Report broken AC and get it fixed pronto -- or so claims the CTA
I meant to post the link to this RedEye column earlier today but didn't have time. (I actually have to work for a living! This blogging is just NOT paying the bills.) Thanks for the reminder, Jennifer.
It seems that the CTA desperately wants to know if the air conditioning is on the blink on a train or bus. And they promise to fix it within hours of getting the report. At least that's what Kyra Kyles reports in her Going Public column today in the RedEye.
Of course, as one cynic commented on my post about the days-old dead pigeon left to rot in a CTA parking lot stairwell, how can you trust them after that little fiasco, reported first by the Trib's Jon Hilkevitch.
I'd love to know if there's a way for you guys to track how fast they do respond to your complaints.
Maybe you should start putting some of those annoying pop-ups, pop-unders, some spyware, adware and a few banner ads on top, bottom, sides etc. to get rich.
Posted by: Tovi | July 05, 2005 at 08:57 PM
well, i'm curious as to how we'd track it, as once we get off the bus/el, are we really going to know if it's the same bus or el we were on? i mean what's the likelihood that i'm ever getting on train car 2341 again?? you know what i mean?
not trying to be a smartass, but just working out probability, which i'm also not that great at,
Posted by: jocelyn | July 06, 2005 at 10:54 AM
Actually, Jocelyn, I have started paying attention to hardware numbers as I walk from my office at Michigan and Wacker to Union Station, and I do see a lot of the same buses day after day. I haven't gone so far as to check what times they're coming through each day, but I am seeing frequent repeats. So maybe there would be a way for us to monitor it.
And WRT heat and air: my bus this morning (I was running really late and didn't feel like hoofing) was FREEZING! I asked the driver if she had any control over it because I had goosebumps, and she told me that only the "guys in the garage" could adjust the internal temperature controls. And yes I put in a telephone call, got told "we'll look into it". We'll see....
Posted by: Jenn | July 07, 2005 at 04:05 PM
Color me skeptical.
When I used to ride the 135 into work in the morning, I reported noxious exhaust fumes seeping into the cabin on several occasions.
One morning, in addition to powerful fumes the bus stopped for 15 minutes due to a break down. I called the 135's terminal FROM THE BUS to tell them about the problem. They suggested that if the fumes seemed to cause me a health problem that I should get off and WAIT FOR THE NEXT BUS! I actually considered it until I remembered that the 135 has been known to disappear for 45 minutes at a time in the middle of rush hour.
Another morning, there was not only no heat, but the rear emergency hatch was open, allowing snow to pile on the floor below. It was SO cold the snow NEVER MELTED on the trip downtown! Despite this, there was STILL a scent of fumes in the cabin!
Needless to say, I stopped riding the 135 and all of the other lakefront express buses because they never did anything to remedy the problem. For all know, they are still as unreliable and ramshackle as ever.
Posted by: jk1 | July 07, 2005 at 05:31 PM
i love the word ramshackle.
Posted by: jocelyn | July 07, 2005 at 06:01 PM