking and my driver is laughing it up with his buddies.

Let me make this clear. I'm one of those people who does NOT usually advocate drivers being told not to use their phones while driving. Me, I'm able to multitask really well -- just ask my editors -- and I can drive quite well while talking. I don't, but I can. The point is that even if you can it doesn't mean you should, and that should never extend to a CTA driver.

When we got to LaSalle and Wacker, one of those taxi cabs I mentioned above drove right in front of us. My CTA driver hit the brakes hard. Remember "Seinfeld"? He stopped short? Oh you bet he did. After he laid on the horn for a good 20 seconds and screamed out the window, he came back to tell his friend all about it. Basically, never stopped talking.

Then, at Dearborn and Wacker, he started through a yellow light when it was turning red and almost hit someone. He honked his horn at her and then said, to his buddy, (I wrote it down on my iPhone) "You don't walk in the street in front of a bus!"

Correct. And you don't talking on a cell phone while driving a CTA bus with passengers on it, bluetooth headset or not.

I've seen those CTA cars follow buses at night and ask if the drivers are OK. I wish someone besides myself would have caught this guy. I find it appalling, and while I know the driver won't be reading this -- because he's no doubt talking on the phone right now -- I wish he would.

Because I have your bus number and the exact time I was on the bus. And I've got Ron Huberman's e-mail address and an itchy send finger.

Anyone out there care to comment on the use of cell phones by CTA drivers, I'm all ears.

Oh and this is a great time for me to debut my brand new CTA Hall of Shame. I just decided to do that right now. Oh, how I love blogging. So, driver of the 157 who doesn't know how to do his job, you are the first inductee in Scott's CTA Hall of Shame.

Doors closing. Until next time.

Posted by RedEye - 1:28 p.m., Wednesday, August 8

Read the Chicago Tribune's story about the CTA's doomsday plan then leave your comments about the plan below.

By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune Transportation Reporter

The CTA today approved a less severe doomsday plan that will take effect in September if a state funding package is not approved by the General Assembly.

The plan would reduce service overall by 8 percent, compared with 13 percent under the contingency plan that the CTA announced in May. There would be $7.5 million in service cuts, as opposed to $15 million in service cuts that were announced in May under the contingency plan.

Instead of 63 bus routes being eliminated, 39 would be eliminated under the latest plan. In addition, Yellow Line Skokie Swift service would not be eliminated, as was discussed under the May plan.

Posted by Jimmy Greenfield - 5:30 p.m., Thursday, August 2

We get a lot of great feedback about the wonderful RedEye promoters who pass out the paper at about 20 stops throughout Chicago.

So a few weeks ago we headed out to shoot a few minutes of them in action. They're all good, but Warren, my guy at State & Lake, is tremendous.

Enjoy the videos and, to all the promoters, thanks for doing a great job every morning.