CTA Tattler

Getting around is fun and easy in Indy, P-burgh

Bluebummer shares this report on the Indianapolis transit system:

"I recently visited Indianapolis and rode their bus system IndyGo around town a few times. I was absolutely amazed at the impeccable cleanliness.

"I rode on their system from near the circle out to the children's museum and then back and around the downtown area. The timing based on their schedule was near perfect while I was there.

"IndyGo also has what is known as the Blue Line. It is a free bus line that goes to most of the downtown attractions: circle center, monument, capitol building and all of the hospitals.

"All of these wonderful things for only $1.25 per ride and only $50 for a 31 (yes 31) day pass, much cheaper than what CTA gouges us with.

"On their website they also have these wonderful "how to ride" instructions. I think the CTA needs to post something like this at every stop. Also you can purchase day passes on board the downtown buses. Much easier than hunting down a kiosk or finding a store that might carry them or be sold out like I have found often in Chicago!

"Go to www.indygo.org for more info on the Indianapolis bus system."

Thanks for that report, Bluebummer.

Meanwhile, I visited my hometown of Pittsburgh recently to see the woeful Steelers play. The city of Three Rivers uses large clipper boats to transport Steelers fans from tourist spot Station Square to Heinz Field. And they offer a full bar to gulping riders on 10-15 minute ride.

Gotta love that public transit model!

Some sound solutions to CTA communications problems

Frequent contributor "chgocutie" Tim makes some great points about CTA communications problems in a letter he sent to the CTA's board, VP of Transit Operations, Board Chair Carole Brown, and Mayor Daley. Excerpts from that letter:

"My second point is communication between the control center and customer. On too many different occasions to count, CTA has "dropped the ball" on alerting passengers as to problems, situations, or disruptions in service. Most times passengers have no clue that they are in the midst of a situation that could very well be life or death. A good example would be this morning on the Red Line during the rail fire that occurred.

"A group called "CTA Alerts" that I subscribe to didn't receive an alert from transit headquarters until 11:05AM, which was approximately 95 minutes after the start of the mishap. For those individuals that are making preparations to come into the city (as I was at that particular time), 95 minutes is entirely too long. If there is a delay, whether it be 10 minutes or 3 hours, the public should be made aware of that immediately.

"Again, I point to Metro in DC. Not only do they have an in-house text notification system, they also use "text crawlers" on their website (http://www.metroopensdoors.com or http://www.wmata.com) to show any delays that might be happening in real time. With this information shared with the public as the event is unfolding, it can help passengers decide whether or not to take the Red Line or to take alternative transportation."

"In my experience as a fire warden, in the event of an emergency such as this, while it is true that sheltering in place works for most high rise buildings, it does not typically work for subway tunnels. Those individuals should not have been forced to wait upwards of three hours before beginning a "chaotic" evacuation, as it has been called. They should have been evacuated after 30 minutes at the absolute most.

"This should be another lesson learned for the CTA to go back and retrain all emergency responders on how to properly respond to an emergency situation, by first assessing the situation, removing any passengers that may be in the way, and finally attacking the situation. Evidence shows that this was not done on today, and the CTA needs to quickly ensure that this does not happen again."

Well said, Tim.

The next CTA board meeting is at 3 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at CTA headquarters, Lake and Clinton. We need to speak up.

Eyewitness account of Red Line "self-evacuation," fire

Daneel contributes this account of his fun ride to work this morning. He also made good contributions on the mess on our CTA wireless alerts network. Thanks!

(Read details of the CTA alerts sent on this mess here. Note: in the Tribune report, the CTA called it a "self-evacuation and disputed the notion of a fire. Daneel begs to differ.):

STRANDED UNDERGROUND ON RED LINE THIS MORNING

Good times on the Red Line this morning...

Boarded at Chicago station around 9:25 AM on first car. After leaving Clark/Division, train stopped for about ten minutes. Operator exited train with fire extinguisher and then came back on. Supervisor insisted operator get train moving and ordered him to run the train at 6 miles/hour which he did for about 50 ft.

At that point, the train stopped suddenly and the operator radioed a fire on the third rail. Upon hearing the radio call, myself and several passengers looked out the window and clearly SAW a small fire about 20 feet ahead of us on the third rail. The flames were yellow, not blue; it was not an arc it was a FIRE (could have been initially caused by arcing, though). You could see and smell smoke but it was not heavy in the air. The power was then removed. Operator exited car with fire extinguisher and put fire out. CTA is now claiming to the media that there was no fire which is a LIE.

We then sat there for 2.5 hours while supervisors yelled at each other walking back and forth on the tunnel ledge with flashlights. People in cars behind us were pushing the 'operator' button asking what is going on, reporting an asthma attack, and making it clear they wanted off the train now. Several announcements were made indicating the track was damaged and to stay on the train.

Conditions toward the end were BAD. No air circulating so the usual CTA train/passenger BO smells were much worse. People were smoking cigarettes (which caused some passengers to think there was another fire).

Finally, CFD came by and said we would evacuate. We all walked through the train to the last car and walked the edge of the tunnel to an emergency exit which eventually let us out a trap door at Division & Orleans.

After I got out, I was asked if I needed medical attention, which I did not. No shuttle buses available. I got on the 22 bus for Rogers Park where I work.

Overall, I would say the evacuation was poorly organized and little communication to passengers stranded and scared underground for quite a while. Good thing is no one was injured.

When it rains it pours -- Red Line hit at both ends

The CTA's Red Line was hit with a double whammy of closures today on two fronts -- the north and the south, and the subway and elevated.

Well, partially elevated, as an automobile zooming down the Dan Ryan managed to catapult itself on to the tracks at about 10 am and caught fire, resulting in the closing of the Red Line from 79th to 95th.

And at about the same time, the Tribune and CTA said "a loose part on one train knocked the third rail slightly out of alignment, halting trains," near North/clybourn. A CTA spokewoman said some passengers "self-evacuated." The tunnel was closed for nearly three hours. This was similar to the Blue Line incident with just a few minor injuries. Thank God.

The CTA claims there was no fire. Daneel, a passenger on the train, disputes that claim.

There's no stoppin' the CTA Holiday Train

The LITE-FM started playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. But the CTA is at least waiting until the weekend before Thanksgiving to debut its "Holiday Train."

Actually, it's pretty cool. And it has an interesting recent history. In 2004, CTA president Frank Kruesi tried to derail the popular train. But then CTA board chairwoman Carole Brown came to the rescue.

Maybe they can avoid a real derailment this year. Read other takes on the Holiday Train here.

Sound off on budget at CTA hearing Wednesday

On Election Day Tuesday we told politicians what we thought.

Now, today is CTA budget Hearing Day, so tell the CTA board what you think about the proposed 2007 budget at 6 pm tonight at CTA headquarters, 567 W. Lake Street, in the second floor conference room.

Tribune columnist Jon Hilkevitch reported Monday about the consolidated RTA campaign to wring more funding out of the state:

'The goal is to demonstrate to the public and state officials that the Chicago area's three transit agencies are serious about replacing hackneyed ideas about serving commuters--with a vision for the future that it is worth making billions of dollars in new investments.

"The challenge is enormous to build a political consensus for a tax or fee increase that generates several billion dollars in new revenue in the face of overt hostility from the incumbent governor, the lack of a pro-transit advocacy organization and wide but tepid support for mass transit generally among the electorate," said a "confidential" internal report that was prepared for the RTA's "Moving Beyond Congestion" campaign for increased funding."

More depictions of weary riders

Last week's RedEye Going Public column featured another great site with photos of weary CTA commuters catching some shut-eye. Since I've written about sleepers in the past and featured another site in June, I wanted to give you the link to this cool site -- the Sleepy Urbanite.

Indie musician and artist Yvonne Doll does her magic with her cell phone and Photoshop, creating some very cool images in the process. And the day the story about her appeared in the RedEye, she took this excellent shot:

Perfect!

"May I have your seat?" -- recalling the experiment 30 years ago

In comments on my "Giving up seats: Men should be ashamed" post, some readers suggested that if a person needs a seat, he/she should ask for one.

It turns out that a New York university professor in 1975 asked his students to conduct an experiment -- ask  New York City subway riders to give up their seats. And 68% of them complied!

But the students found it very difficult to make the ask. The New York Times wrote about the experiment in 2004. Read about it here.

Interestingly, a straight ask worked best, rather than using an excuse, such as "Excuse me. May I have your seat? I can't read my book standing up." Only 38 percent of riders complied with that request.

Addison, Montrose to close for a year on the Brown Line

Next up for total rehab and expansion on the Brown Line are the Addison and Montrose stations. Except this time the stations will be closed for a full year, instead of the six months for Kedzie and Rockwell.

Delays on weekend Red Line: Oh and by the way, there will be delays this weekend on the Red Line. Shades of David Byrne: Same as it ever was. Stop making sense? The CTA doesn't usually.

Nov. 1 = Heat (in most places): I love Nov. 1 because it marks the first day of operation for heat lamps on train platforms. At least on most platforms.

No sweating in this Hawaii sweatshirt

A 20-something guy on the Red Line proudly wears a heavy, gray, hooded sweatshirt with "HAWAII" printed across the front.

Huh? I mean, who knew such a heavy garment was even in the catalog for the fine University of Hawaii from the Aloha State?

I guess they ship those out of the island state for us poor schmoes stuck in the Midwest for the winter.

Honolulu weekend highs: 84 degrees.

Chicago weekend highs: 43 degrees.