CTA Tattler

All I can say, is if both of these doomsdays happen, every single one of us needs to unleash our fury with the Governor and the other leaders in Springfield. I wish there was a larger, more visible group of transit riders in this city, such as the Straphangers in NYC. Thousands of people marching at city hall, Thompson center, on Blago's street in front of his house. Now that would get some attention. Its just sad that we do not have good leadership nor enough people that really believe that the doomsdays are real. Maybe after it does happen and we have traffic/transit meltdown and people can't get to work downtown something will change. Effect enough drivers too and get them involved with the uproar. Angry, fed-up masses do in fact become the basis for sweeping change. Its happened countless times in the history of this country. Maybe its the only thing these politicians will notice?

I was talking to someone yesterday that went through the transit crisis period between 1979-1983. The entire system, including the commuter railroads that are now Metra, were going bankrupt. He said that several key politicians lost their seats during that period and one reason was the outrage from transit riders. We owe these fools nothing less than to strip them of their power. Unfortunately, elections are a few years away.

I really think it's time for us, as transit riders, to start organizing making our collective voices heard loudly. I am ready to march to Springfield about this, or start a Straphangers like organization. I was born and raised in this city.because I am tired of this shit. I just don't know where to start, outside of calling my state legislator.

Ed, I'm inclined to agree that it looks like only a real crisis has any chance of bringing change. My great fear is whether Chicago can ever recover from a meltdown like the one promised for January. Access to reliable transportation is one of the necessary standards for being a great city. Once the certainty of always having that is shattered, peoples' deepest perceptions about the city may change permanently.

Despite the bitching about Daley and the aldermen and the county board, etc., Chicago is still a real city that works for those who like urban living. This outrage from Springfield is a outright assault on Chicago's continued viability. It will do more damage to our town than the 911 attacks did to NYC, terms of our future livability. We will go from one of America's great places to a third-world city. If the beemer crowd thinks the meltdown will not affect them and their lifestyles and their property, they are dreaming.

We need to organize for sure. The first need is good information. How much is Springfield taking out of Cook County, and how much is it giving back? Do we have the tools to impeach/recall the governor and legislators? Does the RTA really have the power now to levy a parking tax as claimed in a post over at Sick Transit Chicago?

Transit users, and the people whose well-being depends on an excellent transit system --ie every single person in Cook and beyond -- need to get organized the way MoveOn and the NRA and PETA are organized. The craven crap in the governor's mansion and the legislature understand nothing else.

The problem is not Springfield. It is the CTA management. Consider all the waste the CTA creates:

-The pink line, which is just a mirror of the blue line

-The customer service agents who do absolutely nothing to add value to the CTA service

-The renovated stations on the SOUTH SIDE red line -- hello, why would you put new stuff in a neighborhood where it will just get vandalized?

-The brown line constuction -- is it REALLY necessary amid a financial crisis??

And let's not forget how FILTHY the CTA stations are. They have the customer attendants--why not put them to use?!?!

I'd like to see the CTA use the money it receives wisely before throwing more money at it. And quite frankly, Huberman PISSES ME OFF AND OFFENDS ME, THE AVERAGE CHICAGOAN, by making it the voters' problem. Take some responsibility, CTA!

Right, Barbara, let's let stations on the South Side just fall down. Obviously the Brown Line is not necessary for YOU, so it shouldn't be done. And thank you for your uninformed opinion of what the station agents do and don't do.

Fact is, independent audits say the CTA is run reasonably efficiently. It could be a lot better, and Huberman seems to be making a lot of progress in that direction. Anyway, it's good to be reminded of how much worse the CTA could be if it was run by a Barbara.

Way to go Barbara! I feel much better about the CTA after reading your post. No doubt that nothing nice should ever be south of Roosevelt. I mean, seriously, are those areas even gentrified?

Barbara, you're completely clueless and self-absorbed.

Hey barbara, how was the klan rally?

The person most responsible for this situation is the Governor.

I think a rally outside the governor's House on the North Side might give him a bit of a wake up call.

It would be more effective than gathering on the Thompson Center, and he never darkens the halls of the Governors Mansion, so lets figure out where he lives and converge there!

One more comment about what Barbara said. People don't realize that the Pink Line is a great thing!

Before, Blue Line trains had to run all the way from 54th/Cermak in Cicero, through downtown to O'Hare Airport. This took about 1 1/2 hours each way.

Now, Pink Line trains run between 54th/Cermak and the Loop. This takes about 1 hour round trip, versus 3 hours on a Blue Line 54th/Cermak to O'Hare round-trip.

This means that each train set on the Pink Line is only in use for 1 hour; instead of 3. Meaning more trains, because the equipment and train operators are "recycled" and make several round-trips all day long.

This also means only waiting for 10 mins for a train on the Pink Line or Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line.

Does anybody remember how much it sucked waiting 20 minutes for a mid-day train on the Forest Park or 54th/Cermak Blue Line, prior to the Pink Line?

Thus, the Pink Line is awesome, I hope the CTA keeps it forever!!

In my experience, the people who complain about the pink line have absolutely no idea what it is. They think it is a new line in which they actually built tracks and stations for, rather than a simple reroute of previous service. I think people are also confused because the Forest Park and 54th/Cermack branches were both part of the blue line. They somehow don't understand that they were seperate branches and, therefore, different tracks. They were only called the same line because they joined up and went on the same track to O'Hare. And there is no doubt that the pink line makes things much more efficiant for many riders. Anybody traveling from the northwest portion of the loop would save around ten minutes. And you'd save around five minutes from northeast area of downtown. And this does not even take into account that you don't have to walk as far. And this also benefits people in these areas who are using the Forest Park branch since they can easilly transfer to a blue line at Racine. They run every few minutes at rush hour. Barbara saying the pink line is "just a mirror of the blue line" does not make any sense. She quite obviously does not know what the pink line is. Unfortenutely, I doubt she has read the responses to her post.

Hmmm. I read Barbara's comments, and as for "nothing nice south of Roosevelt"--bullsh!t. Completely.

As for a "Straphangers" type group in Chicago, I'm all for it. That would be awesome, and a huge help to the cause. The idiots down in Springfield have no clue what a Doomsday scenario would really mean in Chicago--maybe a united front, or a mass transit strike would get it through to them.

There's plenty of blame to go around. How about the people who were supposed to be watching the revenue trends (RTA) who must have seen the expenses rising faster than revenue for a long period of time but waited until these last three years to bring the subject to the attention of the pols. Who also shifted capital funding to the operations budget which only delayed the inevitable AND made the impending crisis invisible to the pols and the general public? Very bad strategy, and I think irresponsible. While this was going on, more capital funding was being lost due to the use of "toll revenue credits" -- brownie points -- used instead of the real cash match normally required to receive federal funds. This also continued to significantly reduce the capital budget in a way that was invisible to most -- and for the most part remains undiscussed.

dear barbara,
you are obviously talking out of your ass. the pink line is great for cta. and it gets many of us home safely, asshole. i hope you get vandalized on the southside.
if ever a 'straphangers' type group is initiated in our city, i will most certainly partake in it. as for a mass strike, that seems unlikely to happen. it's a nice thought but for some, public transportation is the only option for going about their day. :(