CTA Tattler

CTA Alerts double as news provider

I love it when our CTA wireless alerts do double duty as key news provider.

Of course, my all-time favorite was "airplane blocking 55th Street," and was the first I heard of the Southwest Airlines plan skidding off the runway last December.

Earlier this week, Thirdrail told us at 2:34 am about a "stabbing in front of Berlin" that was all over the news later that day.

Then, there are the alerts from CTA_HQ that are very informational, but leave out key facts, such as this one where they failed to mention that the street was blocked because a CTA bus had struck and killed a bike rider: "Due to a street blockage, #66 Chicago buses rerouted in both directions via Chicago, Milwaukee and Ashland."

Just a minor detail, eh?

Today, CTA Alerts told us all about Italians partying in the street after their World Cup victory: " Due to the World Cup Soccer Celebration, #90 Harlem buses are being temporarily rerouted at Addison and Harlem. "

My brother Dan, who created the CTA Alerts, has a nice riff on this event at his blog. Check it out.

You also have to check out his post about what led up to Zidane's Red Card disqualification today, just because it's a great headline:

The Nipple of Zidane.

Oh, and be sure to sign up for CTA Alerts here.