CTA Tattler

Gotta love the CTA.... how many months have we known to add extra travel time. I'm just pissed when they say more trains servicing Forest Park Blue line and I'm waiting longer than before the Pink Line was introduced.

Maybe each time they use it, they mean for us to allow even more travel time, hoping that eventually, we'll "allow" the entire weekend and decide to just stay home.

I feel like take a gps and track my speed.

I feel like taking my GPS and tracking my route. I bet I will find that there is more traffic problems than the Clark junction.

Not that there's much comfort, but I've been taking the bus more than the train, especially when going downtown. It may not be as fast in some instances, but the ride is less frustrating -- unless it's one of those overbuckling articulated NABIs on LSD. :/ But at least the lake is pretty. :)

It's high time the trains were equipped with GPS devices--it's just sad that it's because customers are bringing their own.

This may be a stupid question... but why do the the trains need to be equipped with GPS devices?

I would suppose that some would want better train position tracking over the whole system to see how efficient it is/how much time they could save before boarding.

But even though our trains may creep in some sections, they're not the nightmare that many bus routes are. The CTA should certainly expand that experiment to include at least 10 more routes like the 36 Broadway, 22 Clark, 14 Jeffrey, 49 Western, 8 Halsted, 3 King Drive, 79th Street, 151 Sheridan, 146, 147 Outer Drive Express.

I understand bus bunching, but I'm still not understanding these slow zones and how they can impact one train but another can be just fine. Maybe I'm completely wrong but if there are suppose to be 10 trains in an hour (one train every 6 minutes) and there's a slow zone that every train must crawl through... how do the trains get bunched together every 15-20 minutes? should each train be delayed 10 minutes, 6 minutes apart?

Well that's assuming that none of the trains in the stream experience any extraordinary events like disturbances, wheelchairs, sick passengers, switching/equipment problems right?

Even sans the slow zones, I don't ever remember any part of the CTA having anything close to the sort of promptness that PACE and METRA has.

1. Every Thursday CTA posts a Customer Alert on its website regarding construction over the weekend, and they always say "allow extra travel time." The difference, this week, is that the headline is actually "CTA Recommends Brown and Red Line Customers Allow Extra Travel Time This Weekend", instead of "Events Affecting CTA Service Beginning the Weekend of ... ."
2. Theoretically, you don't need GPS on a train, because the signal system is supposed to provide location information to the control center. Also, it wouldn't work in the subway (can't see the satellites).

Gave the site another look, and there are a few more with the "CTA Recommends..." headline. Apparently there is the weekly alert, and then separate ones (such as for the Red and Brown lines).

cmama, I'm with you. I've complained quite a lot about waiting an average of 20 minutes for a train during morning rush hour on the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line to the Loop. I live in Logan Square, and I get on the train at California. I used to be able to walk into the doors of my office nearly exactly 30 minutes after setting foot outside of my apartment door. I now leave home about 50 minutes earlier than when I have to be downtown. And Logan Square is what, 4.5-5 miles from downtown? That's...7 stops to Washington. Sigh.

Very frustrating (especially during a job hunt).

I've given up on the Brown line to get to/from work on Sundays. I don't want to leave two hours before I'm supposed to be at work. I just take an eastbound--oh, let's call it Addison--to the lake and a 146 downtown. On Sundays that's faster than the trains.

I'm so glad I live in the South Loop and have little need to go any further north than Chicago Ave. The last 3 times I've gone North of that point it's been a major pain in the Keaster!
Once, I was going to see a friend who lives off of Addison, and the Inner Drive. I was unpleasantly suprised when the train kept on going as we pulled through the Addison stop! No warning at Belmont. No announcement until we going past it! I had to then get off at Sheridan and then go back to Addison on a South bound train.( I could have walked to may friends house from Belmont in less time).
This past weekend I had the misfortune of dealing with the Red Line again. Except this time I was heading to Wilson to go to the Tattoo Factory on Broadway.
This time the Red line stopped at Addison. AFTER it passed the stop then motored backwards to get on thee inside track!( I'm sure I'm not alone in this matter)
UGH!!!!!
At least this time the motorman was informative and apologetic about the situation.
I'm so glad I don't live in Ravenswood anymore! I really feel for you folks who put up with this on a daily basis!

love the ants in my pants line. great way to diffuse an awkward situation and give everyone a much needed laugh. i wish more folks were clever and unselfish when in public!