CTA Tattler

Wanted: A CTA desktop widget like BART's

My post Tuesday about the expansion of the bus GPS program elicited a lot of interest and comments. More than 50 comments at this writing.

One commenter noted that Google Maps has CTA bus and train schedules loaded. If you zoom in on a bus stop or train station (signified with a blue "M"), you'll see schedules for the next arriving train or bus. It's a start, but not real-time info.

Now, San Francisco's BART system has some cool widgets riders can download and run on their desktop. The widget provides service advisories and news in an RSS feed. BART also provides regular news in an RSS feed.

Another Tattler commenter noted that London is just starting to get real-time bus arrival information delivered to LED signs at bus stops.

So, stuff is happening all over, and it's all happening here. Yeah, sure, we can sit back and whine, what took so long, etc. I'll just say thank God and keep monitoring the CTA's progress.

Hat tip to my brother Dan on this one.

Birthday greetings PS, take 2: Yesterday it was brother Dan's birthday, and he's had a few of those already. But today is very special, because my sister-in-law is celebrating her 10th birthday. Yes folks, Penny is a Leap Day Baby. So Happy Birthday to her! If you're a Leap Baby, let's hear from you.

Oops! Missed that switch

It was a Friday afternoon after a long work week, and good karma seemed to be on my side:

• The train arrived just as I reached the platform.
• I found a seat right away.
• The motorman was really motoring north on the Red Line.

These were all good omens for a great start to a fab weekend.

And then we stopped dead north of Wellington. Oh well, I thought, we'll have to wait for the Brown or Purple train at Belmont to pull out of the station since there's only one track at Belmont.

But we wait longer. And then I see another Brown Line train pass us. That makes me realize we're on Track 3, not Track 4.

Then the train lurches backward about 10 feet, and stops dead yet again for a few minutes. Finally, the motorman makes his way to the last car where I'm sitting.

He heads to the motorman compartment and moves the train backward by about 50 feet. That's when it finally dawned on me: he had missed the switch to Track 4. He had to back up so it could be thrown.

Then he walked the length of the train again and proceeded north, switching tracks to make it into Belmont station.

Birthday greeting PS: As a point of personal perogative, here's a birthday shout-out to my brother Dan, designer of this site.

Ban those annoying MP3-playing cell phones

I've written about this before, but it seems the problem has only worsened since then: Doofuses who insist on "treating" the whole train car or bus to their fave tune blaring from their cell phone.

Just stop. Please.

The headline here suggest that the CTA should ban that wretched activity. Well, they already do, actually, but not very proactively.

The CTA "bad behavior" ordinance explicitly states it's illegal to "use an entertainment appliance, radio, musical instrument or other sound-emitting device, which is clearly audible to others." This was passed in 1998, but I gotta hand it to those forward-thinking legislators because this ordinance certainly covers squawking phones used without headphones.

And the newest automated announcements ask us to "please be considerate when talking on the phone or listening to electronic devices so as not to disturb other passengers."

The problem with those announcements is they are too easy to tune out, because they are too kind and gentle.

So let's use some tough love. Arrest them all!

CTA planning gradual expansion of GPS bus tracking GPS

The CTA will expand the GPS bus-tracking system one bus garage at a time starting this spring, says CTA spokesperson Noelle Gaffney.

Staff is currently determining which bus garage would go first, and the subsequent sequencing of bringing other garages online with the system. The idea is to have all bus routes out of a garage totally equipped with the necessary tracking hardware, but the sequencing has not yet been finalized.

"The sequence is tied to fleet management issues," says Gaffney. "We are replacing older buses (16-17 years old) with new buses and obviously don't want  to go to the expense of installing the tracker technology on buses that are soon to be retired."

GPS is already on the buses, but additional communications equipment, such as a modem and router, also would have to be installed, Gaffney said. "In order to implement at a garage, all the buses at that garage have to have the system."

The CTA has been testing the bus tracker system since August 2006 on the No. 20 Madison bus line. An expansion of that test was originally promised for last summer but never happened. So it's good to see this is finally happening.

Boxing up your car exhaust pipe

I love it when I see someone carrying something strange onto the CTA, you know, like gumball machines, tires and swords. And I thought that this qualifies. The box was really too high up, but it sure looks like parts of a car exhaust pipe, doesn't it?

Why can't Purple Line stop at Sheridan? Carole Brown tells why

Ask Carole, the blog written by CTA Board Chair Carole Brown, was pretty much silent from September through mid-January, when the state Legislature finally coughed up some dough and solved the transit crisis. There were only nine posts in that 20-week span.

And frankly, who can blame her, since there wasn't much good news to talk about.

But there have been three posts since then, and her latest post is a good signal that she's listening to riders and responding.

Her post about three-tracking affecting the southbound commute got questions from riders about why the CTA doesn't stop the Purple Line Express at Sheridan to alleviate overcrowding. To her credit, she answered that question in her next post.

"Only a very, very small portion of the boardings in the AM rush at Belmont and Fullerton (one to two percent) would shift their travel to use the Sheridan stop on the Purple Line--and there would be no significant benefit to customers at the crowded Belmont and Fullerton stations."

The CTA needs to continue that kind of open communication with passengers.

Red Line subway southbound closed this weekend. Slow zone repairs this weekend will force closure of the Red Line subway southbound and send it "over the top" on the Brown Line tracks from 6 am Saturday till 6 pm Sunday. Details at the CTA site.

Also:

• Daytime Single Track in Effect on Brown Line This Weekend
• Northbound Red Line Trains Temporarily Reroute at Sheridan

Details here.

The straight dope on CTA pension and retiree health care reform

We all know that the Chicago property transfer tax increased by 40% to help bolster the underfunded CTA pension and retiree health care costs. But let's now look at what CTA employees will have to pay now under provisions of the Mass Transit Funding and Reform Bill that passed in January.

Here are some of the pension reforms for CTA employees:

• The employee contribution to the pension plan increases from 3% to 6%.
• The pension fund must stay above 60% funded through 2039 and reach 90% funded by 2060. If additional contributions are necessary to meet these levels they are made 2/3 by the CTA and 1/3 by employees.
• For employees hired on or after the effective date of the bill, reduced pensions are now available at age 55 and 10 year of services. Previously, only three years of services were required.
• For new employees, full pensions are now available at age 64 (previously age 55) and 25 years of service.
• For new employees, CTA executive pensions are eliminated.

Here are the retiree health care reforms for employees:

• Active employees must now contribute at least 3% of compensation on a pre-tax basis. Currently they contribute nothing.
• Retirees and their dependents would contribute up to 45% of the cost of coverage (currently retirees contribute nothing and dependents pay approximately 20% of the costs of coverage).
• Health care benefits are now available to employees at age 55 and 10 years of services. Previously just three years of service were required.
• Retiree benefits would be no greater than 90% in network, 70% out of network (currently benefits include 100% indemnity coverage option).

I think these provisions move the CTA and its employees closer to what a "normal" business would expect its employees to pay for a pension and retirement health care benefits.

More creatures of habit

I've written in the past about how we're all creatures of habit -- boarding the same train or bus at the same time, picking the same car (near the platform exit door), and seeing the same people.

But yesterday was unusual in that I saw the same person riding to and from work, and on different Red Line cars.

And I noticed this person because she is REALLY pregnant. And yes, I give her my seat even though I was about two seats away from her. Other ingrates were closer, but whatever. She got her seat. And I probably shouldn't start that argument again.

I've seen her board a few times at Addison inbound in the past. Fourth car, rear door. But yesterday was the first time I saw her on the return trip. Seventh car, rear door. And she had a seat, so that's good. I think these kinds of habits seem to make us feel safer in our environment.

Seeking permanent prison break

Over the last two weeks, I've seen one persistent beggar four times on the ride home from work.

He enters through the door connecting train cars. He tells us his name is Jevon Dyer, and he just got out of prison after spending five years at Stateville.

That admission certainly gets people's attention, as some clutch their bags tighter, while for others, jaws drop as riders listen to his plaintive pleas and honest life assessment.

He tells us he's looking for a job, and has a few resumes if we'd like to see one. He explains he's also in desperate need of deodorant, soap, socks, underwear, food , and if you don't mind, he could use some spare change for a 7-day CTA pass. "That would be great."

I took a resume. He's got lots of experience as a fork-lift driver, in case any of you know of a job opening in that field.

There's hope in CTA's $227 million capital plan

I wrote Friday about Daley's $227 million plan to fix up the CTA. Reprinted below are key parts of the press release from the CTA's Web site. Obviously, this is the CTA's spin on it, but read it closely and you'll see key major elements present here that we've been agitating for for a long time:

Accountability - Spending cuts - Creative financing - Leveraging technology, especially GPS - Better training for employees - Emphasis on safety - Cleanliness.

Straight from the release:

"Daley identified several ideas and approaches he thinks the CTA should use to guide its thinking and make sure the system continues to improve.

• In the next few months, publicly detail its plans to improve the system and continue to hold itself accountable to riders and taxpayers. Then, keep the city’s neighborhoods informed regarding the implementation of plans.
• To continue to get the most from every tax dollar, he challenged the CTA to manage even better and further cut spending so more funds can be reinvested in service delivery. The CTA needs to develop a management system which demands that buses be on time.
• The CTA needs to think about how to creatively finance improved service delivery. It needs to look for additional ways to partner with the private sector to do things such as finance station improvements and make it easier for passengers to buy tickets and get schedule information.
• Continue its focus on a system that provides quality services, using the latest innovations and technology, such as continuing to install GPS technology throughout the system to eliminate bunching and reliably track buses and trains. The CTA also needs to develop a management system which demands that buses be on time.
• Provide more and better information to riders regarding delays, provide electronic signs at stations giving real time information on the next train arrival, provide e-mail alerts, especially to regular passengers of the system and improve its online information capability.
• Make sure all CTA employees who deal with the public are trained to do so.
• Invest in system safety. This includes: installing more safety cameras on buses, trains and at stations and stops throughout the system; enhancing maintenance practices for buses and trains – better inspections of brakes and doors, for example; stepping up efforts to monitor train tracks. They need to make sure their monitoring standards are as rigorous as possible.
• Continue efforts to make sure stations, buses and trains are clean and up-to-date. There are still 1,000 trains and buses in the system that are over 25 years old. Perhaps there is a creative financing tool they can use to update the rest.

"Now is also the time they need to consider building new stations with improved amenities, consider partnering with the private sector to provide retail services at key station and consider installing more express vending machines that accept credit and debit cards to make it easier and faster to get tickets."

This is actually quite encouraging to me. Go here to view a PDF of the presentation called "Improving the Customre Experience."

Graffiti artists work over model CTA trains in exhibit

Street artists get to show their stuff legally tonight at the A.Okay Loves CTA (Chicago Train Art) show. About 50 urban artists use O-scale model trains for their tagging pleasure in the show at A Okay Official from 6 to 10 pm Friday (tonight) at 3270 N. Clark St.

One of the featured artists is Solve, who caused a stir this week on the Blue Line when he did an installation piece on seat near the Hobo Corner.

He stenciled the words "We are experiencing legal difficulties" on a  TV, plugged it into the secret outlet, and sent it on its merry way into the morning CTA rush hour.

 

The Chicago Reader did some detective work and reported on it here. More of Solve's art is here.

Daley unveils $227 million capital plan to fix up CTA

Mayor Daley has shown more leadership on CTA issues in the last week than he did in the last year.

Last week he lambasted aldermen who voted against the property transfer tax increase.

Thursday he announced a quarter-billion-dollar plan to improve CTA safety and the "customer experience." And he urged state legislators and Blago to approve a capital spending bill to help pay for it all.

The $227 million spending plan would eliminate slow zones, including those on the Englewood branch of the Green Line. The capital cash infusion also would be used to rehab trains and buses, improve train door safety and speed up bus purchases.

"Ours is a 1920s system," said the mayor. "It's costly and inefficient." CTA President Ron Huberman promised more details down the road.

Can't wait to hear them.

How the CTA will run eight-car Brown Line trains

Buried in much of the doom and gloom reporting on Phase 2 of three-tracking is the great news that the Brown Line will begin operating eight-car trains about 18 months sooner than anticipated.

This will provide 33% more capacity at a time when fewer train cars will be heading southbound during the morning rush due to single tracking at Belmont and Fullerton stations.

Here's how the CTA will be able to run eight-car trains.

• Close the Wellington and Paulina stations on March 30. They currently can accommodate just six car trains. Closures will last about a year.
• Reopen Southport and a termporary station at Diversey on March 30.
• Passengers will use a temporary Diversey station during the summer while work continues on new elevators and the stationhouse.

Let's face it: We all knew PAse 2 of three-tracking was coming this spring. What we didn't know was that some of that lost capacity due to fewer train runs southbound would be made up by the new eight-car Brown Line trains. So kudos to the CTA for pulling this off now.

But don't get complacent. There still will be less capacity. From the CTA Web site:

There are more than 40 bus routes that could be used as alternate transportation, including nine lakefront express routes that provide direct service to and from the Loop during rush periods. CTA will increase bus service on several routes: #11 Lincoln/Sedgwick, #22 Clark, #134 Stockton/LaSalle Express, #135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express, #147 Outer Drive Express, #148 Clarendon/Michigan Express and the #156 LaSalle. The CTA also recommends that riders consider other nearby bus routes or other CTA rail lines such as the Blue Line.

To the extent possible, the CTA recommends that riders plan to leave earlier or later, and allow extra travel time.

Red Line southbound morning rush capacity to drop 20%

Phase 2 of the three-tracking project will slow down southbound riders starting in late March when the CTA reduces capacity on the Red Line by about 20%.

Starting March 30, the number of Red Line train cars heading south during the morning rush (7:35 to 8:55 am) will drop to 120 from the current 152. At that time, Red, Brown and Purple Line trains will share a single track in the second phase of the project to build new platforms at Fullerton and Belmont.

There's a small bit of good news here: The number of Brown Line trains will stay the same but capacity on them will grow by 33% because the CTA will operate eight-car trains instead of six-car runs. Great progress on expanding many of the Brown Line stations allows the CTA to start using eight cars.

The CTA also will add two "sneaker trains" per hour southbound starting at North/Clybourn to add a little more capacity.

"Single-track northbound will be a thing of the past by March 30," said CTA President Ron Huberman at Wednesday's board meeting. Currently northbound Red Line trains use Track No. 3 at Fullerton, but share a single track with the Brown and Purple trains at Belmont.

This reduction in southbound service is about equal to the reduction in northbound service that started in early April last year. If folks continues to "leave early, leave late and alternate" then we should get through this OK.

Finally, the CTA Wednesday also announced the Skokie Swift Yellow Line will now run on weekends from 6:30 am till 10:30 pm starting March 30.

The CTA also said they are making all this stuff effective March 30 because that is my birthday.

Well, just kidding about the first part, but not about my birth date.

More laptops on CTA - trend or anamoly?

I've seen saw four laptops dudes -- always dudes, not dudettes -- on four consecutive rides. Is that a trend or anomaly? With the proliferation of handheld devices, before this sighting I hadn't seen anyone with a laptop in a while.

And I'm amazed they can actually work in the limited space. I always try to sneak a peak at what they're doing. But it's usually something mundane like surfing gossip sites.

And even if I don't see many laptops around these parts, it seems Canada's Moncton Transit  in New Brunswick is encouraging laptop use on buses with free wireless access.

Then there's the story of some London guys at crave.cnet.com who carried the 18-pound, 20-inch Dell XPS M2010 "mobile" computer around London and on the Underground. I swiped this still photo from the funny video on the site, which you can watch here.

CTA office staff - including Ron - pitch in for big snow removal jobs

UPDATE: OK, I found a photo of CTA Prez Ron Huberman by the Chicago Tribune. This was taken Feb. 1 somewhere on the Red Line.

During major snow storms, more than 100 office staffers at CTA headquarters -- including President Ron Huberman -- grab shovels and help dig out rail stations and platforms.

“With continuous snow fall such as we had this morning (Feb. 1), locations have to be shoveled multiple times as new snow accumulates. In addition to our regular janitorial staff, we have a dedicated staff of office employees who have come from behind their desks and pitched in today to help keep stations clear,” said CTA President Ron Huberman. “With the extra help, we are working to have all platforms cleared again before the afternoon rush.”

Read all about the CTA's "snow command team" here. Another press release details how "CTA track and substation staff will be on duty throughout the night at rail yards to clear switches of snow and ice build up. Rail switch heaters throughout the rail system will also be activated to help reduce ice buildup." 

And yet another CTA missive tells us how "trains are equipped with sleet scrapers and snowplow blades to remove ice and snow from the third rail. In addition, CTA has four snow fighter locomotives to clear tracks of ice and snow."

This weather is tough on everyone, including the CTA. Glad to see they are prepared and pitching in to help, from the president on down. If you see Ron out there with a shovel today or later this winter, please snap a photo and send it to me to post. 

World's subways systems shown at same scale

I recently ran across this site that shows the world subway systems on the same scale. Here's a screenshot of just six of the cities compared.

And here's a site with just subways on our continent.

A few words about comments on CTA Tattler

I don't moderate comments here on CTA Tattler.

I don't have the time nor the inclination. More importantly, I like the free flow of ideas and opinions you folks share here, and don't want to stifle that.

However, there are occasions where some commenters push the envelope. Recently in comments, there have been near threats of violence between commenters, and some puerile name-calling.

I don't like that. The objects of same don't like that. Please stop.

Nuff said. Thanks for reading and for the good ideas and discussions we have here.

"You will not have the courage to tell the CTA to bypass your ward"

I quoted Daley a bit in yesterday's post about his rant against aldermen who voted against the property transfer tax increase:

Also, Mayor Daley was in fine form, saying that any alderman who voted against the tax should call the CTA and tell them to have buses and trains bypass their ward -- "if you have the courage." Daley predicted that if they did, "We'll have to call 911 to protect you and your family" from angry constituents.

You really MUST see the entire rant for yourselves:

Here's something that the Mayor and I certainly agree on.

Aldermen try to "Blago" property transfer tax before OK'ing it

Chicago aldermen voted 41-6 to OK a 40% hike in the property transfer tax that the buyer pays, but not before trying to "Blago" the bill by adding yet more free rides -- this time for active duty and disabled vets, according to the Tribune.

Also, Mayor Daley was in fine form, saying that any alderman who voted against the tax should call the CTA and tell them to have buses and trains bypass their ward -- "if you have the courage." Daley predicted that if they did, "We'll have to call 911 to protect you and your family" from angry constituents.

The tax is the final piece in the transit funding puzzle, with proceeds earmarked to help pay for CTA pension shortfalls from years of underfunding the pension plan for workers to pay for operating costs.

The Sun-Times story on the bill's passage notes that the council DID include what may well be a worthless exemption of the tax for senior citizens. And there's still some question whether alderman can mandate the free rides for vets and military personnel. That's still under scrutiny, but CTA Prez Ron Huberman said it appears the move may in fact be legal.

Voting against the tax: Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward); Sandi Jackson (7th); Sharon Dixon (24th); Rey Colon (35th); Brian Doherty (41st); Bernard Stone (50th). But if you live in those wards, I'm thinking your CTA access is safe; I doubt if any of those aldermen will be asking the CTA to bypass their wards.

A point to ponder as we do our Form 1040 (even if it's wrong)

My wife was riding the No. 80 Irving Park bus last week, when she noticed a strange-looking bus ad. She got a little closer, and saw that someone had removed a regular ad panel from the brackets across the top of the bus, flipped it over and and written what turns out to be a flawed screed. It was scrawled in ball point pen:

"Where is the law that says you MUST pay income taxes?

"Have you ever seen it? Have you ever asked?

"Well I'm telling you, there is no law saying you have to pay income taxes.

"Ask to see the law before you blindly follow."

Or save yourself some trouble and ask Wesley Snipes.

Better still, read the Constitution of the United State, Article I, Section 8:

"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States"

And in 1913, the 16th Amendment further clarified things for us poor schmoe taxpayers after the U.S. Supreme Court had declared the income tax unconstitutional in 1895:

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

But hey, nice try buddy. Hope you have a good lawyer.

Vote with the transit mess in mind on Election Day

Today is Primary Election Day in Illinois, a time for voters in each party to decide on a slate of candidates for the General Election on Nov. 4.

While the presidential primary is getting the most buzz (Go Barack!), we're also deciding who should run for seats in the state Legislature. You know, that bunch of knuckleheads who stalemated and stagnated for months on end while we suffered through three Doomsday scenarios?

In the end, they got the job done and passed a small regional sales tax increase to fund operations for the CTA, Metra and Pace. But during those painful months of indecision and political gamesmanship, many of us here vowed never to vote for these folks again -- particularly Gov. Blagojevich. Unfortunately, Rod is not on the ballot.

But if your legislator did not support HB 656, then you should not support him or her. While I don't have the vote tally, I'm fairly certain that most legislators in Chicago and most of the area that the RTA serves voted for the transit bill. So what to do?

Well, if you live in the 14th Senate District on the Far South Side of Chicago, you should not vote for Senate President Emil Jones. He did the governor's bidding throughout this mess, and refused to call for votes in the Senate some House-supported transit bills that Rep. Julie Hamos got passed.

If you live in the 22nd House District, House Speaker Michael Madigan is your representative. His feuding with Blago prolonged the "Doomsday" crisis, though he did work with Hamos to get bills passed.

Our real chance as voters to vote with this transit mess in mind comes in 2010 Democratic Primary when Blagojevich no doubt will run for re-election. Let's hope we have memories like elephants.

Real estate lobby ramps up campaign against CTA property transfer tax hike

With the Chicago City Council poised to vote on the final piece of the CTA funding packages as early as Wednesday -- the 40% hike in property transfer tax -- the real estate lobby is pouring big bucks into a campaign to shoot it down.

The Illinois Assn. or Realtors and the Chicago Assn. of Realtors are tag teaming  aldermen, calling it the "wrong tax on the wrong people at the wrong time." Their argument is:

"This tax will make housing in Chicago less affordable. It will slow business and economic growth in the city. And it will discourage the creation of new jobs. While federal lawmakers work on an economic stimulus package, the Chicago City Council is planning to rush through a tax increase that will slow down our economy."

Frankly, I don't really believe all of that, and I'm not sure they can prove it. The buyer would pay the transfer tax; and on a $250,000 home that would mean an additional $750 for a total tax of$3,000. But those fees are generally rolled into the mortgage and amortized over 30 years, so the monthly hit to the pocketbook would be additional $6 per month at 6% interest on a $250,000 loan.

CTA President Ron Huberman said: "The real estate transfer tax is a critical component of the holistic transit funding package approved by the General Assembly.  It is a smart investment that will allow the CTA to implement pension and health care reforms that will save $11 million a month in the operating budget.  That is money that can be better used to support day to day operations."

And we got into this pension mess by diverting pension funds the last few years to pay rising operating expenses under the previously flawed state funding formula.

Judging from what I've read and from talking to my own alderman, it appears that most aldermen aren't necessarily happy about raising the tax rate, but feel they have no choice. "If not this tax, then what?" asked 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore. "This is the least unappealing alternative. The only choice we have is to support this tax or face a huge shortfall at the CTA."

Friday news mix: Brown Line closed in Loop Saturday

Track work on the Wells Street Bridge will close the Brown Line in the Loop from 1 am till 5 pm Saturday. Riders headed to the Loop can transfer to the Red Line at Fullerton. The CTA will also provide a shuttle bus between the Merchandise Mart and Clark-Lake El stations.

Slow zone work on Red Line subway. Trains will ride on a single track from Roosevelt to Grand as slow zone work continues. Northbound Red Line riders will board on the southbound side from midnight till 4 am Saturday. This work has been under way all week, and will continue.

Haikus hug Harrison station walls. Jones College Prep High School and Columbia College students crafted some handsome haikus to adorn the walls of the Red Line Harrison station. See the Tribune story here. My daughter and her friends are Jones students, and they contribute some great Tattler tales here. So a tip of the hat to them.