CTA Tattler

House Speaker Madigan as the "lone grown-up," the "grand compromiser"?

Happy Halloween! Five more days (including today) to a scary Doomsday I!

The Tribune Tuesday made some very interesting observations about House Speaker Mike Madigan in its editorial on "Gambling on a Springfield deal":

"The political intrigue on Monday tended to overshadow Madigan's proposal. With Chicago Transit Authority service cutbacks scheduled for the weekend, is Madigan positioning himself as the lone grown-up [emphasis mine], the leader who fashions the grand compromise that Jones and Blagojevich cannot? In this scenario, Madigan cobbles together a veto-proof bloc of urban House members (who get transit funding from a small regional sales tax) and Downstate members (who get capital spending on roads and schools). Broadly expanded gambling (with more muscular state oversight from a new and improved Gaming Board) ostensibly helps pay the bills.

"Madigan could hand this mega-package to the Senate and head home, essentially forcing Jones and Blagojevich to capitulate -- or answer to all those citizens who will be infuriated by Springfield's failure to solve the CTA's problems."

Certainly you and I both have been highly critical of Madigan and the other Illinois state leaders. But if he can pull this off as suggested by the Trib, then I'll move to his district to vote for him next time!

Public hearing outcome? I was busy with some fellow bloggers last night on WTTW's Chicago Tonight, so I missed the Lane Tech CTA public hearing. Can any of you folks tell us about it? Fox News reported a "packed house" of "100 riders" attended. Knowing how large Lane Tech is, I doubt it was a packed house at 100, but I think we're all sick of saying the same thing over and over to the folks -- CTA brass -- who really have no control over the funding.

Huberman's warning to riders: Speaking of CTA brass, CTA President Ron Huberman sent a missive to Chicago Card/Plus users Tuesday about preparing for Doomsday I, and making a last ditch effort to contact state legislators. See the continuation for the full text. 

Funding update; public hearings; transit rally

Including today, there are just a half-dozen days till Doomsday I.

And at the next legislative session on Thursday, Nov. 1, House Speaker Michael Madigan plans to call for another vote on the sales tax increase that failed Sept. 4 by 10 votes. Madigan also threw tepid support behind a gaming bill to fund state capital projects, but still made it clear he supports the sales tax increase as the public transit funding solution.

Mayor Daley: "Do or die time." Chicago's mayor Monday could be found pleading for transit dollars at Mather High School, whose students in particular would be hurt badly by proposed bus service cuts. From the Tribune: "To me, it's pretty clear," Daley said. "Either (the governor and the General Assembly) support public transit or they don't. This is do or die time."

Huberman: Start practicing for Doomsday now. Meanwhile CTA Prez Ron Huberman, ever the pragmatist, urged CTA riders whose buses would be cut Sunday to start practicing using new routes this week. If your bus is being cut, he said, "figure out your alternative route and begin riding that route this week" to avoid the inevitable chaos on Monday.

Hearings on Doomsday II: As we prepare for 39 bus cuts on Sunday, let's not forget that 43 more would be cut Jan. 6 if no further funding is passed by the state. The CTA starts public hearings on those cuts and the accompanying fare increase tonight at Lane Tech High School. Details here.

Transit funding rally Nov. 5: A rally for transit funding is set for noon on Monday, Nov. 5, at Thompson Center Plaza. Details here. And it's not too late to send a letter or email to Blago and legislators via the Save Chicagoland Transit site.

Newsiest bloggers redux. Three of the bloggers named Chicago's newsiest (Chicagoist, Gapers Block, and CTA Tattler) will make a return appearance on Chicago Tonight at 7 pm tonight on Channel 11 to chat about the role of blogs in today's media. I'm thinking I might also be asked about Doomsday I and II. Just a guess.

Funding solution outlook before deadline: Bleak and bleaker

Doomsday I is just seven days away (including today). Here's where we are on state funding for mass transit -- and it's not a pretty place.

Last week was nutty as usual, especially when Blago came up with a "new" funding scheme. Of course we've heard no details since then, but word is that his scheme is just casinos repackaged. And that "solution" doesn't provide enough sustained funding needed by the CTA, Metra and Pace.

Meanwhile, a Tribune editorial Sunday called for a process by which citizens would wield the ballot power to remove a governor from office. A fine idea!

And here's what Rick Harnish, executive director of the Transit Riders' Alliance, had to say in his weekly update:

"Representative Tom Cross, the Republican Leader in the House, has suggested funding transit with the sales tax revenue from gasoline sales, but suggested no concrete replacement for the amounts that would be removed from the General Revenue Fund. [And] key downstate and suburban Republicans have come out in favor of transit cuts.

"The House of Representatives will convene on Thursday, November 1 to consider transit funding. It is unlikely that a solution will be found by November 4."

". . . There will be a rally downtown at noon on Monday, November 5 at a downtown location to be determined.

"Please make sure that your friends know that transit cuts and fare increases are in their future. Have them send a message to their reps at www.savechicagolandtransit.com."

And assuming the laggard legislators do resolve the funding crisis, but not in time to avoid the layoffs, a Tattler commenter last week reminded us that it could take awhile to get bus drivers back to work because of the mandated drug testing.

Weekend work details; QOTSA's Josh Homme rides the rails?

(T-minus 9 days to Doomsday I.)

Red Line slow work shuts the subway tunnel again this week from 11 pm Friday till 1 am Monday. And next week, southbound trains only will go "over the top" nightly from 9 pm till 5 am, Monday through Thursday. Also, "the southbound platform at the Howard Red Line station will be temporarily out of service for construction work from 8 pm Friday until 4 am Monday." Board on the northbound platform.

Blue Line Forest Park branch: "Due to signal work, northbound Blue Line (Forest Park branch) trains will temporarily operate on the southbound track between the Cicero and Pulaski stations" from 1 am till 11 am Saturday.

Blue Line O'Hare branch: "Northbound trains will operate on the southbound track at the Belmont, Addison and Irving park stations" from 9 am Saturday till 9 am Sunday. Caution to all you drunken Halloweeners boarding at those stations -- pay attention to which direction the train is running!

QOTSA's Josh Homme rides the Red Line? My wife and I saw Queens of the Stone Age last night at the Riviera. Great show. Yesterday morning, on my way to work, the train stops at Lawrence, home of the Riviera of course. I look up to see this guy board the train: very tall (6-5), large frame, big ol' head, and red hair. I think, "Josh Homme! What are you doing at the Riv already at 7:30 am? And did you lose some guitar picks or something that you have to head downtown to shop before tonight's show."

Well, OK, maybe it wasn't QOTSA's lead singer, but it sure looked a lot like him. Call it synchronicity. 

How not to be a jerky CTA rider

So, enough of Doomsday posts -- for a day at least. (BTW, it's T-minus 10 days to Doomsday I.)

Instead, let's assume all is swell with the CTA and our only problems are fellow passengers. Certainly I've chronicled many of those problems.

Chicago Magazine also took a stab at "How Not to Be a Jerk" on the CTA. Reporter Noah Isackson based his story on interviews with me and comments taken from you Tattler readers. Read his basic primer on good manners.

Andy Kissko at Rivalfish also publishes his own CTA Riders Manifesto.

I know none of you folks EVER do anything jerky on trains and buses, right?

And what did we miss?

(Chicago Magazine illustration)

Doomsday Countdown = 11 days; Blago's sketchy new funding plan

We are 11 days away from the first of CTA cuts and fare hikes (pdf), scheduled to take effect Nov. 4.

And now we hear Gov. Blagojevich has a new transit funding scheme up his sleeve -- but he's withholding details like a magician hides how he does his tricks. He claims the funding would be both sustainable and not raise taxes. Methinks that kind of trick would require a magician.

Fox News reports that Blago's scheme is simply the casino expansion bill that the Senate has already passed. And that scheme may indeed require a magician to get it past House Leader Michael Madigan and merit a vote in the House.

More on this when Blago comes clean.

Broken emergency button or inattentive motorwoman? CTA responds and acts swiftly

On Red Line run 802 last week, a woman in Car No. 2897 started having what appeared to be a seizure, and briefly lost consciousness. While some fellow passengers tried to attend to her, I got up and pressed the emergency call button. This was between Wilson and Sheridan at approximately 7:25 am - maybe a bit later.

There was no response from the motorwoman.

I pressed it again. And again. And again, after brief intervals. Each time I pressed it, I heard a beep. So four times I called for help and no call was answered.

By this time we were pulling into Sheridan and I thought the motorwoman might exit the cab and come investigate. But no.

Meanwhile, I gave up and went to talk to the stricken woman. She had regained consciousness at Sheridan. As we made our way to Addison and I asked her if she wanted medical assistance. She was clearly dazed at the very least. She said she didn't want me to call for help again because she didn't want to delay the whole train. I told her if she needed help we would get her some. Again she refused, saying she worked at Northwestern Hospital at the Chicago stop, and would see assistance there.

So fine. At least she wasn't seriously ill.

What was not fine was that the CTA had at least one problem -- either a defective emergency call button on car No. 2897, or an inattentive motorwoman who might have risked the life of this woman had she been sicker. More than half the train car was buzzing about why the motorwoman didn't respond.

So I wrote to my contact at the CTA, gave her the above details, and asked her what happened.

To her credit, she replied right away: "Thanks for the notification.  Rail (operations) will check the rail car to see if the button is working.  If it is,  they will interview the operator.  I'll let you know how we'll handle it once we determine which one was the problem."

Less than 24 hours later she had the answer: "Regarding the medical emergency you witnessed, the problem was with the call button in the rail car.  The buttons are checked during periodic mechanical inspections. This particular car was inspected last week and the button was working.  The car is  being held out of service for further testing and repairs."

So there's lots of good news here:

1. The afflicted woman was OK and made it to work.
2. The motorwoman was NOT inattentive. She didn't hear the call due to a detective call button. (Of course, that's not so good news.)
3. The CTA regularly inspects train cars; emergency call buttons are one tick on the inspection check list.
4. If you see something, say something -- and if you do, the CTA will act on it quickly.

And you don't need your own CTA contact. Just call 1-888-968-7282, and/or write to ctahelp@transitchicago.com.

Rep. Hamos - our legislative transit advocate - gives transit crisis update

Illinois State Rep.  Julie Hamos -- chairwoman of the House Mass Transit Committee -- has consistently been the CTA rider's true advocate in that dysfunctional town called Springfield.

Last week she wrote a complete and cogent recap of "The Transit Crisis: Where We Are Today." Here are some of her key observations:

• She rightfully insists that "Senate Bill 572 continues to be the comprehensive solution, coupling long-term funding with accountability and reform."
• The capital budget bill that the Senate recently passed contains 10 times more funding for roads over mass transit than the last capital bond program passed in 1999.
• "The capital bond program passed by the Illinois Senate in SB 1110 is totally inadequate to replace broken-down buses, or fix the CTA “slow zones”, or allow Illinois to compete for federal transit expansion dollars -- even if SB 572 is passed for transit operating budgets."
• "There are no convenient or easy new funding sources for transit."
• "The Regional Transportation Authority will not accept another one-time or short-term loan or bailout."
• The Nov. 4 "doomsday" deadline is real.

And reality sucks.

Yeah! More slow zone work this weekend // UPDATE on email

See UPDATE below on the weather email.

I am not at all tired writing about slow zone work on the Red Line forcing weekend trains to travel over the elevated tracks. Glad to hear it. I hope it doesn't inconvenience anyone too much. But you know what they say:

Temporary inconvenience, permanent improvement.

Service Between Blue Line’s Jefferson Park and Harlem Stations Temporarily Suspended This Weekend:

"CTA will begin the next phase of the Blue Line slow zone elimination work this weekend. Rail service between the Jefferson Park and Harlem Blue Line stations will be temporarily suspended on Friday, October 19 from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Monday, October 22 and again next weekend in order to replace deteriorated rail ties, tie plates and spikes. Bus shuttles will operate as a substitute for rail service between the two stations. CTA customers are advised to allow extra travel time.

Kudos to CTA on stormy weather prep

The CTA deserves credit for trying to get ahead of the storm that hit the Chicago area late Thursday. The CTA sent an email to all Chicago Card/Plus holders yesterday afternoon directing them to the press release on the Web site:

From the press release: "Because such storms can cause power outages that disrupt rail signals and power to rail stations, the CTA is deploying generators in advance to key locations. In addition, employees who maintain the signal systems will be assigned to critical junctions and electricians will be assigned to respond to power issues. Storms can disrupt rail service when tree limbs and debris block tracks, so crews of trackmen will be stationed at various locations on the rail system to respond and remove debris."

There still are problems with the CTA's email vendor. A friend got her email at 2:06 pm. Nice and timely for the commute home.

I got one at 7:06 pm (after I had left work) and another at 10:21 pm. You guys really have to work on that email notification system.

UPDATE: I got this note from my CTA contact this morning regarding the delivery of the email:

"The vendor is the one that handles the web site for the Chicago Card program so (just to be fair)their scope of work is broader than just sending emails on behalf of the program.  But yes, we are evaluating it along with some other web functions. We completely agree that getting the email so late in the day is not acceptable."

Hello casino, good-bye sensible CTA solution

So now Mayor Daley has finally voiced his support for a land-based casino in Chicago, and the Trib reports that the Illinois House is getting closer to a consensus on the deal as well.

That may mean that the CTA gets another short-term, last-minute bailout. Whoo-hoo! (Sarcasm implied.) The Senate-passed package would LEND Chicago-area mass-transit systems $200 million -- and even that is not enough!

It appears that the sustainable funding solution -- Senate Bill 572 featuring a quarter-of-a-percent sales tax hike -- is dead in the water. But I want to know what happens with the CTA pension and retiree health care reforms that are in that bill. You know, the ones the CTA Prez Ron Huberman says would save the CTA $11 million a month.

The Legislature hasn't done much of anything for us CTA riders. The least is can do is pass those CTA reforms and save us that much cash each month.

True Confessions: The behavior I try to hide on the CTA

I don't have a shrink, so today it's your turn, dear readers, to help me understand why I do a certain behavior once a week while riding on the CTA.

Ripped from the pages of True Confessions: I try to hide the fact that I'm reading Savage Love.

OK, so I accomplished the first step in some new 12 Step program by admitting that I have a CTA-related problem.

But hey, maybe you try to hide it too?

Like the other day, a nice-looking older lady, maybe 70-something, sat next to me as I tried to read Dan Savage's sex advice column in the Chicago Reader.

And I found myself covering with my left hand this pull-out teaser line for the column blaring in 30-point type:

"Regarding that letter about a dog eating that Nutella off a woman's pu**y . . . "

I just can't bear to think about someone who could be my mother looking over my shoulder at that kind of reading material. So call me a twisted puritan.

But why should I be embarrassed? After all, we are all sexual creatures, right? And some of my friends have told me the only reason they pick up the Reader is to read Savage Love.

So, dear readers, what am I to do? Should I feel bad about letting my CTA neighbors know I read Savage Love?

And do you do the same, hiding some reading or other behavior? About what? 

Facebook butt fails to seal the deal

I'm sitting next to two very pretty young women talking about a mutual acquaintance, riding south on the Red Line.

She had been involved with a man they both knew who "wasn't into her."

"And she went so far as to put a picture of her butt on Facebook with the caption: 'Do you miss this? It misses you.'

"Man, if I had any self-respect, I would never do that -- puttin' my butt on Facebook for a man who didn't love me."

Doomsday cuts: A solid hit to middle- and upper-income riders

The newest Doomsday budget released Friday by the CTA is really starting to hit home and hurt middle- to upper-income commuters.

• More than half of all CTA bus routes are targeted, including every Lake Shore Drive express bus serving the more-moneyed commuters on the North Side.
• Peak-hour cash fares on trains would increase more than 61% to $3.25.
• Monthly passes would increase 25% to $94.

Richard Harnish of the Transit Riders Alliance stressed in his Tribune column a week ago the "new reality" that "transit is not just for poor people without cars":

"More important than the growing number of transit riders is their demographic composition: Transit riding has become a middle-class activity again, and not just for the daily work trip. After work, and particularly on weekends, CTA trains and buses are surging with middle-class teenagers and twentysomethings bound for an evening of clubbing, concerts or movies, and midday trains and buses carry a large volume of middle-class parents toting babies and pushing strollers."

I have said before that the first round of cuts and fare hikes, set to go into effect on Nov. 4, would hit the poor and working poor the most. Now that equation has changed with the Jan. 6 cuts and fare increases.

At the same time, we start to see riders looking for a way to express their anger toward legislators. Would you participate in a march or rally? I think up till now we've just been complacent, figuring the Legislature would work this out. Now I have my doubts. 

Read it and weep, Part 2 -- what's the cut, and what's the fare?

Handy resources to chronicle the Doomsday pain if the Legislature shirks its responsibilities:

• PDF file of proposed Jan. 6, 2008, fare structure.
• PDF file of proposed Jan. 6, 2008, bus routes cut. Only 72 would still be operating. And 82 would be eliminated, including 39 set to be cut Nov. 4.
• And answers to Frequently Asked Questions about this mess from the CTA.

On the FAQ, I love the restraint the CTA shows in not lambasting the state Legislature in response to this question: "Why is the CTA funding crisis happening now?"

Misplaced priorities: Prayer over transit dollars

Gotta wonder about the priorities of the Illinois State Legislature when they can find the time and votes to override a veto and mandate a "moment of silence" (aka prayer) in Illinois schools, yet they aren't yet able to agree on funding for mass transit in the Chicago area.

I guess it's easier to foist religion on school kids than to come together to avert the gutting of CTA bus service as we know it.

Read it and weep: Huberman letter to customers

Letter from CTA President Ron Huberman

Dear CTA Customer:

Today, I unveiled the CTA's proposed 2008 budget that lays out a series of painful service cuts, fare increases and lay-offs that will happen on January 6, 2008. These actions are required to meet our legal obligation to submit a balanced budget and are in addition to those service cuts and fare increases that will take effect on November 4th.

All of us at the CTA understand that these service cuts and fare increases will cause you a tremendous hardship. We know that you will face fewer travel options, less frequent service and more crowded buses and trains. To make matters worse, the drastic measures described in the 2008 budget are in addition to the service cuts, fare increases and lay-offs that will take place on November 4th if the Illinois Legislature does not enact fundamental funding reforms.

It is important for our customers to know that all of us at the CTA do not want to see this budget become reality. We remain hopeful that the Illinois General Assembly will pass a long-term funding solution.

Please know that we sought to minimize the impact of our budget deficit wherever we could. For example, we reduced our costs by over $38 million this year alone - without impacting service. The CTA and its unions have also agreed to an unprecedented five-year contract, contingent on legislative action, which would enable the CTA to reduce costs and manage itself more like a business. The Illinois Legislature, however, has yet to pass the bill that would give the CTA authority to put these reforms in place. This inaction is costing the CTA more than $11 million each month.

So, while the CTA continues to look for every opportunity to cut costs, there is simply no way we can manage our way out of a $158 million deficit in 2008.

The CTA continues to fight for sufficient transit funding and we need your help. Please contact the Governor and your state legislators and tell them how important mass transit funding is to you. In addition to calling or writing your legislators, you can go to www.transitchicago.com where a link will allow you to easily send a message.

With your support, we are hopeful that we will finally get a long-term solution to the CTA's funding shortfalls and put future "doomsdays" to rest. If the State enacts pending legislation before November 4th, these service cuts and fare increases will not go into effect.

Sincerely yours,

Ron Huberman
President

Weekend CTA work update

Plan your CTA weekend trips around the usual slow zone work  and other stuff, including:

• Red Line "over the top" for subway slow zone work.
• Saturday daytime reroute at Fullerton on the Brown and Red Lines.
• Single track on O'Hare Blue Line.
• Single track on Brown Line.

Part 2 on Boston transit: Clean, easy to buy passes

Before we get to the second installment of Bluebummer's account of his Boston visit, I have to note that many Bostonians didn't necessarily agree with his first take.

Bad Transit blog.

MBTA passengers "self-evacuate" after a long delay.

And a big welcome to all you Universal Hub Boston readers who have been stopping by lately.

Bottom line: There's good and bad in all transit systems, as this blog has found. But the bad is usually more interesting than the good.

Still, we can learn from the good in other transit systems. So here's Bluebummer/Justin's second look at the MBTA:

While riding the "T" I also noticed how amazingly clean their rail cars were. There was a sign across the aisle from us that read “your tax dollars help keep this train clean, please help us by doing your part and take your personal belongings with you.” I didn’t see any eating or drinking happening aboard the trains and only one incident of someone had spilled a few pretzels and they were stepped on. Also I noticed the scent on the trains, it was almost a sterile smell you have in hospitals, in fact it was that smell.

The trains were constantly running. I would say we didn’t wait more than 5 minutes at any one time, and the fares were much easier on the pocket book than they are here in Chicago.

Although a day pass in Boston was a whopping $9, a 7-day pass was a very nice $15. We were only in town for 3 days but we bought the 7-day pass because it truly was a bargain.

The doomiest of Doomsdays: Scary, severe, nervous-making

"Wholesale closings" of bus terminals and garages.

"Certain rail lines" threatened with closings.

Threatened cuts in the doomiest Doomsday budget to be released Friday will:

"Make our riders nervous."

Be "very severe."

"Scare a lot of people."

It's Halloween season after all, but these quotes from CTA President Ron Huberman are no spooky fantasy. They represent a real and near present danger if the Legislature doesn't step up and do its job.

I wish I didn't have to keep writing that. This nonsense is all so tiresome.

Budget machinations and angst

The CTA is not quite ready after all to release its revised (ie., worse) 2008 Doomsday budget Wednesday as originally planned, Crain's is reporting.

Mayor Daley has his own bad news to tell all Chicagoans early Wednesday, says Crain's, when he presents the city's budget and a potpourri of various tax hikes.

So the idea of the CTA sharing its bad news on the same day is unthinkable at City Hall. Or is the CTA really not ready yet with the budget? So a Friday release gives more time to sharpen those pencils and cut those routes, perhaps? We may never know the truth there.

But what I do know is we have no one to blame for the latest Doomsday budget but the governor and the state Legislature. The CTA -- a publicly-funded agency -- is required by state law to present a balanced budget calculated with available resources. And I know that those resources so far have not been given to the CTA by our representatives who are elected to fund that public agency -- the state Legislature.

For shame.

Huberman speaks -- again. The RedEye's Kyra Kyles had a lengthy interview with CTA president Ron Huberman Tuesday. It covered much of the same ground that the CTA Tattler chats with him did, including the famous CTA War Room and new train and bus cleaning methods. But there were a couple other interesting nuggets, especially the story about him removing drunks from the train. "The cop in me is still very much alive," Huberman told Kyles.

And I LOVE the RedEye illustration of Huberman by Jessica Randklev, shamelessly stolen and republished here.

Obeying the speed limit in Red Line tunnel. I just noticed on my Tuesday that motormen/women are now announcing the sloooow speed between Chicago and Clark/Division. It is officially 6 (six) miles per hour.

But why does it seem even slower?

And don't get me wrong. I am all in favor of more communication from the CTA, since I've criticized them enough in the past for lack of it. But I was amused at 5:30 pm yesterday when the canned announcement told us we were experiencing a delay because workers were on the track.

I don't think so. But that's OK, because who knew in 2006 when the new announcements were unveiled that CTA was repairing slow zones? So that announcement wasn't in the script.

New subway exit signs point the way to safety

Large white signs with bright red lettering now point the way to street-level safety in CTA subway tunnels.

The signs, made of reflective materials, were installed in the Blue and Red Line tunnels beginning in July. Installation is complete in the Blue Line tunnel, and is continuing on the Red Line.

The signs posted every 200 feet, point in each direction, stating the number of feet to the next streetside exit.

The signs are just one part of the response to scathing criticism from the National Transportation Safety Board in the wake of the July 2006 Blue Line derailment. Specifically, the CTA is partially addressing Safety Recommendation No. 12 from the NTSB report:

• Examine and improve as necessary your ability to communicate with passengers and perform emergency evacuations.

To that end, the CTA also conducted emergency evacuation drills in the Blue Line tunnel in August and September during service suspensions for slow-zone work.

Grand Avenue subway rehab set on Red Line

The long-awaited rehab of the Red Line's Grand Avenue subway station and platform is set to begin this month, according to a spokesman with the Chicago Dept. of Transportation.

The $67.2 million project "will rebuild the mezzanine and platform, expanding the mezzanine by about 2,000 square feet and nearly doubling the entering/exiting capacity by adding fare turnstyles," CDOT's Brain Steele said. "The design will follow the theme of recent Red Line station projects at Chicago-State and Lake-Randolph: granite floors and stairs, glazed wall tiles, new lighting and other amenities." CDOT provided this rendering of the new mezzanine.

The Tribune's Getting Around columnist Jon Hilkevitch also wrote about this project in July.

Chicago-L.org writes this about high-cost project:

"This is more than twice as much as city officials estimated for the project in 2005, making the Grand project the second costliest after Chicago/State ($33.8 million, 2001) and Jackson/Dearborn ($29.4 million, 2007).

"According to CDOT, what makes the Grand/State project more challenging, expensive and time-consuming is that the buildings on all four corners of the intersection leave no on-scene staging area for construction crews. This means that the contractor will have to bring equipment in and out each day and use small pickup trucks to shuttle in materials and remove debris.

"Although CDOT had estimated the work at $29 million in 2005, they decided that starting over by repackaging the project and seeking new bids would have caused further delays and pushed the final tab higher due to the escalating costs of materials. To help pay for the project, CDOT is borrowing money already earmarked for other transit projects, including $30 million in mostly federal funds set aside to renovate the Clark/Division Red Line station in 2010."

The project will take about two years to complete. The station will remain open during construction.

CTA waives fares for marathoners

After record heat forced organizers to cut the Chicago Marathon short, the CTA decided to waive fares on trains and buses for runners with their marathon ID.

Very nice gesture.

And as usual, the CTA provided cooling buses at staging areas for overheated runners.

Work crews keeping very busy; Brown Line Chicago entrance moved

Those CTA work crews are keeping very busy. Read all the details here about:

Blue Line slow zone single tracking. Northbound Red Line going over the top. Red Line reroute at Belmont. And other stuff.

Also, the CTA is opening a new temporary station Oct. 15 on the Chicago Avenue Brown Line Station at Superior Street.

And lots of CTA bus reroutes due to the Chicago marathon.

Personal prerogative: Good luck to Karen in the marathon -- and any other reader going 26.2 miles without the benefit of a CTA vehicle.

Boston transit review: Gotta love that "Customer Bill of Rights"

Here's a guest post from Bluebummer, aka Justin. Part 1 of 3. (Thanks Justin!)

Boston is a wonderful world class city with a world class mass transit system called the “T.” While visiting Boston in mid-September I was thrilled to have the opportunity to witness this system first hand. I rode it several times daily during many different times of the day, weekend and weekday, rush and non-rush. But no matter when you got on the system there was always a comfortable amount of room, whether standing or sitting, on each car we rode.

We arrived on Sunday morning when the Blue Line -- the line to the airport from downtown -- was closed for repairs. There were several MBTA officials at every stop along the way informing us that because of the closed line the system was free to ride until the line was back up and running later that afternoon.

They had a shuttle bus running to hit all of the stops on the Blue line. We arrived by bus at Government Center to transfer to our Green Line E train to head to our hostel, and that ride was also free! (Makes you wonder bout their funding formula!) This was a great start to a love affair between Boston mass transit and me.

In Boston on every bus, train and train station we saw signs explaining this wonderful thing called a "Customer Bill of Rights." One of the first things on it reads “Your right to on-time service. If your commute is delayed by more than 30 minutes your ride is on us, we guarantee it.”

At another spot on this Bill of Rights, it reads: “Your right to be notified of significant service delays. If your bus, subway, or commuter rail train is more than 15 minutes late, updated service information will be made available at the following locations.” The sign then lists their Web site, the smart traveler phone number, their PA system and on all of their info boards on platforms.

-- To Be Continued --

Politely ignoring him

Two ladies board the northbound Red Line at Belmont. A 50-ish seated gentleman gets up to offer his seat. The first woman -- also around 50 -- politely declines. The second woman -- about 40 years old -  accepts the kind offer.

The first woman who declined is very nice, actually touching the man on his arm and noting the "not many men give up their seats for ladies anymore."

The guy then launches into a long soliloquy about housing opportunities in Uptown, and how he missed his chance at snatching up a house awhile back, and he could have made a lot of money by now, and there are very few opportunities like that around anymore, and he's getting older and he wouldn't be able to do it now anyway, and yackety yak yak yak.

And it is a soliloquy because the woman doesn't say a word. She just politely nods, looking down, looking away, and nodding some more, and still politely nods all along throughout the yackety yak without replying or engaging him.

It's obvious she is sending him non-verbal signals that she's uninterested in his life story. But she's just too polite to tell him so or put him off.

And besides, she knows Wilson isn't too far away.

At Wilson she gets off the train as soon as she could, waving him off: "Bye! This is my stop."

Red Line subway weeknight closures; smart-card passback update

In the continuing effort to eliminate slow zones between Grand and Clark-Division on the Red Line by year's end, the CTA has separate closures in the subway for southbound and northbound riders this week from 9 pm till 5 am.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights, southbound Red Line trains will travel "over the top" on elevated tracks around the Loop. On Thursday and Friday nights, northbound train go "over the top."

Read the CTA press release for details. And Motormen/women: Don't forget to announce the changes.

Clarification on Chicago Card Plus passback rules. Last week I wrote about "passback headaches" for Chicago Card Plus users. It turns out that everything I wrote is true, except if you use the Transit Benefit, you must voluntarily give the CTA your credit card number at signup to cover the passbacks so your card won't convert to pay-per-use upon passback.

If you use the Transit Benefit at work and have not singed up to have your card covered by a credit card, here's what you do, says the CTA:

"There is a section on the TB/CCP employee application -- "credit card backup - optional" -- where customers can provide the  required CC information and authorize CTA to deduct additional fares from that card.  The form is also available on the CCP website under "employee enrollment form."  Employees fill out the form, sign it, and submit it to their HR admin or TBA.  If CTA gets the info from the employer before the close of the update window (the 15th of the month), then the customer should not have a problem the next month.  The next update window (for November) is October 5-15."

So, if you have the Chicago Card Plus under the Transit Benefit for a 30-day pass, do the above to keep the pass in effect when you use the passback feature for friends and relatives. Cool. Thank you.

Still this doesn't explain the strange stuff that has been happening to Cheryl and her Chicago Card Plus.

October dawns as clutch month for CTA's funding future

I just barely mentioned the transit funding mess last week in a potpourri post on Tuesday. This week may prove to be different, as the calendar page turnes to October. The Illinois House meets on Monday and the Senate on Tuesday for the veto session.

In the House, Majority Leader Michael Madigan promised hearings on the Senate-passed capital funding bill that expands gambling across the state and calls for a land-casino in Chicago, and yet barely covers the CTA's needs.

Senate Leader Emil Jones said his chamber would take another look at the Senate Bill 572, which would impose a quarter-of-one-percent hike in the sales tax and higher Chicago real estate transfer taxes.

And it should. As a Tribune editorial writer put it: "The transit bill now on the table would raise $435 million in new funding each year, mostly through increased sales taxes. But it also would save millions through reforms. [Emphasis mine.] The CTA's unions would make higher pension contributions and accept lower benefits. The offer is contingent on increased funding for transit before Jan. 1. The CTA says failure to take the unions up on their offer is costing $11.9 million a month."