CTA Tattler

The only problem I have had so far was coming home yesterday at about 4. There indeed seems to be an increase in the number of 147 buses heading north...but out of the 7 that stoped only 1 was going as far north as Howard. The rest all stopped at Devon. My bus that did go to Howard was packed all the way there.

Today was the first bad one, I thought -- shortly before 8, the southbound platform at Bryn Mawr was crowded; just as I reached the top of the escalator, a northbound pulled in, and I took it to Thorndale, which was much less crowded. Got a seat there, probably wouldn't have gotten one at Bryn Mawr.

A few folks at this office who get on at Belmont still aren't here at 9:15. (We're supposed to be here at 8:30, although 8:45 isn't uncommon.)

My evening commutes have been on the 147; I'm still walking south to stops south of the river rather than get on outside the Tribune Tower, but even at the Wacker & Michigan stop, a wait for a fairly empty bus doesn't take long. (And drivers of fairly empty buses actually have been intelligent enough to go around the crowded 147s and pull into the stops ahead of them. Signs of life!)

I started using two buses each way when they closed my L stop. Something east to the lake, then a LSD Express bus down. I work in Streeterville, so lots of times I am standing on the first bus on the way home, but I have lots of choices of buses so if I'm not in a hurry I can wait for that NB 144 that's half empty because no one knows what a 144 is. My L stop has re-opened but I still don't see the train as a good alternative. The buses take slightly longer than the train did before 3 tracking and the bus stops are closer to where I'm actually going than the trains are.

I'm really pleased that it's pretty much been "so far, so good" on the lines affected by three-tracking. Evidently the supervision is working to avoid the "hell" that was anticipated. I sure wish whatever they're doing on the Red, Brown, and Purple to make things work reasonably well could be adopted on the Blue. Funny how Frank's allowing himself to be held accountable for smooth service on the North Side Main Line, but the Blue continues to get worse and worse. Why isn't he held accountable for the whole system?

If you work close to Adams/Wabash - at 5:01 (cta time) there's a brown line that pulls in that's completely (no exageration) empty. There is not a single person on the train! If you're going to Howard, you can take that Brown Line to Belmont and switch to Purple line there. Otherwise, the Purple line fills at Quincy and there is no room at all for anyone else.

Just as Chicago Public Schools return to school, the Catholic schools go on Easter vacation. Expect things to really heat up on April 16 when everyone is back to their usual routines.

No real problems on the Brown into Belmont then into Grand today. There were the usual crowds, but the train transfer was easy. I've also noticed that the Southbound Red has been travelling at a blinding speed this week, especially between Fullerton and through Grand, which usually takes a very long time. Both loop-bound commutes this week have been smooth.

Thus far things have been pretty decent. Southbound morning commute from Belmont has been good, though I get to the station around 7:15 instead of 7:30 now. Brown/Purple/Red trains are somewhat fuller than usual but that wasn't unexpected.

Typically I transfer from the Pink/Green to Brown/Purple at Clark and Lake for my return commute at 5. The Clark platforms have a lot more people standing at them now and take longer to clear. People at the Mart and Chicago trying to go north have the worst of it. If the Clark Brown/Purple platform is really crowded I wait until State and Lake or Randolph to transfer.

I experiment with the bus yesterday (Lincoln 11 from Irving to Chicago), and it took 20+ minutes longer than taking the Brown line and transferring to the Red line did in the past. I may take the bus on Cubs game night though to avoid the extra crowds.

This morning, I got off the Brown line at Belmont to transfer to the Red line just in time for a signal and switching problem that prevented a Purple line train from leaving the station and a Red line train from coming into the station. After about 12 minutes and lots of CTA employees out on the tracks, the trains were running again. But I saw at least 4 northbound trains queued up waiting to get into Belmont.

Oh, the Lincoln bus on Cub game nights. Good idea.

I'm a bit of a reverse commute - brown east to Belmont, purple north to Evanston. I get to work early enough (8am) that things have been running fine in the morning. But in the afternoon, I found out the wrong way that only every OTHER purple line from Linden goes all the way to the loop. So to get home using an express, I have about a 20 minute wait between trains.

I fully expect things to get worse, too, especially once the "CTA supervision" slacks off. We might not see the full brunt of it until early winter, when everyone's back from vacation and the weather's too crappy for bike commuters.

I posted earlier about my trip in from Ravenswood (there were no problems) and I'm back in the 'wood now.

The commute home was really no harder or worse than the ride in. I had to wait for a few trains to pass at Belmont b/f a N-bound Brown rolled up, but, really, the train wasn't full and it added only negligible time and stress onto the commute.

Everyone is talking about how much worse it's going to get, but I gotta say it hasn't been bad so far.

Victoria--

I'm not sure if you knew this and were simply giving a PSA, but in case you didn't... CTA officials said they were going to be putting some brown line trains into service starting at Adams/Wabash, so that's very likely what that is.

omg i forgot all about cubs game nights :( :( :( :(

hmmm... maybe the lincoln bus to addison is not a bad idea on those nights!

Since Southport has shut down, I've been using the Paulina stop 30 mins earlier than I would normally leave for work, and leave work a bit earlier too. I'm very lucky to have flexibility, and thus far, I've seen almost no time difference in my commute. I did take the #11 in one day, and it was almost double my commute time, so little incentive to bus. I hope spring break and the Cubs dont destroy this "feel good" first week.

The CTA was staging #22 buses at Clark & Addison this morning. I got to the loop about 10 minutes faster, though the driver was clearly new and was jerking the bus forward as if she was driving a stick shift for the first time. I often wonder why CDOT has not coordinated with CTA or Streets & San. to prohibit parking on the West side of certain arteries like Clark during the morning rush hours. Given that Clark, B'Way, Belmont, and many others are one lane going each way, it would only make sense to make them morning tow zones. They already do it on Addison during the morning rush periods.

Has there always been a ~3mph slow zone on the SB Red Line between Chicago and Grand? That's all of 3 blocks and it took like 5 minutes. When I pulled into Belmont on Brown, there was a logjam of Browns ahead of me (don't know how that's possible, as I waited over 10 minutes for a Brown at Western), so I got on Red. Then they announced it would be going express from Fullerton to Clark/Division. Well that's only skipping one stop, but every bit counts. I was feeling smart. That is, until we started creeping through the subway. 25-35mph my ass.

I'm almost afraid to mention this, but I'm really enjoying the lack of bogus security checks. Thanks, CTA, for noticing that the thousands of people you delayed every morning just wanted to get to work and didn't really plan on blowing up trains.

I am still taking the red line south from Berwyn to Belmont in the mornings. I leave by 7pm. The trains have been less crowded and its actually easier because I can transfer to either brown or purple line since the first stop is washington and wells where most of the rest of the world gets off anyways. I don't need to leave any earlier in fact it seems to be faster. I am happy.
On my way home I have not yet tried the CTA trains. I am scared it will be a mess even though I get off at 4:15 and work in the west loop. I take the metra to ravenswood and either bus it or walk home from there. I was on the Metra and some suburban woman mentioned how the metra was so crowded and some of us joked that the city folk have taken over. Alas, its only to Ravenswood and then the surburban people can spread out so they don't have to share a seat.

OK, guys, this is starting to sound like Y2K: "the world is going to end! Tomorrow!" .. (tomorrow comes and goes) .. "oh, I double-checked my calculations -- it's going to end next week! Trust me!"

I think it might be time to give the CTA some slack. When IDOT started its Dan Ryan work, it went to a lot of effort to say, in essence, "This is going to suck." I commented at the time that that was probably the most honest PR campaign I'd ever seen a government agency run. Sure enough, the Ryan does suck, but it could have been worse.

With this 3-track situation, we can argue over whether CTA could have done this or that to better accomodate passengers, but whatever way you cut it, this was going to suck, and they were up-front about that. Now things are turning out a bit better than expected. The folks at the CTA deserve a little credit for the honesty.

Gee,

My commute to AND from work wasn't bad. Hell? I think not. The purple line train I rode up north was crowded, yes. Some people couldn't get on, yes. However, I managed to get on and found a seat right away. I'd say it's business as usual for now.

Am I the only one who has saved time under this new regime? I know it's a fluke, but my once a week trip from Chicago/Milwaukee back to Howard via the Blue and Purple is now 15 minutes shorter thanks to the Purple reversing direction around the Loop. Thanks, CTA!

I'm very glad to hear that it's not so hellish so far. Personally, I'm a reverse commuter on the roads these days (which is why I'm a "quondam" el rat), but my son depends on the CTA and is morning-challenged at the best of times--I've been worried about him.

I miss being able to use public transportation every day. For a while I was weirdly hopeful about this developing CTA situation--I mean, if I'm ever going to get another job downtown, it would naturally be when the city's mass transit falls apart, right? Now the CTA is messing up my plans by not messing up!

I took the #11 Lincoln bus a couple of times last week- from Hubbard St. to Irving Park 25-30 minutes. And I don't have to stand up.

The 66 Chicago bus is much fuller earlier in the morning now with 3-tracking in place. I get on right after Ashland to a 3/4 to full bus, since 3-tracking has started the buses are always full, sometimes having to wait for 2 or 3 to pass. In the past the crowds exited at the Blue Line stop, now we're all along for a ride to the Brown line or Red.

So this is a bit off-the-subject... I am writing an article about CTA performers. Would anyone on here like to talk to me about their experiences? Or know something interesting about these performers? Thanks!

I know noboby wants to hear advice from an obnoxious New Yorker, but here goes...

It strikes me that some of the crowding problems could be eased if there was more room for people to stand.
It seems like there is a ton more room on trains in NYC because the seating lines the sides of the train, with everybody facing the middle. The trains here have a lot more seats, but less room for strap hangers. (And there are no straps to hang onto!)
As a temporary solution, it seems like the CTA could pull out a couple rows of seats from each train, creating room for probably twice as many standers as the sitters they replace. (I bet the ratio is actually even higher than that.)
Anyway, just an idea.

Joe, you may be right. But longitudinal seating won't happen overnight.

Maybe 2009-10.

See this previous post:

http://www.ctatattler.com/2006/01/_.html

Take the #93 California bus if you want to avoid the Purple Line. The route begins at Lawrence & Kimball and ends at the CTA Davis St. station in Evanston. It is normally running on schedule during the morning and early afternoon hours. This bus route rarely has standing room only conditions. The route changes in the evening; the starting/ending point becomes Foster & Albany.

Not to put a damper on the "hurray CTA" party but a lot of the posts here seem to deal with people traveling south on the the Red/Brown/Purple line in the AM. Since the single track is on the northbound side (during this phase) am I correct in assuming there would/should be no interruption of service on the southbound side?

Also, I heeded the warnings and switched to the bus for my PM commute. I've taken the #148 and it's been an ever evolving nightmare (the CTA says the #148 is running more frequently...but if it is, they must be using those new-fangled invisible buses). I'd really like to hear what the experiences of folks traveling northbound on the single track (around 5-5:30PM) have been. I'm seriously considering switching back to the train. It CAN'T be as bad as the bus.

I don't have an alternate route, I have a question. How long are the CTA planning on keeping the Addison brown line stop closed without working on it. As someone who walks through or travels past the intersection of Addison & Lincoln on a daily basis, why hasn't there been any progress on that L stop in months? They tore it down and then basically stopped? What's the deal? I thought the CTA was supposedly rebuilding each station in 6 month time frames so that they could get all of the construction done in a timely manner? The stations that haven't closed have progressed a LOT further than the ones that are shut down? I'm not sure why Southport was closed a few weeks ago when NOTHING AT ALL is happening at Addison?

I reacted to the Doomsday hype & changed both my AM & PM commute from Wrigleyville to the West Loop. The biggest problem was the Northbound express busses. Unless you are getting on LSD by 4:45pm, there is no time advantage. The one exception may be the people who live right at the first stop off of the drive. I even tried taking the #8 Halsted northbound. Big mistake. I went back to my normal Red Line from Adams to Addison & SURPRISE! It's still quicker then any of the express busses I tried. In fact, its usually hardly any worse then before. Same applies in the AM as well. Any other Northsiders have a similar experience?

Liz, you're not really qualified to assess construction progress....are you? Sometimes, a person passing by can't see the work that is being done. I have my frustrations with the CTA as well, but your whiny all-caps assertions aren't based on anything other than your own observations, which I am disinclined to trust.

what is with all the 147's? Doesn't the CTA keep track and realize how ridiculous it is to have 5 buses empty in a row going to the same place. I think I'll move even further north, then I can take a nice pretty empty 147 instead of a heap of junk 148 that shows up every 20 minutes.

They should really consider having some 147s exit LSD at Hollywood. It would really speed things up most of the time.

Here's an e-mail I sent to the CTA regarding Southbound Three-tracking starting in April '08:

I'd like to offer an idea(if your planners haven't already thought of it) for providing more AM capacity on the Red, Brown, Purple Track 1 Single-track, aka "Southbound" Three-tracking at Belmont and Fullerton starting at the beginning of April:

All Brown line stations from Kimball to Southport that are open as of April '08 will be able to berth 8 car sets, and most stations from Belmont south will be able to berth 8 car sets.

What if during AM rush ONLY, every other Brown line set runs with 8 cars, followed by a 6 car set? Before and at Belmont, an announcement on the 8 car sets would indicate express service from Belmont to Fullerton. Every other Brown line set would skip Wellington, while the remaining Brown line sets(6 cars) and all Purple line sets(6 cars) would still make that stop, giving that station frequent service.

Of course, something like this would only work if there is only 1 (or 2) station(s) that are currently open and cannot berth 8 car sets.

And this temporary "AM crush/every other Brown line 6 car/8 car sets" would only be used until the corresponding stations are open for 8 car service. For instance, Diversey opening/Wellington closing later this year and Chicago platform extension come to mind. (not sure about the Armitage platform extension)

The idea is that this will help during the worst hours of southbound AM service through Belmont and Fullerton on a single track. After the "height" of AM weekday rush, 6 car sets making all stops would be used thoughout the rest of day. The PM rush will not "need" 8 car sets due to northbound dual tracks being completed AND the current practice of keeping an extra 6 car Brown Line set(s) in the South Loop pulling into Adams/Wabash at the "height" of the PM rush.

Of course, this requires a lot more car movement and coordination in the Kimball yard/station in the AM to keep trains running frequently, but it is possible.

Please look this over, and see if this is an option for increasing "capacity", as AM service "frequency" gets reduced this April.

(Please don't hate me Wellington passengers, if we all have more AM capacity, everyone might be able to get to work on time)

DANGER ON THE BUS AT NIGHT THAT THE TEENAGER TURN OFF THE BUSSES FROM THE REAR OF THE BUS OUTSIDE THIS SWITCH NEEDS TO BE MOVE UNSAFE