CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[nomarandlee]

I am sometimes skeptical of the CTA and their spending however I agree that it is incumbent of Blago to specify how such an agency is wasting money. In not doing so he just increasingly makes himself out to be a faux-reformer trying to push away the blame of the transit crises. (not to be captain obvious to everyone here)

[MayorOfChicago]

So I was one of the first people to pay for a Chicago Card Plus.

I called over a week ago because my card expired today and I was wondering when exactly I was going to get my replacement. I got an e-mail weeks ago saying it was being sent, but when it gets down to a few days.....

So I get an e-mail the day before my "expiration" saying that it's being sent. I was excited I actually got multiple e-mails about this....but... WTF??? A day before?

Tonight my 30 day card doesn't work, and I have to sit there on the bus as "the guy" who has to dig around for money and pay cash for my ride home. Why? I have a 30 day pass. I've had had a 30 day pass with you pieces of shit for over 5 years. No one at the CTA seems to care at ALL that I've called to check up on you, I've worried that my stupid card is going to "expire" and I'm going to be sitting here paying cash for my rides even though I've been paying for a 30 day pass for YEARS.

WAKE UP. Sorry. I actually love having the CTA, but then you actually take time out of your day multiple times to inquire about the process, and then have your predictions come true....

When do I get my "new" Chicago Card Plus?

Do I actually have to file a lawsuit or something to at least bring to their attention the absolute stupidity?

[emathias]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

...
When do I get my "new" Chicago Card Plus?

Do I actually have to file a lawsuit or something to at least bring to their attention the absolute stupidity?

No organization is 100% perfect. I got my card a little later than I'd have preferred, but still before the old one expired and I'd guess most people do, too. If you called or emails and complained after you get your card, with a tally of your cash payments, they might even credit your account with that amount.

I'm sorry you didn't get your card on time but, really, to threaten a lawsuit?

[MayorOfChicago]

Just because it's stupid I have to call twice to ask why my card is expiring after 5 years and they can't seem to at least send something BEFORE the 5 year limit is up.

Today I ended up getting pretty blasted drunk. Without thinking I was waiting for 25 minutes at midnight for the Broadway bus like I always would; had a 30 day pass for almost 8 years now.

The bus gets there and I am suddenly confronted again within as many days that my stupid pass was shut off, even though I paid my cash and had it reloaded last week.

I only had a $20 on me to get food at 7-11 when I got back to Uptown, so I ended up having to get off the bus after a confusing 20 seconds and the driver telling me I had no credit on my card. I finally found a cab and got home that much poorer and that much later than I should have.

Anyway, I've been with the CTA for 8 years now, and for the first time I feel extremely slighted and "over" the whole f-ing agency.

[jjk1103]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

Just because it's stupid I have to call twice to ask why my card is expiring after 5 years and they can't seem to at least send something BEFORE the 5 year limit is up.

Today I ended up getting pretty blasted drunk. Without thinking I was waiting for 25 minutes at midnight for the Broadway bus like I always would; had a 30 day pass for almost 8 years now.

The bus gets there and I am suddenly confronted again within as many days that my stupid pass was shut off, even though I paid my cash and had it reloaded last week.

I only had a $20 on me to get food at 7-11 when I got back to Uptown, so I ended up having to get off the bus after a confusing 20 seconds and the driver telling me I had no credit on my card. I finally found a cab and got home that much poorer and that much later than I should have.

Anyway, I've been with the CTA for 8 years now, and for the first time I feel extremely slighted and "over" the whole f-ing agency.

.....the CTA is constantly doing stupid things like that......

[Mr Downtown]

Yes, the CTA is constantly doing stupid things like getting drunk and going out on the street with no money.

[schwerve]

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Pilot Program

In 2009, the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Transit Authority will begin a pilot program to test Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service.

BRT refers to a collection of improvements to infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling, that combine to provide bus service with reduced travel times, increased service predictability, and improved customer amenities compared to local bus service.

BRT will operate along certain high ridership corridors across the city that are not currently served by rail. BRT will connect key destination points such as employment centers, shopping destinations, rail stations, and significant CTA transfer points. The BRT Pilot Program is designed to examine and test BRT technologies and services to determine the best way to implement Bus Rapid Transit service in the CTA service area.

Open Houses

The Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Transit Authority invite the public to a presentation on the Bus Rapid Transit Pilot Program, which will consider improvements and alterations to the bus routing for the #8 Halsted, #66 Chicago, #79 79th, #14 Jeffery Express and #15 Jeffery Local.

Open Houses are scheduled as follows:

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Gary Comer Youth Center*
7200 South Ingleside Avenue
Chicago, IL 60619

Thursday, September 25, 2008
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Chicago Public Library, Near North Branch*
310 West Division Street
Chicago, IL 60610

*Facility accessible to people with disabilities.

Presentations will begin at 6:15 p.m.

CTA unveils digital advertising on No. 124 bus

CTA officials hope to put digital wireless advertising screens on 100 buses by next summer and expand the program to include all 144 CTA rail stations.

But first the electronic technology must be road-tested on the one bus to see if it can take the wear and tear, officials said.

"It has to be able to go through the [bus] wash rack on a daily basis," Huberman said.

The screens on buses will be placed on the curb-side of the vehicle.

The rail station display boards also will tell riders how many minutes until the next train arrives.

In addition, beyond advertising, the screens represent the first step toward a new CTA digital communications network that would be used to issue alerts to the public in emergencies.

[MayorOfChicago]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Yes, the CTA is constantly doing stupid things like getting drunk and going out on the street with no money.

Well excuse me dear, I had plenty of money, but not two $1 bills. I get drunk every weekend, and have gotten home just fine for the past 7 years. That's why I invest $75 in a 30 day pass and make sure to never lose it so I'm not stranded. I filled my pass up last week, but I'm not the one who decided that on September 20th my pass was going to be shut off and I'd have to start using another pass that would arrive sometime in the week following September 20th.

[Taft]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Yes, the CTA is constantly doing stupid things like getting drunk and going out on the street with no money.

OK, Mr. Snarky. It is pretty clear that they screwed him on this one, his own drunken antics put aside.

MayorOfChicago: I'd be pissed, too. I will say, though, that early adopters of the Chicago Cards got screwed a lot harder than the general population. I was an early adopter myself and had issues with 2 different cards as well as billing problems. Once I got my third card, they seemed to have things worked out a little better and I haven't had problems since.

Taft

[Mr Downtown]

I was an early adopter, too (I was pissed when the machine ate my original original silver Chicago Card, issued in the four-station pilot program).

I got an email on July 17 saying that my CC+ would expire on August 31 and asking me to confirm my address so they could send a new one. I confirmed my address on July 22 and the card arrived a day or two later. But my reaction was not to take the emergency fiver out of my wallet, decide I would never ever need it, and spend it on beer.

I kinda miss the old days when I always kept an emergency token in my wallet, too.

[MayorOfChicago]

i said i had money, but i'm not dumping a $20 into the bus

i had the last laugh though, in the form of a lemon meringue pie chucked into the bus drivers face

[nomarandlee]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transpo...-cta25.article

Standing ovation for new CTA cars?
TRANSPORTATION | Rush-hour riders like extra elbow room

September 25, 2008

BY MARY WISNIEWSKI Transportation Reporter mwisniewski@suntimes.com

CTA officials said Wednesday that the reaction they've gotten so far from riders to reduced-seat "MAX" L cars has been "very positive." Especially from some riders.

"We've heard from mothers with strollers and bicyclists that the MAX car is great because it's given us more floor space," William Mooney, CTA chief operating officer, told a CTA Citizens Advisory Board meeting.


Mooney also said riders boarding at stops close to downtown like Sedgwick have found it easier to get a spot on the new L cars.

.........Mooney said that reduced-seat cars could be useful on the Blue and Orange Lines to accommodate riders carrying luggage to or from O'Hare or Midway airports. CTA has looked at luggage racks on the Blue Line but found that people didn't want to be so far from their bags.

..

[Chicago3rd]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

Well excuse me dear, I had plenty of money, but not two $1 bills. I get drunk every weekend, and have gotten home just fine for the past 7 years. That's why I invest $75 in a 30 day pass and make sure to never lose it so I'm not stranded. I filled my pass up last week, but I'm not the one who decided that on September 20th my pass was going to be shut off and I'd have to start using another pass that would arrive sometime in the week following September 20th.

They didn't decide on September 20th to shut your card off. It had been announced in the PRESS and CTA Webpage...back in June and July. It happened to my partner (and was a huge mess last year) and it will happen to my pass next August 2009. I figured that out in 2007 when they had all the press on it and my partner had to jump through hoopes to get a new card.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

I kinda miss the old days when I always kept an emergency token in my wallet, too.

so do we all

[MayorOfChicago]

Originally Posted by Chicago3rd

They didn't decide on September 20th to shut your card off. It had been announced in the PRESS and CTA Webpage...back in June and July. It happened to my partner (and was a huge mess last year) and it will happen to my pass next August 2009. I figured that out in 2007 when they had all the press on it and my partner had to jump through hoopes to get a new card.

Right, they decided that on Sept 20th it was to be shut off, they didn't decide on Sept 20th to shut it off.

I had known for weeks that it was going to happen. That's the reason I was most upset. I got an e-mail 4 weeks before saying a new card was going to be sent out and I had to do nothing. I thought, awesome, fine. So 2 weeks before I called the CTA very nicely, said I hadn't gotten anything yet and they had sent their initial e-mail 2 weeks earlier. I made sure I had the correct address, and the lady was really nice to me, said there were no problems, that it would be sent out soon. She said the e-mail was sent out a month early to alert people, but the cards were sent out much later.

So 2 days before it's expiring I call the CTA, cause I had just dumped money on my 30 day card and didn't feel like paying as I go just cause they want to wait till the last minute. They said it was being sent out, and I should be fine.

yadda yadda yadda.

[spyguy]

http://westloop.org/news/contentview.asp?c=215898

UPDATE ON LAKE/MORGAN "L" STOP

* Funding source for project: local TIF money (100% active and healthy)
* Project Manager - Julian Silva
* Need for stop - gap between Clinton and Ashland stations
* Two entrance stations on NE/SE corners
* Bicycle racks on all four corners
* Customer assitance kiosks
* Concession venue
* 8 x 10 platforms
* 6-car canopy made of transluscent material
* Exterior in keeping with existing architecture (historic and contemporary)
- Perforated material to let in natural light
* Security and safety measures
- Security cameras monitored by CTA
- Lighting throughout station and surrounding sidewalks
* Station will be built entirely on the public way, using the existing parking lane as well as 7 ft. of sidewalk (sidewalk will be reduced from 15 ft. wide to 8 ft. wide)
* Possible traffic signal at corner
- Redirect trucks
* $34 million dollar project
- Cost is higher due to the lack of staging (streets and tracks will not be shut down during the length of construction)
- Value-engineered
* Bidding to be announced on CDOT website shortly
* Project timeline
- Construction documents: December 2008
- Advertisement: January 2009
- Notice to proceed: March 2009
- Projected completion: September 2010

[Chicago3rd]

^^ Way cool. It will be great to have that part of the loop more accessible.

[jjk1103]

...........I have a couple of track maintenance questions: on the Loop....are they going to replace the old track on Wells and Van Buren as well. also, I thought they were finished with the track repair on the O'Hare Blue ? ...how many more mile are left to repair ??? .......(or....how soon before I can go all the way from O'Hare to the Loop with no slow zones)? ......what parts of the Red Line (north of Addison) are they working on and when will that be done ? .......inquiring minds want to know !!

[ginsan2]

In general, for people living in Chicago (and as someone shortly about to move there), would anyone say that the Chicago transit system has actually improved? In the most general sense, do all these news clippings amount to improved service over the past 5 years?

Secondly, does anyone see the bus rapid transit system as a means to cut funding for light rail within the city, should it become successful?

[OhioGuy]

Originally Posted by ginsan2

In general, for people living in Chicago (and as someone shortly about to move there), would anyone say that the Chicago transit system has actually improved? In the most general sense, do all these news clippings amount to improved service over the past 5 years?

For me it's a resounding yes, though that's not to say it's as good as I'd like it to be (oh how I'd love to have a system as smooth & clean & efficient as the DC Metro). The resounding yes stems from the fact I can ride the red line through the subway now without creeping along at an astoundingly slow pace. I don't know if anyone has seen the Seinfeld episode where Elaine is on the subway when it stops & in her mind she is screaming at the top of her lungs? Well every time I rode through the subway before they eliminated the slow zones, I found myself absolutely fuming in utter disgust as the excruciatingly slow speed the trains were traveling. Now for the most part I seem to be able to ride without experiencing those overpowering moments of sheer anger. And by the end of the year we should be back to four track operations from Belmont to Fullerton which should speed things up again, especially for the morning & afternoon rush commutes.