"Going Public" braced for a CTA avalanche Monday and got light snow showers instead.

After weeks of fielding readers' concerns about doomsday scenarios, "GP" prepared for the worst this week. Some riders wrote in that their commutes were aggravated by packed buses and delayed trains, but many of you wrote in to say you didn't notice a change to your morning schedules.

This morning, I sent out a tweet asking people riding and waiting for the CTA to chronicle what the commute was like. Together with RedEye's never-tiring CTA reporter, Tracy Swartz, we were able to keep Chicago up to speed like no other team in the city.

Commuters today will feel the crunch of CTA service cuts. Riders on the Brown, Blue, Red and Orange Lines will feel the cuts first since early morning train service on those lines is impacted.

For morning rush hour, Green and Pink Lines will be the most impacted by the cuts.

Riders will likely have to wait an extra one to two minutes for trains and two to five minutes for buses. And when those buses and trains arrive, they may be packed with commuters.

Riders along Western, Ashland, Cicero and Cottage Grove Avenues, Irving Park and Pulaski Roads, King Drive, Garfield Boulevard and Madison Street also will feel the impact of these cuts. Express bus service on those roads have been cut, and riders will have to ride the non-express alternative service along those routes.

Meanwhile, riders along 78 bus routes will see less frequent service. In addition, 1,057 CTA employees, mostly bus drivers, have been laid off.

Check your weekday commute after the jump. Also check back here for more updates.

*7:35 a.m.: "GP" waited on the corner of Irving Park Road and Western Avenue in North Center for about half an hour to talk to bus riders about whether their commutes been impacted by the elimination of the No. X80 Irving Park express bus and the No. X49 Western express bus. A 17-year-old student at Lane Tech, which is about a half-mile away, said she didn't really see a change to her commute even though she used to take the No. X49 and No. X80 buses from her home in Irving Park. "I thought it was going to be chaos," the student said. A No. 49 southbound bus arrived at the stop a few minutes later, and it was packed with riders. A CTA employee, armed with yellow service cuts brochures, didn't seem to be passing out too many pamphlets. Both the No. 49 and No. 80 buses came at a regular clip and riders weren't left standing for too long.

*7:25 a.m.: "GP" drove down Western Avenue between Diversey Avenue and Irving Park Road to see if there were crowds of buses waiting for buses because the No. X49 Western express bus was eliminated yesterday. In a five-minute span, there were two buses headed south on Western Avenue.

*7:13 a.m.: "GP" drove down Ashland Avenue between Fulton Street and Diversey Avenue to see if there were crowds waiting for the bus because the No. X9 Ashland express bus was eliminated yesterday. "GP" counted four southbound buses during a 10-minute span. A handful of riders were waiting for these buses at Chicago, Fullerton and Diversey Avenues.

*7 a.m.: CTA president Rich Rodriguez talked to reporters about how service cuts have been affecting early morning riders. "So far things seem to be going pretty well," Rodriguez said. The CTA call center opened at 7 a.m. this morning but riders were able to leave a voicemail if they had a problem, CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. The CTA call center, typically a Monday-Friday operation, was open this weekend and fielded about 1,000 calls from riders, Gaffney said. Many of the calls were questions about route changes and requests for information, Gaffney said.

*6:39 a.m.: A Pink Line train toward the Loop arrives at the Ashland station in West Town. The train is not crowded, though Pink Line riders are said to expect less frequent service during morning rush hour.

*5 a.m.: CTA president Rich Rodriguez and CTA board chairman Terry Peterson held a press conference this morning outside the CTA Control Center on the Near West Side to talk about the weekday service cuts. The CTA said "things went very well" yesterday, the first day of service cuts. Peterson said they would be reaching out to the unions after the morning rush hour. Peterson said they had productive talks yesterday with the trade coalitions, which represents about 30 jobs of the 1,057 cut this week.

Read updates and commuter experiences from today

CTA service cuts start Sunday. Nine express buses will be eliminated; 41 bus routes will see their start and/or end times change; and 78 buses will see less frequent service. All rail lines except the Yellow Line will see less frequent service.

In addition, the Archer Garage is closing after 103 years, and older buses are being shelved. Also, 1,057 CTA employees -- including 903 bus drivers and 116 rail operators -- will be laid off.

The first bus that will see the impact of the cuts is the northbound No. 29 State bus, which travels from 95th Street to Navy Pier, according to a "Going Public" analysis of service cuts information provided by the CTA.

The No. 29 bus typically begins its run at 2:55 a.m. on Sundays. Today, the run will start at 4 a.m. The No. 29 bus is one of the buses that saw the most time cut out of its schedule.

More information about how the service cuts will affect Sunday service is after the jump, as are some other links you might want to click on. Check back for updates.

*2:57 p.m.: CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said CTA employees are out on the system reminding riders about the service cuts. Workers were at the Belmont Red and Blue Line stations, Jefferson Park Blue Line station, the Fullerton, Clark/Lake and the Logan Square Blue Line stops. CTA president Rich Rodriguez said he was at the Jefferson Park Blue Line stop passing out information yesterday.

*2:30 p.m.: ATU 241 president Darrell Jefferson held a press conference today to discuss the 1,057 CTA employee layoffs. The union also said it's open to make a deal with CTA management but criticized the CTA for being too top-heavy. The union passed out a thick packet of names of non-union members to reporters.

*12:06 p.m.: A 20-year-old IIT student waited for the Green Line on the Roosevelt platform under a bank of heating lamps, one of which was broken. The student, who didn't want his name published, said the CTA is his only means of transportation. "It's not fair. We are paying the same amount and service is cut."

*12:02 p.m.: When "GP" told Anooja Rangnekar, 19, that the schedule of the No. 147 Outer Drive Express bus was cut today, she replied with "that sucks. That's not cool." Rangnekar, who lives on the Gold Coast, said she uses that bus frequently as a Loyola student. "I'm kind of devastated."

*12 p.m.: Jordan Yoder, 23, of Woodlawn was waiting in the Roosevelt subway for a friend so they could ride the Red Line. Yoder said he's not too worried about the service cuts because Bus Tracker helps him plan his day. "I rather they cut back services than raise prices," said Yoder, who doesn't have a car. "I feel like [with Bus Tracker] you won't lose that much time.

*11:56 a.m.: A couple said they had waited five minutes for the No. 29 northbound bus on the corner of State Street and Roosevelt Road when they were approached by "GP." The 22-year-old Oak Park female, who declined to give her name, said she's rarely waited for the No. 29 bus on weekends. "The CTA is really inefficient as it is," she said. Tired of waiting, or tired of questions from this reporter, the couple hopped on the No. 62 Archer northbound bus instead of the No. 29.

*11 a.m.: CTA president Rich Rodriguez and CTA board chairman Terry Peterson held a press conference at the CTA Control Center on the Near West Side to talk about the first day of service cuts. Peterson said the CTA has experienced no "major problems" since cuts took effect this morning. Peterson said the CTA also has finished moving buses from the Archer Garage, which closed today, to other garages. Peterson said he is open to talks anytime with the unions. Rodriguez said some CTA employees did not show up for work yesterday, a day before the layoffs. The CTA laid off 1,057 employees today.

A rider wrote to "Going Public" with concerns about the upcoming CTA service cuts. What are some of your concerns?

"I don't believe that the CTA thoroughly thought about consequences that it might create to the public by cutting down on bus routes.

People are being herded onto buses like animals with practically no breathing space in the midst of the H1N1 flu epidemic.

Couldn't the CTA have waited until the flu season was over to put their cut-down schedules into place? This 'packing' of people into small spaces is not good and is negligent.

For the price of the fare each way (it's way too much) on the bus even if it's a short distance, to be packed on the bus like that it's third-world-country like.

How pathetic is that? The CTA has bigwigs getting paid a lot of money, but apparently, they do not think clearly when it comes to the health and safety of the public."

Today is the last day of full CTA service before the service cuts go into effect on Sunday.

CTA spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall said the CTA today will have full Saturday service, and the cuts will begin with the start of the Sunday schedules, some of which begin early Sunday morning.

"Going Public" will be on the CTA today talking to riders. Check back for updates. See how the Saturday service will change after the jump.

*9:47 p.m.: "GP" camped out at the corner of Grand, Milwaukee and Halsted. Both the No. 56 bus, which serves Milwaukee Avenue, and the No. 8 bus, which serves Halsted Street, will see their schedules cut. "GP" waited but no one was waiting for a bus. A No. 56 bus rumbled by with only three passengers. The last run for the No. 56 now leaves the Jefferson Park Blue Line station at 9:30 p.m. Maybe the CTA should have cut these schedules at an earlier date?

*9:25 p.m.: "GP" waited outside the Berwyn Red Line stop to talk to passengers on the No. 146 southbound bus. Starting Sunday, the bus's last run for the evening will leave the Berwyn stop at 9:25 p.m. But "GP" had a hard time finding passengers to talk to. There were only two riders on the bus. "GP" followed the No. 146 for a little while through Edgewater but it didn't stop to pick up passengers.

*9:05 p.m.: Michael Masson, 22, and Jennifer Bellido waited at the corner of Damen and Wilson Avenues to take the No. 50 Damen bus southbound to celebrate Bellido's belated 23rd birthday. Next Saturday, the No. 50 southbound bus' last run is at 9:15 p.m. "I'm upset," said Bellido of Portage Park. "We have to pay the same amount of money and have shoreter bus service ... I didn't think it would go this far." Masson of Ravenswood, meanwhile, said he has made peace with the cuts. "We are going through economic crisis," Masson said. "It's another one of the things we have to deal with."

*1:07 p.m.: As he waited for an Orange Line train, Louis Johnson of Logan Square told "GP" that CTA service cuts will "affect my social life, my family life." Johnson, 32,  said he doesn't have a car and depends on the CTA to get everywhere. "The last decade with CTA service was terrible. Why would you go up in prices and do cutbacks?," Johnson asked. Under a deal with the state, CTA will not raise fares for two years. The last fare increase was in 2009.

*1:01 p.m.: When "GP" told a group of teenage girls from River Forest who were waiting for the Brown Line train to Southport, there was a chorus of "that sucks." "We've already been waiting for like 10 minutes," said one of the girls. The girls say they typically ride the trains on weekends to see shows at the Music Box Theatre.

*12:56 p.m.: Ryan Brandt of Oak Park, who was waiting for a Blue Line train at the Clark/Lake station, said he wasn't concerned about how he would be affected by CTA service cuts but he is concerned about the 1,057 employees laid off by the CTA. "What bothers me is people are losing their jobs." Brandt said he rides the No. X9 Ashland express bus for work on weekdays. The bus is set to be eliminated tomorrow. "I just have to leave earlier," Brandt said. "[CTA riders] just have to make adjustments."

*10 a.m.: CTA president Rich Rodriguez held a press conference Saturday morning at the 77th Street garage to inform riders that service cuts will start tomorrow. The CTA met with the unions and Mayor Daley on Friday but negotiations failed. Rodriguez said the CTA will continue to talk with the unions about concessions so service could be restored.

Starting Sunday, nine express buses will be eliminated; 41 bus routes will see their start and/or end times change; and 78 buses will see less frequent service. All rail lines except for the Yellow Line will see less frequent service.

The CTA also is closing the Archer Garage, a 103-year-old bus garage, and removing its oldest buses in its fleet from service.

Nearby the press conference, at the 79th Street Red Line station, Joy Thornton of Chatham clutched her yoga mat as she prepared to board the Red Line to the Loop.

Thornton, 20, said she rides the Red Line everyday and is "unhappy" that "I have to wake up earlier, and it's going to take me longer to get home."

 

"Going Public" loves maps. Via Twitter, "Going Public" came across "Picturing Transit," a mapping project that visually shows how the upcoming CTA service cuts affect Chicago neighborhoods.

At a press conference Thursday at a CTA garage in Humboldt Park, the CTA trotted out nine buses to represent the nine express buses that will be eliminated Sunday because of service cuts.

A CTA worker let "Going Public" onto one of the buses. Have you ever seen such a clean bus?

A rider wrote to "Going Public" to offer a suggestion for bus routes in light of the upcoming service cuts.

"Since these cuts are right around the corner, and several of the express routes will be eliminated, I have an idea that might speed up service a little bit.  How about eliminating some bus stops?

No more than one bus stop per block? Heck, every other block would be just fine with me.  Unless, of course, there's a seniors' home nearby or something like that.

Walking an extra block here and there to make everyone's commute faster? What do you think? I'm just off of Western near the Blue Line stop and it drives me insane every time a bus heading southbound stops at Armitage, then, what feels like 60 feet later, stops at Milwaukee, then stops again at the Blue Line...

I think that's an extreme example, but eliminating inefficient bus stops is something that I think would improve things a little bit. Ever take the No. 66 Chicago bus westbound from Michigan Avenue? Jesus Effing Christ! Do we need 15 stops per mile?"