CTA Tattler

CTA three-track solution: More buses!

CTA management told its board members on Wednesday that expanded hours on six more bus routes will ease the congestion resulting from an almost 40% reduction in capacity during the evening rush when the CTA closes one track between Armitage and the Clark Junction.

Oh, really?

And this revelation was reported on the same day CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown "complained that she saw four CTA buses broken down on the street, with passengers inside, while she was driving home from work on Tuesday."

And of course, she drives home.

And yet, I still think Brown is the CTA rider's best friend. She's continuing to push CTA management to explore other solutions.

(Find the CTA presentation on the three-track solution here.)

According to the Tribune (copied from its Web site), "Here's how the bus strategy proposed by the CTA staff would work:"

Waiting for the bus in the cold and snow

Tovi took these photos of the long lines at Howard for various bus lines this week. No doubt the cold and snow wreaked havoc with the schedules. But that's little solace to these poor folks who had to shiver and shake while waiting for their bus.

And here's more of the same:

Valentine's Day memories

Happy Valentine's Day to all my loyal readers! I trust you had fun slogging in to work this morning through the snow, slush, wind, crowded trains and bunched-up buses.

But all those grumpy thoughts aside. Today I'm reposting just a couple of choice nuggets from past Valentine's, including this advice from a CTA customer assistant: "Gentlemen, it's Valentine's Day. Be sure to get something for your sweetie and stay out of the dog house."

Then there was this snatch of a cell phone call from a woman about her blind date: "I thought I might have Valentine's plans but I guess not."

Finally, there's the story of how regular Tattler reader Ed Knittel met his wife on the Brown Line -- and she made the first move!

Altogether now everybody --  awwwwwwww!!!!!

The habits of pals on a train

Nearly every morning I see two guys wearing the familiar Securitas branded heavy jacket worn over a light gray hooded sweatshirt. They both wear the hood over their head.

They are obviously pals from work, and maybe outside work. They are probably in their mid-50s.

Like other creatures of habit, they sit in the same spot every day, but not next to each other. One guy sits in one seat by the window, the other directly behind him by the window. And they carry on a lively conversation all the way into the Loop.

But they never look at each other. The guy behind leans slightly forward and the guy in front leans back, his ear turned a bit to his buddy.

Strange, but at the same time kinda cool. Like they each want their personal space.

Ooh ooh that smell! And the quest to determine its origin

The morning commute south on the Red Line starts fairly uneventfully. Bleary-eyed passengers shiver and shake their way onto the train car.

But then something -- some smell -- begins to permeate the car starting at around the Sheridan stop. It seems to work its way through the car from the far end.

People begin covering noses with hands and scarves. The little 5-year-old girl sitting in the seat ahead of me makes a point of holding her nose with her chubby little fingers while talking in nasal tones with her Dad about the "poopy smell."

It's hard to figure out at first what it is. Human? Animal? And why did we only just recently start smelling it? So I decide to walk to the other end of the car as I exit at Grand to do some investigative research.

I can only determine that the awful smell is dog poop. It just seems like someone must have brought it into the car on his/her shoe.

Thank you so much. I hope you were able to clean it off at work.

Video from Chicago Tonight appearance

Rachelle Bowden with Chicagoist posted on her site a video from Wednesday's appearance on Chicago Tonight by myself, Rachelle and Andrew Huff of Gapers Block.

If nothing else, you'll see some pre-broadcast shots at her site of the three of us working the nerves off. And you can fast-forward through the eight-minute segment to get a flavor of our appearance. But of course I'm sure you'll want to savor every word, right?

Andrew also posted some photos from the night on his Flickr site.

Thanks for sharing, Rachelle and Andrew.

Death of NCBG is bad news for commuters

Bad news for CTA commuters. The Neighborhood Capital Budget Group / Campaign for Better Transit is dead. A lack of funding killed it.

I'm stunned, but I shouldn't be surprised. I serve on the board of directors for a non-profit organization, so I know firsthand how tough it is to get funding these days.

But as commuters, this is serious stuff, because Jackie Leavy and her staff have been tireless advocates for us, and big critics of CTA mismanagement and waste.

Here's what may be their last effort on our behalf: NCBG's testimony at January's board meeting "challenging CTA to shift spending priorities and disclose needed details to the public."

Thank you Jackie (and Dorothy). You will be missed.

Broken train car doors are scary

I've been thinking about non-working train doors lately, and then I got an email from Rick saying I should post about it. Thanks for the push Rick, I will!

I mean, I've been on two trains in the last week with broken doors. Rick reports the same thing. Certainly the sub-zero temperatures must not help.

As Rick says, it's scary -- what if there's an emergency and you're stuck at the end of a car where the door won't open? I've seen passengers pull the emergency knob in vain. Scary indeed. Plus there's all the pushing and shoving of those stuck at the wrong end of the car who realize at the last second that they have to get to the other end to exit. Their desperation is not a pretty sight.

It seems to me that the CTA should take those cars out of service ASAP.

Bundle up out there!

I'm worried about some of you folks. Concerned about all you silly people I see out there wearing no hat AND no gloves on platforms and at bus stops when the wind chill stands at double-digits -- BELOW zero!

Seriously, what is wrong with you guys? And it can't be just a macho thing because I see both women and men with crimson-colored ears and red fingertips.

Of course, I'm at the opposite end of the protective-gear spectrum, with my dorky red knit hat, bulky ski gloves (I haven't skied in years) and long scarf wrapped twice around my neck obscuring two-thirds of my face.

And I'm still cold.

Chicago bloggers chat on WTTW's Chicago Tonight

Phil Ponce of WTTW's Chicago Tonight will grill three of Chicago's "newsiest bloggers" at 7 pm Wednesday -- Andrew Huff of Gapers Block, Rachelle Bowden of Chicagoist, and yours truly, Kevin O'Neil of the very same blog you're reading, CTA Tattler.

Strange things like this happen when Chicago Magazine names your blog of the Chicago's "newsiest."

And it will be great to finally meet Rachelle. I met Andrew a couple of weeks ago at a Gapers Block soiree.

So tune in and see if I can avoid making a fool of myself.