CTA Tattler

"New" feature is a month old

The Tribune reported Wednesday that "a new feature at the RTA's Trip Planner . . . allows commuters to plan their itinerary using bus-only or train-only options. That allows riders to avoid travel on Chicago Transit Authority trains affected by the reconstruction."

OK. But that's not so new. We reported on that March 22.

But perhaps this is the new part. The story also went on to note: "The information will be available on Web-enabled PDAs or cellular phones. Users can plan a trip and find the next three scheduled CTA and Pace buses, as well as the next three Metra trains arriving at a stop or station."

Currently, Pace riders already can find the next three scheduled stops on routes. So this will be a great addition for CTA buses.

Mother and child learning moment

A 6-year-old boy sits by the window in front of me, with his Grandma next to him and his Mom in front of him in the seat by the door.

"M-O-R-S-E, Morse!" He exclaims proudly.

He continues to amuse himself, sitting back on his legs, talking about what he sees.

Next I hear him spelling another station stop: "G-R-A-N-V-I-L-L-E, Granville," he announces proudly.

His mother snaps. "Don't you say another word! You better keep that mouth of yours buttoned shut before I slap you silly, boy!"

He straightened up and kept a quiet misery the rest of the way into the Loop.

Besides, we don't want our 6-year-olds to know how to read or spell.

CTA riders' wish-list for 2016 Olympics

Congrats to all involved in Chicago winning the right U.S. nod to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. I'm personally very psyched at the idea of Chicago hosting the world for such a high-profile event.

I'm also looking forward to the very real possibility of federal funds pouring in the RTA to upgrade CTA, Metra and South Shore infrastructure so they can handle the swarms of visitors all over Chicago. The furthest north venue is Montrose Park for sailing; farthest west is United Center for basketball and gymnastics; farthest south is Jackson Park for hockey, with the Olympic Stadium slated to built just north of there in Washington Park. All venues are close to public transportation.

(I love how Daley made sure the suburbs didn't get any slice of the events pie!)

The accompanying map shows how the CTA's Green and Red Lines traverse the elevated tracks within blocks of where the stadium would be built.

But there are plenty of ways to improve the CTA over the next nine years, from eliminating slow zones to expanding service Red Line service to 130th Street. Plus, the pressure will be on to make all key trais stops accessible to wheelchairs.

What's on your wish list for 2016?

Three-track Hell? Maybe I was wrong

OK, I admit. Three-tracking has not been total hell.

But it certainly hasn't been heavenly. Though commuting on the CTA never really is, now is it?

I really did think that kids returning from spring break would make a big difference and really crowd things up. But I was wrong.

My commute time is about the same as it was before three-tracking started.

So kudos to:

The CTA, for being very alarmist about this and getting out info about how hellish it was going to be.

The riding public, who apparently did "alternate" and take other routes, at least judging from comments posted here.

But folks, we still have well over two years to go. So we'll see.

Bag lady takes her good ol' time on bus

The No. 80 Irving Park bus stops at Kimball and picks up a woman in her late 40s. She's enters the bus with one bag. Then she gets off, picks up another bag from the sidewalk, and puts it on board. Again she exits, and grabs another bag and puts it inside the door.

She repeats this charade three more times until all six of her bags are stacked up by the door. She pays her fare and walks down the aisle to place one bag on a seat. Then another on a different seat. And on. And on. And she puts two bags up on the wheel well and takes a seat.

So now at least five minutes have passed, and this woman has commandeered five seats -- four for her bags and one for her ample butt.

About six blocks east of Kimball, she pulls the stop indicator and starts to get off the bus.

She picks up one bag and sets it on the sidewalk. She reboards, gets another bag, and puts it outside. She comes back on board, grabs a third bag, and puts it down. And again. And again. And again. For another five minutes.

Thanks for riding the CTA.

Don't put $30 on your Chicago Card

From Adrian via email:

Something that I discovered this morning that might be of interest to you and the readers of CTA Tattler:

If you're using a Chicago Card, do NOT select $30 (or $10) as your refill amount.  You'll be giving up free money if you do.

Back when I got my Chicago Card, I selected $20 as my refill.  After a few months, I decided that resulted in too-frequent charges, so I moved it up to $30.  Today, I finally noticed on my account history, that I was only receiving a $2 bonus for those $30 refills.  Wait a second...isn't it supposed to be a 10% bonus?  That's what I thought all the ads and marketing said when I signed up...current marketing says $2 bonus for every $20 value added.  Maybe that's what it's always said, and I didn't realize it.  Who knows...

So, the options are:

Refill $10 Bonus $0
Refill $20 Bonus $2
Refill $30 Bonus $2
Refill $40 Bonus $4
Refill $60 Bonus $6

Thus, for the past 16 months, I've given up $2 every time my account's been refilled...$2 that I would have gotten if I'd selected either the $20 or the $40 option.  Total money lost for me: $76.  I'm pissed at myself for not realizing this sooner...I check my account activity often and should have seen this a year ago.  But why in the world does the CTA have the bonus stipulated like it does, '$2 for $20 added' instead of a straight 10%?  I mean, they present the refill amount options to you, you don't tell them you want your refill to be something like $28.43...why can't they just give a $1 bonus for the $10 refill and $3 bonus for the $30 refill? 

At any rate, if anyone out there has $10 or $30 selected as their Chicago Card refill amount, they should log in and change it immediately.

Adrian

Hearings on Red Line extension to 130th Street

The CTA's Web site reports: "Chicago Transit Authority will hold public meetings next month to receive input on the proposed extension of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line. The meetings are part of a federally required Alternatives Analysis study. "

Meeting dates and venues are:

Tuesday, April 10, 2007
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Chicago State University
New Academic Library
4th Floor Auditorium
9501 S. King Drive
Chicago, IL 60628

Wednesday, April 11, 2007
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
West Pullman Chicago Public Library
830 W. 119th St.
Chicago, IL 60628

This is the same process the CTA went through to secure funding for the Brown Line expansion.

Winner of WBEZ "Great Transit Race"

In its own "alternate" experiment, WBEZ radio sent four reporters off to Uptown's Green Mill on four different transportations: CTA, car, bike and Metra.

Not surprising, the car came in first, but as many Tattler readers have suggested, the bike was second. CTA was third, but the Metra rider had a good excuse.

Meanwhile, on the AM side of the dial, WGN radio aired a special report last week: The Slow Train to Everywhere.

I was interviewed for the segment, as was CTA President Carole Brown. Reporter Rob Hart quotes Brown: "Brown acknowledged the CTA did a poor job emphasizing the major delays associated with the Brown Line project and "preparing our riders earlier for the inevitably of having to go down to three tracks from four."

Heat bonus!

It's the first week of April, and the temperature on the elevated platform is a balmy 25 degrees. A bunch of commuters huddle together in a shelter under the heat lamps the CTA provides.

But hey! Aren't those supposed to be shut off March 31? "Heat available Nov. 1 until March 31," the small sign clearly states.

So what gives?  I asked Noelle Gaffney, the CTA's VP of Communications. Her reply:

"They were left on in the corridor affected by three track due to the anticipated cold weather coupled with the anticipated waits due to three track. They'll be turned off once this cold spell passes."

Why, thank you CTA!

How not to pick up chicks on a train

(We need a regular Tattler Tale after all this three-track reporting. But please share your three-track alternatives here.)

The early morning commute is generally quiet, particularly on the romantic front. You've got some couples cuddling and making googly eyes on the way to work, but never many pickup attempts.

Last Thursday was a big exception.

First, a guy in his mid-30s sits next to me. I see him looking around the car anxiously. At the next stop he gets up, walks down the aisle and sits next to another 30-ish woman. He pulls out his IPod earbuds, extends his hand to the woman and says, "Hi, I'm Chris."

She shakes his hand. He mutters something else to her, and then puts his earbuds back in.

That's not exactly a smooth move to pick up a woman.

Then there's the guy behind me. When I first encounter him, he had his feet up on the seat next to him and his hooded sweatshirt shrouding his face. He leans forward and asks me for a cigaret. I disappoint him.

Later in the trip, a woman boards and asks him to move his feet so she can sit. He does, and asks her for a cigaret. She too disappoints. Then he starts talking to her about work and her work. Finally he says, "I don't care about work. I could give a shit. I wish he would fire me. Yeah, I'm going into work today and saying, why doncha just fire me."

So there's your choice: the guy who makes a bold move and then ignores you, or the cigaret bumming guy who's about to get fired.