CTA Tattler

Can anyone provide any information in the mentioned Nov. 5 rally? Id like to see this actually come together

In favor of transit cuts? The 82 bus routes to be cut carry over 300,000 passengers every weekday. That's more people than the Kennedy or the Eisenhower carry every day -- and almost as many as Metra or the entire Portland, Ore. transit system carry. People, this is not funny anymore.

I'm up for a rally, if there's information anywhere. I just want to know where and when to show up.

I'm waiting for the rally that gets people there to tell Ron that he needs to cut more administrative staff and to fix the problems that aren't related to funding (like rude employees, no accountability to riders, people standing around, inefficiency, useless Securitas security, etc, etc, etc).

My opinion is still that you don't give a kid who spends all his allowance more money when he can't be trusted to spend it wisely.

I'd be willing to go to bat with the legislature and the gov when that takes place, not before.

I'm almost wishing that there is a meltdown. Sometimes you have to tear things down and start over to not repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Kevin

Since the rally will take place after the route cuts, a lot of people won't be able to get there or those who try will get there late.

I read about the presser that the CTA held at the Chicago Ave. garage with 39 buses, representing the 39 routes to be cut, having a special destination sign.
My question is, where did they find 39 buses with working destination signs?
I was on an almost brand new 1400 series bus on Clark last week & its sign didn't work!
Just a hand written paper sign in the front window.
The display above the driver just had the name of the company that makes the sign.

Unindicted,
I saw that image of the buses on the news last night. I thought that same thing! They must have had the whole fleet of buses with working signs out for that photo-op. I thought it was hilarious.

Are they going to take out all these bus routes, but then add them to saved routes? Like, lets say you have six each of the #146 and #147. Now you remove all the #146 and add them to the #147 which now would equal twelve buses. it sure would be nice if they could. We would have same number of buses but instead of two different routes, they'd be all under one route. No one would lose.

Pookie, how on earth would that idea save money? You're still running busses. No, that's not what they are going to do.

And besides, Pookie, the 146 and the 147 are different routes. The SB 146 runs local until Belmont, the SP 147 runs local until Foster. Big difference there.

I see the Mayor is complaining about other people not wanting to support public transit. Where's his support been?

Ok, people that keep ranting to "privitize the CTA!" need to step down off their soapbox, it just shows how ignornant and uniformed about the history of public transit you are! I'm tired of reading posts on this blog, the Tribune, Carole's blog, listening to people saying it while on the El, etc. Not one, not one single major transit system in the world is completely privitized. A few outsource security, certain routes or operations, but they are still managed by a publicly subsidized agency. The solution to this crisis is not privitize. Do you know why the CTA is a government-owned entity in the first place? The El, streetcar and bus companies were all built by private companies, who mainly due to HUGE government subsidies to build expressways and subsidize suburbia's growth were bankrupted. The ridership dropped off, fare revenue plummeted and the transit companies could no longer break even went bankrupt. Everytime they raised fares to offset lost fare revenue due to ridership loses, they lost even more riders. In the face of the reality of having a major city with NO public transit, the CTA was formed and took over. This was repeated all over the country. Do you honestly think if companies running transit couldn't even break even in the late 1940's that by some privitization miracle, a company purchased the rights to operate the CTA, raised fares to cover 100% of ALL transit costs and not run into bankruptcy very quickly could do it today? NO WAY! That sort of "capitalist" mentality is what is wrong with LOTS of things that should be public responsibilities and assets in this country. Thats why our politicians won't budge, they won't stand up and support what they SHOULD be responsible for. At the same time, money is wasted due to lack of oversight and lack of interest in our politicians to take an active role to "do the right thing" for a change.

Here's the letter I'm sending via savechicagotransit.com. If anyone wants to send something a little more specific than the stock form letter, feel free to use it any way you like. It's long.

I am a regular user of the CTA and Metra. I have not owned a car since it was stolen two years ago and I found that I could get around the city well enough without it. I am a daily user of the Damen, Division, and Milwaukee buses, all of which are in immediate jeopardy. I am also a frequent user of the Blue Line, the Red Line, and the North, Ashland, and Roosevelt buses, as well as the Metra Burlington Northern and Electric Lines, all of which face massive price increases.

I can not understand why the transit problem has not been solved. There has been more than ample warning of the crisis and legislators have promised to address the problem for years, without effect. Traffic congestion has never been worse and the number of people served by the bus routes in jeopardy dwarfs the capacity of city highways. New leadership and cost-cutting measures have streamlined the agency as much as is feasible, as verified by an independent financial audit. Funding has been subject to the whims of legislation and lagging inflation, without a stable source and continually drawing down capital funding to pay for operations. This is an untenable situation created by you, our legislature.

Viable plans have been blocked by legislators with no alternative plans. Issues as trivial as moments of silence in schools and as absurd as a health care plan with minuscule voter support behind it are being given valuable overtime session debate time, rather than critical issues like state budgets and capital funding plans. Other cities nationwide are expanding public transport and treating it as an investment in infrastructure like sewers and roads, rather than allowing it to contract through years of neglect and ignorant insistence on revenue self-sufficiency.

These solutions are what legislators are elected and paid to accomplish. There are no simple solutions, but a solution must be found and neglect, buck-passing, and partisan games are not acceptable.

My solution, such as it is, is that I have become a single issue voter. When elections come up, I will review the transit voting record of every state legislator in my voting districts and vote accordingly. Loans are not acceptable. One time payouts are not acceptable. Slow responses are not acceptable. The current state is also not acceptable and legislators that I support will be those who are and have been actively campaigning for a viable solution. Incumbency and party affiliation are irrelevant to me in this and will receive no weight.

This is a vital issue to me and a vital issue to this state. I think it deserves to be treated accordingly. Please resolve this crisis before it becomes intractable and please urge your fellow legislators to do so as well. Thank you for your time and efforts.

I'm a long-winded person by nature, but we're past that. Here's what can be sent to any elected official now:

"The city of Chicago's economy depends on reliable public transportation. When Chicago's economy is affected by major cuts to the CTA, it will affect the entire state and region. And it affects me, personally."

"If you're not a part of the solution, you're part of the problem. It doesn't matter if you're in Springfield, Chicago, or some suburb: You, as an elected leader, need to exhibit some leadership."

"If Doomsday happens, I will remember that on election day. That's my promise to you."

Well I was hoping, grasping at straws.. hoping they might.. if the cuts come in January, there will be NO buses down by the lake to get us from the northside to downtown. And the buses that will be there, the #151 will be extra crowded. so that leaves the Red Line.. which will be awful if you have to endure the slow ride and standing. the wheelchair peopel wont be able to get on some stations if they are inaccessible. I cant believe they are going to do this for real, but it could happen, and in the meantime they make us suffer worrying!

but the worse part is the Pace suburban buses, its worse for them. All the apartment complexes that advertise "bus to trains" wont be there and now they are stuck. the bus service in the suburbs is even more limited than CTA choices. I have freinds at work who have no way to get from their suburban apartment complex to the Metra.

No wait, whats worse is the kids who now wont be able to get to school/college and they may have to withdraw... the kids that now have to change their bus route, and go thru gang territory (this was in a news story recently) and now they will have to adjust their riding when its dark, so it will be bad for students.

Service cuts are not to save money but to make people who use it most political upset. The CTA has not taken any step to streamline service and reduce cost.

And one thing about Privatization of rail service. Most lines in Tokyo are privately owned and operated, with the exception of Toei subway lines (run directly by the Tokyo Metropolitan government). How does the CTA compare to Tokyo system? The CTA can privatize many components of their operations that are not part of the core functionality. For example, fleet maintenance, track maintenance, HR, Payroll, janitorial services, customer billing, the list goes on and on. The CTA can negotiate the best price and service so they can focus on getting buses on time. It works with the rest of the world.

"How does the CTA compare to Tokyo system?"

The CTA would then be compared to the Toei subway lines, run by the RTA/CTA, funded by the State of Illinois, regional counties, and a very high fare collection percentage.

The rest of the Tokyo lines you mention would compare to Metra here, so according to your own argument(which stil has other previously posted flaws in it), you support privatizing Metra and keeping the CTA the way it is.

Personally, I think funding should keep up with growth(real estate and traffic growth), cost of living, and ridership. Funding for transit should be increased even higher as fuel costs increase, to assist additional transit needs of people, transit agencies, and to encourage more transit use.

I also think the CTA has streamlined service as additonal routes have been added adjusted along Lake Shore drive to match newer ridership needs of its customers, just to mention one example.

If the word "streamlined" means to cut back on service, then that doesn't really match how this transportation service is being used. However, by not funding the CTA, Metra, and Pace properly, we may all see exactly what this other use of the word "streamlined" means.

The CTA had perviously tried to streamline track maintenance, but having the same people inspect and then repair tracks(sometimes one person for miles of track due to previous budget cuts), didn't quite work out as track conditions became less safe. These days there are more inspectors separate from more track repair people.

Perhaps safety and quality service should be more important than ideological privitization proposals.

Sorry Ed, but you don't know what you're talking about.
The CTA was created in 1947, long before there were any expressways around here, Lake Shore Drive doesn't count as most of it was a regular, but wide road with stop lights & intersections.
The Edens & Congress St. were the first expressways! Then The Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban went broke. The the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee went dead in Jan, 1963.
The Surface Lines & Rapid Transit Co. went broke because they wanted to raise the fares from 5¢ to 7¢. The state [Illinois Commerce Commission] wouldn't let them.
The new CTA immediately raised the fare to 7¢!
Within 10 years, the fare was up to 25¢!
In 1953, the CTA forced the Motor Coach Co. into the fold even though it was still profitable! It ran the buses on the boulevards.
The CTA killed off the largest streetcar system on Earth because it was bribed by GM & the oil companies to do so!

If you don't know what you're writing about, then don't write about it!

I just want to ask, where does all the money go from the Illinois Lottery and the Tollways?
I have to say that with the taxing and the mess at CTA I am about to move to LA. Since the LA County Transit Authority or MTA got federal funding, they now have not only a better system than we do but the best in the US. I never had to wait over five min. for a train or bus out there.
The CTA had all year to try new ways of saving money or the city to fund them. I have to also ask why was Daley in Chicago complaining about the state funding in front of Mather HS, when he should of been in Springfield using his clout for funding Chicago.
Maybe if the CTA and politicians didn't give themselves a raise every year, then maybe we would have some money left over.

Thanks Unindicted Co-conspirator, some people for got that the government centralized a well run system.

John T you point out that privatizing part will reduce safety and quality service however your facts point to the contrary. You stated the "CTA had previously tried to streamline track maintenance" that resulting in "track conditions became less safe". And now they want to raise fares and cut service. How in the heck does that support your "Perhaps safety and quality service should be more important than ideological privatization proposals" statement? I tell you, it does not. It supports mine. Because all that government run business does, is raise fares, lower service and makes things more dangerous. The CTA is bloated with a lot of extra unnecessary workers who are just asking for a larger pension and raises and we can not fire them, we can not outsources them. All we can so is pay more for even crapper service. If it was privatized, we would fire them and get some other company to give better service.

"If it was privatized, we would fire them and get some other company to give better service."

And just where would this "other" company come from?

Given the size and scope of the CTA system, you can't just get rid of one company and hire another. What are you going to do when it becomes obvious that only the currently operating company has the resources available to put in a valid bid?

Privitization would do two things: It would add another lay of administration, and it would add profit takers that will suck on the public teat as hard as they can.

You would still need all the same operating employees. You would still need the public agency to watch out for the public's financial interest in the venture. And the company would need to make a profit.

So how would they do it? Sure, there's waste. But it's virtually the same kind of waste you'd see in a private company of the same scope and size. That leaves two areas to cut: The working man's wages, and service.

Or they could just ask for an even bigger subsidy than transit already needs. Privitizaion might help there. They could get the politicians to vote for larger subsidies by kicking-back some of that money in the form of campaign contributions. That's something the CTA can't do now.

No, mass transit is not something that should be handed over to some profit takers. That's an idea that just doesn't make any sense.

Doomsday can be (for the most part) undone. Undoing the mistake of privitizing the system would not be able to be undone, and you could watch all those tax dollars walk away in some profit takers' pockets.

Try doing undoing the huge mistake of centralizing the system. It a system that is abuse and worn down with highly paid workers sitting around while we wait for poor service. The CTA is full of bureaucratic mess that bad employees never get fired, unqualified workers get hired. (I feel sorry for those good employees that have to deal with the bad) Rusty I know you have no faith in capitalism but it pays for you little state run monopoly.

Rusty, I did not say 100% privatized but like a independent consultant recommend many parts of CTA businesses can be out sourced to private companies. You stated "And just where would this "other" company come from?", there are plenty of company that offer these services right here in Chicago.

Rusty, I can go all day on your post. Let me look at your two points

"Privitization would do two things: It would add another lay of administration, and it would add profit takers that will suck on the public teat as hard as they can."

The CTA is so top heavy with management and refuse to use technology to streamline cost. And when they do, they still keep the positions.

On your point on the public teat, that what the CTA is doing right now. They been crying about their doomsday crisis's for the last two years and still have not fire one person. But they like their very spacious new headquarters.

Our problems is that the CTA and its believes think that the system must be one fully integrated businesses. In the European Union has seperate units, one for track and infrastructure and the other as train operations. The metra does not see as many problems as the CTA because the Metra does not own or operate most of the its routes.

By the way Obama is doing a great job as our Senator, I hope you voters get to the polls in time to vote for him.

Hi- I am a journalism grad student trying to find people that will be affected by bus cuts in the Uptown area (X80, 135...) If the CTA cuts will be a pain in your butt and you live close to Uptown or the 46th ward, please email me at blankpaige@gmail.com