Tell us your crazy commuting tales

If you ride public transportation on a regular basis, you have a story.

A story about that crazy lady yelling Bible verses. About the sleeping guy who smells like he hadn't taken a bath in weeks. About the rude ticket agent. About the woman fighting with her boy friend on the cell phone.

And we all want to hear them.

Click on "Comments" below this post (or scroll down below the last comment) and tell us your story. I'll make separate posts of the good ones.

Comments

[terry]

for those of you unfamiliar with the 145 bus route, the route goes north on inner lakeshore/marine, makes a left turn onto irving park, travels west two blocks to clarendon and then makes a right turn onto northbound clarendon. this differs from the 146 route which continues thru the marine/irving intersection and travels north on marine instead.

well, i boarded a 145 bus on michigan avenue one friday. by the time we reached irving park, we were down to about a dozen people still on the bus. at the intersection, the bus, rather than making the left turn, continued straight thru the intersection.

pandemonium!

people started yelling at the bus driver who promptly stopped the bus, explained that she had been on the 146 all week and had forgot to make the 145 turn and ...

MADE A U-TURN IN THE MIDDLE OF MARINE DRIVE!

i was both stunned and amazed that she managed to make this u-turn in the middle of this fairly busy street. the street is not that wide, though, and at one point she was perfectly perpendicular to the flow of traffic which was completely blocked in both directions.

i always get a laugh from bus drivers when i tell them this story. besides, i usually get an amusing story from them in return. i wish THEY would post to this forum!

[superman]

Last week I was on a Lawrence bus headed west from the Brown Line at Kimball. The bus driver must have been new or confused or something, because he started honking his horn furiously at a van that was parked on Drake. Usually bus stops are every other half street, so after st. louis he should have stopped at central park next. Instead, he freaked out whoever was at that intersection, did not stop for the people waiting at central park, plus ignored the stop request from the people trying to get off there. He stopped after Central Park, but did not wait for the people waiting at the bus stop. How angry would you feel if you were waiting at a bus stop in the cold, and then the bus decides not to stop for you?

[BlueBum]

Tonight I got on the N22 Clark street bus and every single person on the bus yelled Happy New Year to us. Wow. The bus driver was enjoying himself too. It was a great extention of our new years party to continue all the way home. We even had some chapaign along the way too. so did a few others. But what the heck It's New Years! Happy New Year!

[Dave]

Coming home from work on the southbound Dan Ryan train one night in 1997 or '98, I saw an older white man who had fallen asleep in a seat near the back. A skinny, 30-something black guy sat down on the seat next to him and proceeded to steal his wallet. Two older black ladies who were sitting near the door saw him and said, "You give that back to him! You give that back to him right now!" The would-be thief looked very embarrassed and carefully put the wallet back in the sleeping man's pocket. He then muttered an apology to the two ladies and got off at the next stop. The white man woke up and looked around. "What's going on?" he asked. "Don't you worry," said one of the ladies, "everything is alright."

That's why I'm proud to be from the South Side.

[Cheryl]

Terry--I take the Lakeshore Drive express busses often, and I've noticed there are a lot of drivers on those routes who have apparently been taken off their normal route, shoved into a 140-something bus, and not told how to get downtown. One day I was picked up by a 22 on Wilson near the Red Line stop. They didn't even give this guy a different bus or change the number/name--just told him he was a 148 for the day. The passengers had to tell him the route because he didn't know it.

[Carl Nyberg]

I wrote about the Blue Line and the Chicago Area Transportation Study. I thought you would be interested.

[Mike]

This is a normal people-gone-crazy story from last Tuesday, 1/3. It was evening rush and there was some kind of equipment-related delay on the Green, Brown and Purple lines downtown. After about a 1/2 hour delay I boarded a Brown at Wash & Wells. The train was almost empty when it pulled up. I got on the first car and grabbed a prime standing spot leaning against the door to the operator's area. In one of the rear-facing seats next to me was a younger woman with an approx 10 month old baby, struggling to keep a bottle in his mouth as he wiggled around. She had a makeshift diaper bag on the aisle-facing seat in front of her with its contents spilling out (baby food, diapers, clothes, etc). In all she was occupying three seats/spots although the other spot in the aisle-facing seat was open (the one next to her diaper bag). Now the action: A semi-professional man in his forties gets on after me - along with the rest of the overflowing platform. He rushes up to the seat with the diaper bag and just starts picking it up and tossing the stuff into the seat next to the lady with the baby (one of the 3 seats she was using) so he could sit there. She goes ballistic on him saying things like "WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING!? THAT'S MY S$IT AND IF YOU WANT TO SIT THERE YOU ASK ME!!... NOW MY S$IT'S JUST GOING TO SIT THERE... I AINT MOVIN IT..." etc etc, while putting her stuff back. The two struggle, all the while she is swearing and putting her stuff back and the man is continually tossing it into the other seat, although not saying anything. Then he gives up and just SITS ON HER BAG and other baby things. She screams at him and kicks him off and he sits on it again and again. Remember, this whole time she is holding a 10-month old and holding a bottle in his mouth – her hands are not free. Also – the seat next to her diaper bag – which the man is insisting on sitting on – is still open and has been since the man got on. Although the car is now full and moving it is still open because no one wants to get too close to this nutty stuff, which is all happening just inches away from me. I say to myself, “ok, time to move to the other end of the car before this gets too violent” but then I just couldn’t do nothing with the kid there, ready to fall to the floor at any moment, so I intervened. In my best “I am your peer – listen to me” voice, I looked straight at the guy and said “Sir, please let it go. There are already enough delays and if you don’t stop I am going to call the police and there will be more!” This seemed to give him pause, and then the lady with the baby jumps in and shouts “You don’t have to call no mother f-en po-lice because I am gonna STAB this mother f-er!” So the guy stops, either because of what I said or out of fear of getting stabbed. He then just stands there, in front of the seat with the diaper bag. Meanwhile after one stop the lady gathers up the diaper bag and clears off the seat. The guy still just stands there – now, ironically, blocking a vacant seat and not sitting down. Then the lady gets off a stop or two later, and the man sits down and sulks until he gets off at Paulina. I still don’t quite know who was more in the wrong – the no-asking bag squisher or the seat-taking, stab-threatening mother.

[Matthew]

Mr. O'Neil, could you please possibly put this on the front page?

Dear Riders of 63W/165,

If anybody has found a digital camera, PLEASE give it to a driver or CTA employee.

This afternoon I was traveling home from school on the West 63rd Street bus route. I left Midway at around 4:15-4:25. When I exited the bus at Austin, I crossed the street while the bus had a red light. No sooner did I realize it was missing, the bus was gone!

The camera is an HP Photosmart M417, and was a Christmas present. It is silver/gray, and has pictures of my friends and school, and the Library-State/Van Buren station.

Sincerely,
Matthew

P.S. Thanks to the 55A driver who offered a ride to 63rd street and gave me a lost and found number, and to Tony at Archer garage for keeping everyone on the lookout.

[Thor]

January 2, I was riding the El home from the Greyhound station upon returning from Winter Break, and I don't know when I've had a more varied trip.

I got on the Blue Line at Clinton and sat down about three seats from an older middle-aged lady wearing a dress and cloche-style hat similar to the one from that episode of I Love Lucy (and what wonderful things they can do with burlap nowadays!). She was completely beige, from head to toe, and people seemed to be staying away. It soon became obvious why no one is sitting any closer to her. As the announcer voice began his "LaSalle is next. Doors open on the. . ." spiel, the woman repeated every word he said in a buzzy, old-lady rasp. Then, as we began moving, she commenced "Zoom, zoom zoom zoom, zoom zoom," and so on and so forth until we arrived at LaSalle, at which point she recited Announcer Guy again. I transferred to the Red Line at Jackson, so I don't know how that turned out. I suspect the other passengers, who were glaring at her with increasing ferocity, eventually got so fed up they pulled her hat down over her head.

The rest of the long ride home was brightened by a recitation of poetry in the Jackson Red Line station. The guy, whose name escapes me now (it was Patrice, maybe, or Patrick), was an excellent poet. But as the commuters in the station started getting up to get on the train we could hear coming, a saxophone started playing loudly at the other end of the station. The poet stopped in the middle of his poem and began yelling at the other performer. By name. Even as the entering train drowned out the fighting, I thought, "Sure beats the guy I heard playing the presets on his electronic keyboard for change."

And I ask you: how can you not love this city?

[jk1]

This morning, I was in the midst of my weekday commute, southbound on the red line. My frustration was building because I was late, and my coffee was weak.

That all changed when the motorman, whose voice I recognize for his cheerful personal greetings to his passengers, made me smile by imparting a sincere "May the force be with you..."

People like this, who put that extra little zip into their work, are my heroes...

[Bridget B.]

Here's my recent email to the CTA:

"Hello CTA,

I take the 65 Grand Ave everyday to and from work. So far almost all the rides and drivers have been a pleasant experience, so no real complaints there. However, on three (3) different occasions I have witness something very interesting.

Cockroaches.

Oh yes, you read correctly, cockroaches. I alerted one passenger when I saw one cockroach crawling up her leg, who then alerted other passengers with her blood curdling screams. Unfortunately, the little booger got away into the seat.

On another occasion a cockroach was crawling down the back of another woman, which I just flicked away in hopes that it landed far far far away from me. And just yesterday I saw another cockroach crawling on the floor, which another passenger kindly stomped the heck out of for our benefit.

Now I don’t know if you have received any emails regarding this problem, but I was hoping that you can address it…soon. Thank you have a nice day!"

[cmama]

This is a message to everyone to be nice to your CTA employees not matter how badly they may have hampered your commute. I recently found out that one of my bus drivers is the son of my grandmother's long lost cousin. Since he's about 15 years older than me I didn't recognize him. He recognized me and didn't know if I was really related to him. When he saw that I was getting off on the block the thought I lived, he asked me if I was related to my grandma. while I'm exiting he explained who he was and we had a brief conversation. People on the bus (including me) were a little peeved cause he was late. I don't care if the other riders were peeved at me for stopping the bus. It's always nice to find relatives you never knew existed.

[Ann]

Coming home on the Forest Park Blue line a little after 7. The woman in front of me with the neat braids opens a bag, opens a box in the bag, and then offers a candy cane to the young Asian woman reading the Computer Networking book across the aisle from her. YAW shakes her head no. Braided woman offers one to me. I accept. Next offer is to the kid in the chef's uniform reading an old James Bond paperback. He accepts. Then the older white woman with the crossword puzzle and a younger black woman reading the fashion magazine accept theirs. At this point the woman with the computer textbook changes her mind and she gets one too. Everyone in our whole section of the car is now eating a candy cane. At Halsted another young woman, this one toting an MCAT study guide, gets on, plugs in the i-pod, and buries herself in her book. Though our braided benefactor has put the candy canes away by this time, she gets the box out again and offers one to the aspiring doctor. Doc-to-be unplugs the earphones long enough to figure out what's going on, and then she accepts as well.

By my exit at Oak Park, most of us are gone. But to a person they have all stopped and thanked our belated elf as they exited. A small moment of commuter good-will.

[Lizeriffic]

This is a happy CTA story. My younger sister was in town for a visit this summer, and she bought us tickets to the Kelly Clarkson concert at Northerly Island (which, for a crappy pop concert, wasn't all that bad). The bus ride back to Lakeview is where the fun began - the driver sat at the bus stop outside the concert until the bus was full to capacity. Therefore, the bus ends up being a random sample from Kelly Clarkson's fan base - mostly gay males and little girls (with their parents). Towards the front of the bus are the two loudest groups. First, we have the loud, college-age gay guys. Near them are the loud, giggly, twentysomething ladies celebrating someone's birthday. Other notables: an over-protective mother (OPM) clutching her daughter so tight the girl's arm is turning blue and an over-eager dad trying to bond with his daughter. As the wheels on the bus finally begin to roll, the Gays begin singing (what else?) "The Wheels on the Bus," and the Giggles join in. OPM grabs her daughter's other arm in terror. One of the Giggles bores of the babies going "Wha, wha, wha" on the bus, and changes the tune to a Kelly Clarkson song, and the Gays heartily join in. Soon, Mr. Eager is nudging his daughter to join in, as the rest of the bus (I mean it, the whole bus) join in the chorus of "Since You Been Gone." At this point, we've made it to Michigan Ave. After singing all the KC songs with catchy choruses, there is a slight pause in the sing-a-long. Suddenly, one of the Gays gets a twinkle in his eye and starts singing: "Look at this stuff...isn't it neat...wouldn't you say my collection's complete?" The little girls on the bus light up with joy and join in with the Little Mermaid sing-a-long. OPM practically flies off the bus at what I'm sure was way before her stop. Mr. Eager, however, is singing at the top of his lungs, looking like he hasn't had this much fun since...well, probably since the conception of the little girl next to him. From Disney, the Giggles moved us on to Annie, then the Gays took it back to Billy Joel's Piano Man. We're nearing LSD now, and normal 151-goers have boarded, looking completely dumbfounded. With the bus a bit more empty, one of the Gays begins stomping up and down the aisle chanting "BEST BUS EVER" to which everyone joins in. Another of the Gays is doing splits in the front of the bus while answering Mr. Eager's question about his man purse with, "Honey, let's call it what it is - it's my purse!" One of the Giggles (apparently VIP Giggle) gets a call that the band is going to Sidetrack (gay bar on Halsted) and screams "Let's all go!" At this point, it's really just the Giggles, the Gays, and my sister and I. My sister is crushed (being underage) as the Giggles and the Gays get off with us at Belmont and skip off arm-in-arm chanting "BEST BUS EVER!!" I kid you not, a totally true story.

[robin..]

Lizerffic: AWE. SOME.

[Cheryl]

This is a warning for anyone who has to have their Chicago Card Plus replaced--the friendly guy on the phone who takes your order for a replacement card will not tell you once you're placed your order, your current card is de-activated and if you try to use it, a rude bus driver will yell at you "I AM CONFISGATING THIS CARD" and then rip it out of your hands. Then you have to pay the full $2 fare and go get one of those magnetic strip cards later and add just enough money daily until your new Chicago Card Plus arrives.

[Mike]

One high school-aged girl to another, while waiting for thr Brown Line at Wellington last night: "My parents want to meet your parents because my parents don't have any friends."

Ouch.

[Cheryl]

Okay, this was the second Sunday morning in a row someone managed to shut down the Red Line while I was trying to get to work. Today we got an actual announcement--police were chasing someone in the tunnels near the Chicago Av station. We sat for about 20 minutes.

[Cheryl]

I know there's a lot of disagreement here over taking Citgo up on its discounted fuel (or whatever it was they offered), but I think most people will agree Frank should have told the CTA board (i.e, his bosses) about the offer:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/pdf/060120/060120_works.pdf

[Thor]

So this past Sunday afternoon, Northwestern University Radio Drama produced a show called "El-Bound", a comedic script about seven people riding the El downtown from Evanston. It's a great show, and I accompanied on piano. You can download the podcast by going into the iTunes Podcast Directory and searching for Northwestern University Radio Drama. Enjoy!

[eelaras]

This quiz is more about NYC subway etiquette but really applies to us too. Just goes to show that all subways are the same.

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=6348031033861149056

[Eric B.]

Riding home on the Blue Line today, I noticed a funny smell. I first caught a whiff a minute after I got on at Clark & Lake. It smelled like something had melted... maybe some rubber. As we approach Monroe, the train operator comes on the intercom with this message: "Attention passengers... the smell you're smelling is from the brakes. They were stuck, but I fixed the problem and the smell should be going away in a few stations. We apologize for this inconvenience." He repeated a similar message just after picking up more folks at Jackson.

Amazing, the CTA apologizing for a smell... I never thought I'd hear such a thing. If only they knew of the hundreds of other stenches I've smelled in the last six months of riding....

[brendan]

I've heard of the hobo corner but this was a little much. I caught the hobo train. Last week I got off of work extremely late. I got into the Clinton O'hare line stop at about 2:30 in the a.m. I waited about 25 minutes for the train. When I got on there were exactly 10 homeless people on board with one regular non-homeless guy. Some of the homeless were sleeping, including one couple nuzzled together. One was smoking cigarette butts. I wasn't about to tell her to stop. It was just odd. Par for the course (and pretty sad) at almost 3 a.m. but I'm not usually up that late. I get off at Western, catch a north bound 49, get off at the Western Ravenswood stop. Walk into the station where the security guard tells me that the station is closed. Closed? I had no idea that that station ever closed. Learned that there is no owl service on the 49B. The things you learn at 4 in the morning. Caught cab home mindful that plenty of people had it worse than me.

[Nat]

This morning 3 highschool aged girls were getting on the 67 bus at MLK. I don't know what the first girl said, but the bus driver asked her is she talked like that at home, and that she shouldn't curse so much. The girl behind her chimed in and said, "yeah, you be cussin' too much, bitch."

Nice.

[nicolle]

i don't live in chicago anymore, but i did for five years, until about six months ago. i lived down on the south side, hyde park, so i have witnesses plenty of late-night curiosities on the red line and the 55 garfield. among these curiosities were often the railcar preachers.

one night, i was out seeing too much light makes the baby go blind with one of my friends. that show is all the way out at foster and ashland, so it was a rather long trek on the red line to get back to garfield. this one guy gets on downtown...tall, about three hundred pounds, and roaring drunk. he stands up in the car, holds onto one of the poles (even though there were a ton of open seats, it being almost 1:30 in the morning), and starts raving about jesus.

none of his rants about jesus this and jesus that made any sense, because the words were too slurred. none, until he just screams out, "jesus was a cool guy, but they killed him too!!!"

i couldn't contain my laughter. that's still the best thing i've ever heard a railcar preacher, or any random drunk on the el, say.

[dbs]

thursday 2/2 nb blue line, afternoon rush. train stopped at grand. operator announcement: "attention passengers, we'll be standing momentarily due to a slow operator in the train ahead of us."

[Elaine]

Last night around 9 PM, a friend and I were riding the El. It starts off as a quiet ride: the guy behind us--a large man--is even snoring peacefully. Suddenly, an interesting-looking man with shoulder-length curly brown hair, an orangey complexion, and a homemade hat that has "R-Unit" writen in Magic Marker starts boasting to a lady across the aisle. He says he has a lot of money riding on the Seahawks for the Super Bowl. Then he gets heated: "All of these cocksuckers who talk about Pittsburgh. I tell any one of those cocksuckers to put his money where his mouth is. Let's take off our skirts and make a bet. I'll be at the TGI Friday's around the corner from Niketown tomorrow. And if Pittsburgh wins, the first cocksucker who mentions them, I will strangle him. I will strangle that cocksucker right in the middle of the Rainforest Cafe." So if there's a bloodletting in touristville today, we'll know who it is. By this time, everyone in our area of the car is snickering. The big, napping man behind us has even been awoken from his slumber, and he is muttering under his breath "yeah right" at R-Units boasts. Then this guy goes on to talk about people in the mafia: "Not all of us are big, fat guys with pinky rings and Versace suits and 20 people in our entourage. I wear suits sometimes, like when I go to court." Which brings him to his current legal dealings: "I'm on parole right now. Some people think being on parole is the worst time to do something, but it's the best time. I get blazed all of the time." Who is this man of mystery? Towards the end of our time on the El, this man wearing an R-Unit hat proclaims: "I am Rob Lyons. I am the mafia boss of Hanover Park. If you go into any store in Woodfield Mall, and ask about Rob Lyons, they will know me." And so ended our El ride with R-Unit.

[RachelEliza]

My boyfriend and I were waiting for the #36 nb bus at Clark and Belden back in October. As I generally try my best to ignore weirdos, I barely noticed the super-scraggly old guy with the grissly gray beard and flannel shirt toting a dirty backpack and many other assorted bags who was also waiting at the stop. The bus came - we got on, he got on, and took up about 3 seats with all his crap. He caught my attention when I saw him reach into his backpack, pull out a bottle, squirt it into each of his nostrils and return it to the bag. My first thought was that he had some kind of medicinal nose spray or inhaler. Then a few minutes later he pulled it out again. This time, I was more alert as I watched him spray, again, into each of his nostrils. This time, I could clearly read the label on the bottle in his hand. "Adhesive." Dude was sniffing glue on the bus. Wonderful. This went on every few minutes until my boyfriend and I got to our stop, thankful to leave Glue Sniffer behind.

[silentk]

On Monday, February 6, 2006, after working a 13-hour day at my theater to put on a special event, I boarded the CTA Brown Line at State and Lake at 9:10pm. I even called my wife to tell her I was boarding the train – happy that I wasn’t getting our from work any later.

This train made it as far as Diversey – when we were held up by the major switching problem at Belmont. Numerous announcements and apologies were made for the delay, and after about a half-hour the announcements indicated that Red Line trains were operational but slow. At some point a CTA employee came through the car, offering emergency transfers but when asked what the alternative service was – he responded with “I think it’s… I think it’s… I don’t know.” I decided not to wander around an unfamiliar area of town in search of a bus route and decided to remain on the train.

After approximately forty minutes the train began to move but only as far as Wellington, at which point an announcement was made that this would be as far as the train would be going, but at least we would be closer to Belmont where we could find alternate transportation.

I opted to walk the half-mile to Belmont, but on exiting I requested an emergency transfer from the attendant. He told me that he was part of the outside contracting firm, and that the night shift could not give out CTA transfers, “we don’t even get to ride for free,” he complained.

Fortunately, when I arrived at Belmont I found a CTA bus emblazoned with the words: “Brown Line Shuttle,” and a transfer was not even requested. We were told the Brown Line Shuttle would be making Brown Line stops, and so I boarded. This was my mistake.

The trip began quickly and we drove to Paulina, Addison, Montrose – after which the driver (whose number is 40613 and driving an articulated bus) announced the next stop to be Lawrence and Kimball.

Two young female passengers went to the front of the bus and asked about the Damen stop. I didn’t catch all he said to them, but basically he apologized for missing the stop and turned up Lincoln from Montrose. I asked if he would be going to Rockwell and Lawrence, to which he replied that Damen would be the next stop.

Sure enough, when we came to Wilson, Driver 40613 made a right turn onto Wilson and was heard saying, “I hope I don’t get into trouble for this.” As I mentioned, he was driving an articulated bus.

The two young female passengers were deposited at Damen and we proceeded down Lawrence. The driver again announced that Kimball and Lawrence would be the next stop. I asked, “isn’t Western the next stop?” He replied Kimball and Lawrence was the next stop. “But what about Lawrence and Rockwell, can you let me off at the light at Rockwell?” His only reply was that Kimball and Lawrence was the next stop.

I asked again if he would let me off at the bus stop at the stoplight at Rockwell. This is one half block north of the Rockwell Brown Line stop – where a Brown Line Shuttle should stop. But he would not.

Out of sheer frustration and powerlessness I dialed 9-1-1 to report that I was being held hostage on a bus. Yes, this was silly and we all knew the police weren’t coming to rescue me, but I was completely frustrated and could not understand why the driver would not OPEN HIS BROWN LINE SHUTTLE DOOR at a bus stop – on Lawrence and Rockwell??!!

In fact, when we arrived at Rockwell the light was red and we waited at the corner bus stop, while the driver – number 40613 – refused to open his door.

When I arrived at the Kimball Lawrence station, nearly a full two hours after commencing my CTA trip, I spoke with Supervisor number 12255 (who referenced it to be case number 74), and supervisor 2992. Neither of whom could give me any logical reason as to why the Brown Line Shuttle would not stop at Brown Line stops (what about the Kedzie stop and the Francisco stop?)

I finally found a Bus Manager in a CTA vehicle by the name of Len Robinson. After listening to my story for a few minutes he offered me a ride back down Lawrence to Rockwell, and I was home just after 11:00pm. Tired, frustrated, and flabbergasted.

It seems that if you are two young female passengers, certain CTA drivers will take you anywhere.

[Sarah McVicar]

So the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority-for those of you not living in Chicago) is trying to rip me off.

I pay $75 per month for an unlimited usage CTA card. These new fangled cards work just by touching them to the touch-pad on the front of the (damnit I can't think of the word) turning thing you go through. Anyways my card has been malfunctioning for about a month. I have to stand there for 5-10 minutes touching my card while other passangers stand behind me getting pissed. Finally it will work but it's very nerve racking. I knew that eventually my card would quit working all together and I'd be stuck in Evanston with no way home.

So the other day I decide to call CTA and order another card (to be safe). I explain to the girl that the card takes a long time to work and I want to get another one before it completely stops working. She says the card will be mailed to my work within 2 weeks. The following day I go to enter the turn style (THAT'S THE DANG WORD) and of course I touch and touch my card to no availe. Finally it shows "error # 057. The girl looks it up and simply tells me that I'll have to call the CTA and if I want to ride the train I'll have to purchase a fair card. So I start bitching to her about how I'VE ALREADY PURCHASED A FARE CARD AND IT COST $75 EVERY MONTH, then BW tells me to just buy the card so we can get going. (Just so it is said, that girl was a total bitch)

So I call CTA and they tell me they can't do anything about it because once you order a new card they cancel your old one. Of course the girl who ordered the new card for me forgot to mention this.

So the following email conversation transpires between myself and the CTA:

Sarah:
Six months ago I began purchasing the $75/month, unlimited fare card. It has been deducted out of my paycheck once a month for six months. The card began to give me trouble recently. I would have to stand in front of the terminal for 5-10 minutes attempting to get it to work, while other passengers angrily lined up behind me. Finally out of fear that the card would simply quit working I called to order a replacement. The person who helped me told me that the card would arrive shortly. She however, did not tell me that my current card would be deactivated so that I would have to pay for the train every single day for 1 week until my new card comes. This totals $20 in addition to the $75 that is already being deducted from my paycheck. Having to pay to ride the train this week while I wait for my new card is RIDICULOUS! I demand that I am reimbursed for this cost. I am already paying for a card once monthly and there is NO reason why I should have to pay an additional cost. I was not told that my card would be deactivated when a new one was issued. I pay for UNLIMITED CTA rides and that is what I expect. Please look into this situation and respond to me as soon as possible.

CTA:
A card that is being replaced has to be deactivated because the data and balance have to be transferred onto the new card. Whether or not you are entitled to a refund for the extra fares you have been paying depends on why your card was not working right in the first place. If it was defective, we take full responsibility, but our liability cannot be as high if your card was physically damaged. You would have to send us your old card for testing to pursue a refund request. Please look at your old card first for any cracks or other damage, If you don't see any and want to send it in, we will give you instructions where and to whom it should be mailed.

Sarah:
My old card is perfectly fine. Please let me know where to send the card.

CTA:
Send it to CTA Customer Service, 567 W. Lake St., Chicago, IL 60661, attention Terry Levin.

Sarah:
I will send you the card in an envelope between two pieces of cardboard so there is no damage done in mailing. I will also take pictures of the card before I send it.

CTA:
While I have you, I received your old card in this morning's mail to determine if it was defective or damaged. As you know, it was wrapped very well in cardboard to make sure it was not damaged in the mail and the envelope arrived without any folds, wrinkles or other signs of stress. In looking at your old card, I could see immediately that it has a crack along the right edge, a bit more than halfway up the card, when looking at the back of the card. (If you look at your current card, it is right next to the word "terms" on the back, extending from the edge almost to the "s" in that word.)

This crack severed the antenna that runs inside the card around its perimeter; the antenna that transmits the signals between the card and the touch-pads.

Sarah:
Thank you for your quick reply. Attached are some pictures I took of my old card immediately before mailing it to you. I see no crack in these pictures. Especially I do not see a crack where you have described.

to be continued...

[EJ]

My bus drvier the other day was talking on her cell phone for about 20 min. while drving the bus. Never saw that before.

[Erin]

Sarah,
I had the same problem with my card. No cracks, took forever to work. One nice cta employee let me through after watching me attempt to get it to work for a good minute. Another employee was not quite as kind, because I obviously must be trying to defraud the cta by claiming my card doesn't work. I actually think they are affected by the cold, a cta employee told me on one particularly cold morning that a lot of the touch cards were having problems. Of course when you call they deny this. I had my card replaced, but they told me 5 business days, it actually arrived before then, and as far as I can tell my old card wasn't deactivated because I was still using it before I got the new one. I hope you get your money back, good luck!

[Cheryl]

I've had the same problem with Sarah with the last three cards I've had. I've been in the program for 2 years, I'm on my 4th card. Instead of the CTA customer service person telling me to mail the card to them, the nice 'customer service' person I talked to didn't tell me anything. But the driver of the next bus I tried to board screamed at me that she had to confiscate my card because I was trying to steal a ride from the CTA. Everyone on the bus got to hear the whole thing. Thanks, CTA.

[LadyDay]

Has anyone else had the misfortune to get on the NB evening rush hour train with the driver who, at EVERY STOP, YELLS at an eardrum shattering volume "FIRST AVAILABLE DOOR!!!" This guy always adds a nice side of irritation and annoyance to my commute and it seems I get on his train 3 times a week or more. He also likes to yell "LET THE PASSENGERS GET OFF BEFORE YOU GET ON!!" which is good advice but doesn't seem so when yelled through speakers turned to full volume at the end of one's already stressful day!!!

[LadyDay]

Ooops...forgot to mention it's a red line train! :-)

[nicecensorshipthere]

Quietly, I sit reading my magazine, wishing I'd made coffee this morning. Tired, my eyes are drooping, and I'm reading everything twice.

Clark and Division. A family, some commuters, seven teenagers board; six brothas and one wannabe.

The train doesn't make Chicago before the barking begins. Back and forth, witless repartee, exclaimed! not! spoken! Continue to Grand, ditto.

The person sitting next to me stands, disembarks. She is replaced, one of the instigators, eyes are on me. Shit talking in my ear, blah blah 'white motherfuckers'. Now I'm reading everything thrice. How efficient.

More dick swinging, maybe trying to impress the one female in the group, now scattered throughout the end of the train I'm in. Yeah, you're impressive alright. The wannabe, he's trying hard too. Fuck, it must be tough, wanting to be something you never will be.

Lake. Fuck that, I'm not getting up early. 'Whatcha readin hairy ass white boy'. Barely anything now, ignorant asshole, thanks.

Washington. Stand up. I don't think he'll move his legs, but he does. Snickers. Yeah, it's funny, look in the mirror. My satchel dings the leg of one of his boys, hanging halfway into the aisle. 'Watch that heavy ass bookbag bitch'. I watch it.

Swing, connect with his jaw, kinetic energy from half a dozen magazines, a couple books, and several legal pads burst into his face. 'FUCK YOU NIGGER!' I watch it - in my head.

The train is on it's way to Monroe while I ascend the escalator, guilty, my thoughts betray me. My ire dissipates as I rise, my thoughts clarify. Socioeconomics, psychology, don't always make sense out of life. But it helps me understand. Another day on the CTA. Another day in Chicago.

[Kevin]

I don't think I have ever edited or deleted a comment on this blog, other than a spam comment.

The comment above pushed me to do that today. The anonymous commenter posted the same above comment earlier today, and I deleted it. I found the racial epithet offensive.

But here he (she?) is back again, posting the same comment. So this time I decided to leave it here and let you guys comment on whether something like the above should be deleted? Or edited to delete the epithet?

What say ye?

[nicecensorshipthere]

Just a point, the epithet in question was part of an INTERNAL dialogue I had with myself. If it wasn't clear from the following sentence, I felt foolish and hypocritical for letting the situation get to me as it did, that my mind went where it did. However, when I am pushed FOR NO REASON, while minding my own business riding the train, it's hard to keep ugly thoughts from bubbling up.

The point of my post was just to relate my experience on the El, how frustrating it was. That the train can serve as a catalyst for many different types of experience, some of them very bad.

I'm also dissapointed with you for deleting my post for another reason. Your own daughter had a racially charged exchange with someone, which you reported. Surely it wasn't as caustic as mine, but I felt that she provoked it. You presented it as harmless fun. You presented her as some kind of carefree, hero, even though she made unsolicited comments to a man sheerly on the basis of his race.

True enough, this is your blog, obviously you can do what you want. That said, as a longtime reader here, I think I have less respect for you now. I was aggressively verbally harrassed by some horrible people on the train, who subjected ME to racially charged language for 10 straight minutes. So, I decided to make the result of that exchange, my thoughts and feelings, transparent for the purpose of dialogue. I thought that was the point of the CTA Tattler. Apparently, you feel my THOUGHTS are more disturbing than aggressive, unprovoked actions of people on the El.

This is truly political correctness at it's worst.

[Ann]

Having been the target of many racial slurs and personal attacks while riding the El and bus (Being white and riding the red line to 95th street everyday), I could, regretfully, understand how nicecensorshipthere felt.

I also think we should openly talk about the feelings (no matter how un-pc they may be) we have. Otherwise, there is no dialogue about racism. So, I say--keep the post and let people read and comment about it.

[Ann]

Having been the target of many racial slurs and personal attacks while riding the El and bus (Being white and riding the red line to 95th street everyday), I could, regretfully, understand how nicecensorshipthere felt.

I also think we should openly talk about the feelings (no matter how un-pc they may be) we have. Otherwise, there is no dialogue about racism. So, I say--keep the post and let people read and comment about it.

[Kevin]

Dear Censorship,

I had absolutely no problem with the content of your comment, up until the point where your threw out the "N" word. Even though you say you were thinking of it inside your head, you still wrote it here, and I really don't like it.

I think the fact that I posted the racially charged incident my daughter experienced shows that I don't shy away from racial issues here. But I do disagree she somehow provoked.

But Ann is right that we need a better dialogue about race issues, so to that end, I'm glad you made your comments.

[LadyDay]

I too have been subjected to vicious racial slurs while on the El...I am white BTW. But I'd never, not even in my head, use a slur toward the racist jackass who was verbally abusing me! I'm not one to stoop to the level of others. I don't think it was at all appropriate for the poster to post the racial slur...there are other ways to convey what you are thinking without slinging the "N" word.

[Cheryl]

I was reading, not paying a lot of attention, when the driver of my 146 closed the door behind a pair of tourists who were asking if this was the bus to take to Hyde Park. They looked a bit alarmed, since the driver said no but didn't let them off the bus. The driver had noticed a #10 a little ahead of our bus, so she caught up with it and had the tourists transfer to that bus.

[Ann]

Just a follow up on the censorship stuff. Interesting that we don't seem offended by 'white motherfuckers' and 'Whatcha readin hairy ass white boy'.

It's like we can't be offended if someone throws racial slurs at whites. Or rather, we don't feel like we have the *right* to be offended.

It's all rather sad.

I really hate the N word, but I also really hate being called whitey, honkey, etc. And it's a shame that we just can't be appalled at racism no matter who it's directed at.

On the #87 bus once--two black teenage girls hurled insults at me and my boyfriend (a black man). In mocking fake valley girl speak, they talked about how I must love "his like big black like n----r lips." I was so angry, I wanted to punch them. Instead, I just turned around and looked them straight in the eye. They shut up after that and got off on the next stop. I guess they couldn't handle saying such awful things to my face.

Being a bi-racial couple and riding the red line and bus in mostly black neighborhoods has been a true eye opening experience into the world of racism.

[Violet]

This morning a young woman, probably in her early 20’s, gets on the Red Line at Belmont with her small child. (I’m terrible at guessing ages of children, so the best I can say was this little guy was able to walk only when he was holding mommy's hand for balance.) There was 40-ish man sitting on the train, wearing horn-rimmed glasses that did't seem to have prescription lenses, just plain glass (they look like they were lifted from a prop room.) He was in the aisle seat and the seat next to him was empty, it didn't even have a backpack in it. The train was pretty crowded, and the mom saw no other empty seats, so she asked, "Sir, could you scoot over so me and my baby can sit down?"

The guy didn’t say a word but shook his head no. The mom started screaming. "What you mean, you cayn't even move over? Ain't
nobody sittin’ there! You cayn't even let a little boy sit down? He a BABY! He ain't no GROWN ASS MUTHAFUCKA!"

The man sitting across the aisle from the silent glasses guy got up and offered his seat to the mom. She thanked him and sat down, and tried to sit the boy in her lap, which proved difficult because he was puffed out to three times his normal volume with all his winter gear. She continued to yell, "I cayn't believe you! This early in the mornin’! This is why people don't like takin’ public transportation!"

[LadyDay]

Just wanted to add that I also think racial slurs toward white people are offensive and shouldn't be used...BUT to me the "N" word, given the history behind it, is much, much, much more offensive than pretty much any racial slur directed at white people.

I know all too well how Ann feels. I am white and my husband is black and I get the same kind of treatment quite often. I've learned to ignore those ignorant individuals...as best I can. But for me, even being white, I can feel the "sting" of the "N" word much more than any racial slurs used toward me. The "N" word is a slur in a category all its own, with a deeply rooted, hateful, tragic history! IMHO, of course

[Erin]

Violet,
I was also on that train the other morning with the guy who wouldn't move. I got off at Jackson, he was still sitting there in the aisle seat with the mother in the other seat across the aisle. Weird.

[Wendy]

Is anyone concerned about the air quality aboard the city buses? Sometimes I feel like I am breathing straight exhaust, in particular on the single (not double) model buses (i.e., Route 135). I would love for someone to test the air quality.

[Mel]

This morning, as usual when it rains, the steps leading out of the station at the Grand Red Line stop were flooded. I've written an email to CTA - thought I'd post here so maybe other riders who use the Grand stop and are as annoyed at this as I am may take action and contact the CTA also.

My email:

The stairs up to street level, particularly on the South/East corner of Grand and State, are always flooded when it rains. Neither drains located at the landing half way down the stairs, nor the one at the final landing as you go into the station, drain at all. It has been this way for sometime, and on days like today, you have to practically jump over the puddles.

Can these drains please be fixed?

Sincerely,

Melanie

[Jasmine]

I'm on the 124 at about 6:30 pm, heading to towards the Nordstrom Rack on State Street so I can buy more cheap designer shoes. The driver is my favorite kind of CTA driver -- older, totally calm demeanor, pleasant smile, and talking nicely to the really cute young couple in from the suburbs sitting behind her, all while she flawlessly motors down Canal Street.

At Canal and Madison, a young woman carrying a McDonald's bag boards, making some noise about how the driver could have opened the doors faster, because it is so cold outside. Agreed, but the bus was kinda old, and I don't know exactly how much the driver can do when the doors are kinda janky.

In any case, passenger had a crappy attitude and tried to start something with the driver. The driver, much to her credit, expressed real concern at the fact that this woman was so upset while the rest of us passengers were perfectly happy to write the passenger, with her stinky fries and crappy attitude, off as a total bee-yotch.