CTA Tattler

Actually the next order of CTA train cars, due to begin arriving in 2008, will have the same "Lite Brite" map. There will also be an LED sign which will display the name of the next stop in a similar fashion to what's currently used on the buses.

Now what we could really use is some kind of indicator board letting you know the estimated arrival time of the next train - I have no compulsions about ripping off good ideas from the Underground.

Why don't people move to the middle of the cars. Is it so hard? My favorites are the people that stand by the door when any train first arrives at the Loop. Not only is this plain obnoxious, but how hard is it to get out of the train and let people out? Who's going to steal you space?

On the signs ... The signs are already there, is it that hard to wire the messages on which train is next or its arrival time? I already know the date time and how to get a Chicago Card. Is there a reason there's no real-time info? Cut a few $100K plus jobs and get it done.

I think one of the reasons people don't move to the middle is that on red line cars there are no bars to hold on to! On the Brown Line, people are more apt to move in because there are vertical bars to hold on to all throughout the car--not so on the red line.

IIRC, the "lite brite" maps on the MTA aren't on all the trains...just a few lines.

But they are pretty friggin' sweet. Not terribly useful for regular commuters, but when you're on a train you don't normally take, they're great. And they're REALLY great on an Express that doesn't stop at every station - you can tell at a glance where the train is going to stop.

Those are only useful on trains if you don't know the route. Kinda gimmicky, if you ask me.

They'd be FAR more useful at each station with a colored set of lights corresponding to each train.

You can hold onto the backs of the seats on the Red Line. I haven't noticed people moving father into the cars on the Brown Line just because there's more to hold onto.

"You can hold onto the backs of the seats on the Red Line."

Yeah, if you want the person sitting there to look at you like you just murdered her only child.

cheryl, i've definetly seen more people move in on the brown line because there is something to hold on to. The thing with the red line--holding on to the backs of the seats, it's just kind of awkward. usually your arm is going right in front of someone's face and considering the incredible jerkiness of the el, it doesn't provide the best hold.
I've got no problem with it, I do it all the time, but I would certainly say that it would be easier if there was a verticle pole to hold on to.

Don't forget that every surface on a red line car is greasy and crawling with ten times as much bacteria as any Brown Line car. My 8:00 a.m. Red Line today smelled of piss and two sets of seats were noticeably empty because one was splashed with White Out and the other had empty airplane bottles of liquor rolling around in them. I actually welcome winter because it means I don't have to touch anything on the trains.

Oh, I agree there should be more vertical posts on the Red Line trains. I just don't have a problem holding onto the seats. And, yes, I do wash my hands as soon as I get to work/get home after being on the Red Line.

BTW, good luck with the commute tonight, everyone! It's still snowing pretty hard here on the lakefront.

The Red lighted signs at several CTA platforms are an RTA project, not a CTA project, and for some reason RTA decided not to consult with CTA, so initially they weren't connected to anything useful that CTA could use to share info for customers on a realtime basis. SOme of them have been retrofitted, but it's still a technological boondoggle paid for by an agency that doesn't really have a mission. WHy they spent that money, and the million bucks on a universal fare card study, is beyond me. How many people work at RTA anyway?

One point made in the column is that she does NOT want to have the audio announcements. TOugh luck, Kyra, that's required by the ADA for blind customers. Should have done some research on that one.

They have these light bright displays on the subways in Tokyo, too. Depending on how they're made, they could be impractical for CTA trains which are often used to run multiple color routes. But if they're all digital, and able to change the station names it would work. Or they could go with another method used in Tokyo: A pair of LCD monitors. One shows advertising. The other shows station information, including delays in other parts of the system, the next station, the previous station, which side of the train to get out on, and connecting train information with how many minutes you'll have to wait for the next connection. Of course, the animals who ride the CTA would probably steal the screens.

If they can get real-time lighted route maps on the trains, they should do it at the stations too. Everyone will know where the next train is.

If they can get real-time lighted route maps on the trains, they should do it at the stations too. Everyone will know where the next train is.

might I also take the time to make the point here that the MTA busses DO NOT HAVE A VOICE OR SCREEN TELLING YOU WHAT STOP YOU ARE AT.
i visited friends on brooklyn last may, and flying into laguardia and taking the bus to the R was absolutely insane. no bus driver announcing the stops, no automated voice announcing the stops... it was awful.

Jen- How scary. Something told me not to take the bus my first time in New York.