CTA Tattler

I tend to like Huberman, and I've been able to verify some of these accomplishments, and spoken to CTA staff who verify one or two of the rest.

But I wonder how much of this is straightforward, and how much is PR. I understand that it's tough for a blogger to fact-check everything -- considering our papers all too often don't even do it.

But for instance, the stats CTA gives about buses in service used a very narrow time horizon. Somebody should ask what were the stats 1 year, 2 years and 3 years before? And how much of the improvement had to do with the delivery of a lot of new buses.

Or on the issue of administrative costs, has any outside group actually added up admin costs in CTA's budget?

Just asking. Again, I do see some changes. But I'm still skeptical of how much has changed.

Yeah. So one can see why many of us laugh when Kevin talks about how nothing has changed on the CTA.

It's 11:00am and no word from KevinB. Should someone go make sure he's still breathing?

That list is padded with a lot of things that you can't really give him credit for. What's next: "- Sun came out, reducing need for lighting on platforms."

I'm not saying he hasn't accomplished anything. I'm just saying that this list of accomplishments is full of more spin than his infamous Powerpoint presentations.

I'm breathing. I'll admit it really does look good on paper. As a kid I read alot and came across the phrase "Paper Tiger" and thats what came into my mind when I read the Tattler this morning. Ron is a "Paper Tiger"

Of course, you can spin a defeat into a victory if you say the right things. Anyone remember "Mission Accomplished" and we are winning the war in Iraq? I see many parallels between the state of the CTA and the situation there. You basically have a bad situation that you try to spin into a good one. They say you can fool some of the people, et al.

I thought about doing another list of "accomplishments" including things like the "minor inconvenience" during the July 4th festivities and the latest blue line fiasco. I may work on it in my spare time. For all the talk about accountability and the other things, again, not alot has changed.

Really, though, not alot has changed on the CTA. When I take the Red line into work in the morning, the floor is still sticky, the service is still slow, the operators/bus drivers are still rude, the buses still bunch up, don't run on time, etc. I also see lots of "pilots" but then little no follow through too.

On another note, I took the red line over the weekend. I was a little surprised when the SB red line train I was on, switched over to the West side of the NB tracks. The ride was fast smooth and there were no switching problems. I can only wonder why it would be such a problem to do this during rush hour for the red line trains so that we'd have two tracks and I'd be able to get downtown in a reasonably fast, efficient, safe manner, but then I'm sure there's some bull&*(* reason why the customers need to be inconvenienced.

After all, how easy would it be to get more money out the the state, city, feds and the customers if the CTA actually worked?

KevinB (typing at lunch since some of the fanboys seem to worry about me not working hard enough)

Temperature increased, reducing need for platform shoveling photo ops.

If you ask me, this is a helluva lot of changes in a short, one-year timeframe. Even if they weren't all directly due to Mr. Huberman, he was the one who either pushed them through, or got the ball rolling in some sense of the matter. Kudos to you, Mr. Huberman!

In my personal opinion, take it or leave it, he's doing what he should be doing. Is there anything particularly earth shattering on that list? Not really. But he's done what he's supposed to do and done a good job at that. I really do credit him. His predecessor was president during a tough time in CTA history, but played things so close to the vest that he was letting a lot of the simple, low or no-cost opportunities to improve service or customer experience slip by with naught consideration.
I think it might be fair to say that he's doing well but looks so good because Kreusi never seemed to give the customer any consideration.

Many of these things are still in the "coming soon" phase. Might be a little premature to give him (or anyone) credit for things that haven't actually happened yet.

For example, is there anyone on here who would actually bet money that the bus tracker will include every bus route within the announced 12 month timeframe? If so, I have an investment opportunity in a bridge in Brooklyn that I'd like to tell you about...

And if we're giving credit for the planning of things, rather than the doing, it seems several things on the list should be credited to those who came before Huberman. The reopening of the Addison station and most other brown line improvements were all part of a project planned and started before he started. The idea of introducing 8-car trains to the brown line early is more fairly traceable to people on this blog than it is to Huberman. And the bus bunching pilot (a/k/a bus tracker) started over a year before Huberman arrived.

He's doing a good job, but let's not go overboard.

Let me put this another way... You could have spun a similar list of accomplishments for Frank for his last year at the helm.

Mission Accomplished, indeed.

Really? What is this list of things Frank did? Because I can't think of anything I'd call progress or an accomplishment during that time.

Fair to say he's "doing a heckuva job!"

GRRRR

The new Bus Tracker routes came out, Still no 8, no 22, CMON CTA you @$^#@'s

>>>
Really? What is this list of things Frank did? Because I can't think of anything I'd call progress or an accomplishment during that time.
<<<

Well, Ron's list of accomplishments includes things that would have happened even if Bozo The Clown had the job.

Example: "Newly renovated Addison Brown Line station reopens."

Some things on his list were just normal things that periodically happen anyway.

Example: "Conducted weekend emergency drills with Chicago Fire Department in CTA subway."

Some things just fell into his lap.

Example: "Locked in low pricing for 400 additional New Flyer Buses. The timing helped reduce the capital expense of purchasing new buses."

Some things he didn't do anything at all.

Example: "Added Brown Line trains back into service following successful performance of three-track operation."

Some things should have been accomplished sooner, so when they happened later, they shouldn't be included as a possitive thing he's done.

Example: "Expands Bus Tracker – 13 Additional Routes Provide Customers with Bus Arrival Times, All Bus Routes to Be Live within 12 Months."

So if you're willing to twist around, and spin every day occurances, as well as things that just fell into Frank's lap, yes, you could build just as an impressive list of accomplishments.

And then implying that tomorrow's list of "some problems he ran into and some things that still need work" will some how bring back balance is biased spinning, too.

When will we see the list of outright failures? And will that list also be padded as liberally as his list of accomplishments has been? (Or course if it is, people will complain that he shouldn't be held accountable for those things.)

Reminds me of a Simpsons episode....Homer was the only one who never got "employee of the month" and they were down to only him left and you could only win it once. He thought he had it in the bag, after all who else was there?

And guess who won? An inanimate carbon rod...let's hear it for the "inanimate carbon Ron" of the CTA. For 90% of those "accomplishments" all he had to do was show up for work...

KevinB

Sometimes I think Ron, like Bart, sold his soul to Milhouse for $5.

Nope, he sold it to Daley...

KevinB

They did not finish the slow zone work between Harlem and Jeff Park. The CTA said it would be complete in December, they came kinda close, so they just said that the slow zones were eliminated, despite the fact they weren't, and would require an additional 2 months of weekend work in 2008.

I applaud Huberman for being proactive in dealing with the slowzone problem. But quit the bullshit, we get enough of it from everywhere else.

"Montrose Station reopens ahead of schedule."

That, of course, is completely untrue. The CTA said the same thing about the Southport station. When the station closures were originally announced, they said they would be closed for "10 to 12 months". At other times, their language was "up to 12 months". Both the Southport and the Montrose stations were closed for about 11 months and 3 weeks. That is not ahead of schedule by any means. That is on schedule. In fact, it is the far end of being on schedule. Ahead of schedule would have been if they reopened less than 10 months after they closed. Of course, there is no chance of that since I doubt there is any incentive for the contracter and the workers to finish it early. After all, the workers would not want to have a shorter time-frame in which they are paid. But, of course, the CTA issues press releases stating that they finished something "ahead of schedule" and everyone (including all the news organizations which, as always, simply regergatated the press release) takes them at their word even though a simple check of the record would demonstrate that this is false. Obviously, this is not a major issue. But it still showcases how everybody often assumes that what they are being told is true and do not question things.

When will bus tracker be added to any of the northside lakeshore routes?

looks like Ron may be in a bit of a sticky wicket :)

Couldn't happen to a nicer flunky. I somehow doubt if there will be a second coffee. I guess I missed my chance. Maybe with the next Daley heir.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/927718,CST-NWS-sneed02.article

Also, it seems that the CTA is getting sued over the pulling of the GTA IV ads. I still notice that they are all over the bus stop rolling signs though.

KevinB

You forgot:

-Oxygen remained freely available throughout the CTA bus and rail network, allowing passengers to breathe free of charge

They may be concerned about expanding the bus tracker system quickly to areas where lots of people would use it and make a fuss when it doesn't work. Presumably they are working out the kinks by testing it out on residents of the South Side. Offensive in various ways if it's true, but what can you do...

OH NO! Huberman has people who use PowerPoint!?!? Oh no! That can only be a waste. I mean, the fact that thousands of very successful businesses regularly pay people to create presentations, even if presentation creation is not their business, clearly shows that PowerPoint is a HUGE waste of resources.

What the hell is the matter with you people? Don't you have jobs? Don't you know what tools are used in the corporate world to transmit information? Don't you know that Huberman does not have personal control and decision making over every decision and action impacting YOUR stupid commute every morning?

I miss the old Tattler, with its funny stories, but at least the posts are interesting again. The comments continue to be a source of vanity publishing for pains in the ass.

"Really, though, not alot has changed on the CTA. When I take the Red line into work in the morning, the floor is still sticky, the service is still slow, the operators/bus drivers are still rude, the buses still bunch up, don't run on time, etc. I also see lots of "pilots" but then little no follow through too. "

And reasonable people disagree with you. I've been on clean trains. Not all are clean, but some are becoming so. That's an improvement. I've had courteous drivers, non-bunching busses, more on-time service than there's ever been in my experience. It's not perfect, but it is better for me. That's why I laugh when you state these things as fact - it's not. There have been improvements.

I don't miss the old Tattler, by the way. The stories were rarely entertaining. This blog's evolution into news about the CTA is why I keep coming here.

So, I guess somehow my direct experience daily on the red line, the 36, 22 and Addison buses are somehow the exception, rather than the norm? I don't think so.

Yes, I did see the nice shiny floors that lasted for about 2 months. Now we are back to the faded, sticky, dirty floors of yesteryear.

If anything, I see more problems that I've seen before. I'm sending Kevin a story about an incident this morning, complete with some video about something I witnessed on my morning commute. I came in during the middle of it, but it just completely blew my mind that an operator would treat one customer at the the expense of another customer the way that they did. It borders on the "stupid people" comment from the blue line incident.

Yesterday I also saw someone get on the 36 broadway and complain that the bus driver didn't pick him up at the previous stop. The bust driver informed him that he didn't have to stop at every stop unless he was flagged down by the rider...thats news to me and when he was called on it by several other riders he got belligerent and told them that if they didn't like it, they could "get off his bus" when one guy asked for his number, he said complain to Ron Huberman if you want, no one would do anything to him. Gotta love that sort of accountability. Much, much better than it was before.

I talk with other people having similar experiences and their take is that things haven't gotten much better either. So they must be wrong too.

As far as the sneed column, it confirms what I've been saying about admin bloat at the CTA HQ. You know, they thing that I directly experienced and posted about during my visit to the HQ to help my mom with her Chicago card problems.....

If these were in any way, isolated incidents, I'd be the first to admit it, but they aren't.

KevinB

Ron has done some great things

Too bad that red line stuff rubbed off so quick. Oh well, what do you expect?

KevinB sez: "The bust driver informed him that he didn't have to stop at every stop unless he was flagged down by the rider."

Bust driver: Is that like two men walking a breast?

Sorry. Must have been a Freudian slip :)

KevinB

"Yesterday I also saw someone get on the 36 broadway and complain that the bus driver didn't pick him up at the previous stop. The bust driver informed him that he didn't have to stop at every stop unless he was flagged down by the rider......thats news to me "

Sorry, Kevin B., but the driver is right. It is the responsibilty of the customer to give some indication that he intends to get on the bus. First of all, was that even at a point in the route where the #36 bus does not overlap with the #22 or anything else? Otherwise, how would you expect the driver to even know that the person wants to get on a #36? They might be waiting for a #22. Second, even if the #36 was the only route at that stop, you still probably don't have a valid complaint. There could be any number of reasons why someone might happen to be in the vacinity of a stop. I've seen many valet parkers, for example, who happen to be stationed near a bus stop. It would be increadibly inefficiant fo bus drivers to slow down at every stop in order to make sure there is not someone somewhere waiting for a bus. The passenger needs to give some indication to the driver to stop. I once saw a person sitting inside of a bus shelter on Ashland Avenue not even keeping an eye on if there was a bus coming. The bus passed her, as it should have (she was not even in view of the driver unless he was to slow down at every stop), and she seemed completely annoyed about this. In reality, it was her fault. I would guess it is probably a similar situation in which you are describing. You seem annoyed when you think the CTA is inefficiant, yet you are essentually advacating more slowness and inefficiancies.

No, MK, the driver is NOT right.

CTA bus operators must stop for anyone in a bus stop.

That's it. That's their job and that's what they are trained to do.

Doesn't matter if three different buses stop at the same place. The operator can't tell if the customer has a vision, physical or cognitive disability which precludes him from identifying of flagging down a bus.

The operator must stop.

Without knowing the specifics of the pass-up, (despite the multiple scenarios you proposed), I can't say whether it was a logical, though improper, decision to pass the customer up. However, if the customer called it in and the bus cameras supported his claim, then the operator would face disciplinary action.

(and stop making me support KevinB!)

Really now?

Just so I'm not confused, the schedules that they put out are just a guide, not a real schedule that says the bus is not going to stop there?

So, since CTA puts a guide/directions out on just about everything, could you show me where it says that a person has to flag a bus to stop at a duly marked and documented bus stop?

I'm pretty well assuming that they put together the schedules with the fact that they might have to stop at each and every bus stop as marked.

Evidently I wasn't the only one surprised at this "revelation" on the bus. There were about 6 other people who were as surprised as I was that even went as far to express that surprise to the driver.

I seem annoyed because basically the bus driver did not want to stop at one of this assigned stops when there was a customer there. I'm sure it's really not an imposition for him to stop at his duly assigned stopping place.

So, again, if you would be so kind as to provide even some modicum of documentation to your assertion, I'd be more than happy to concede the point. If not, then like most everyone else I expect each and every driver to stick to the route and stops they are assigned. I'm really sorry if you think that is in any way inefficient or slows down the system. Just so you know I hardly ever advicate ( I advocate all the time, especially for the underdog) and inefficiancies (I do point out inefficiencies all the time too.)

KevinB

KevinB - was that last dig necessary? It ruined your argument. (Remember the bust driver?)

Mine was a typo and not caught by spell checker since bust is a real and correctly spelled word. Sorry if it seems petty. It's an annoying habit sometimes :)

KevinB

Yes, it's true, the driver is wrong - if you are standing under the blue and white bus stop sign or in the bus shelter, there is no need for you to have to do ANYTHING to get the driver's attention - they are supposed to assume that you want to get on the bus and stop for you.

Now, I have seen on multiple occasions(this past Monday morning on the Addison bus, in fact), situations where the person waiting for the bus looked very much like they were waiting for the walk sign in order to cross the street, quite literally standing in the cross walk and staring across the street rather than looking at the bus, and then at the last moment flagged the bus to stop, causing the driver to have to slam the breaks and stop for them on the far side of the intersection. But I don't know if that's what happened here. It could just be a case of the driver zoned out for a moment or two and didn't see the person, and then when he was confronted with his stupid mistake, he did what a lot of people do when they've made a stupid mistake at work and defend themselves with a bald-faced lie in a pathetic attempt to exonerate themselves. We've all done this :-)

No bus driver wants to get stuck at a red light just because they pulled over for someone who wasn't actually waiting for the bus. But, if there is anyone standing near the bus stop, then the driver HAS to AT LEAST slow down and do everything in his/her power to try and determine if the person(s) wants to get on before barreling through the intersection and potentially leaving the rider behind. There's simply no excuse for that.

i am gonna show this to my friend, brother

"Just so I'm not confused, the schedules that they put out are just a guide, not a real schedule that says the bus is not going to stop there? "

Kevin B.:

Do you notice that busses do not stop when there is NOBODY boarding and no one getting off? Sorry, there is no doubt that you are incorrect that busses have to stop at every stop. And I can pretty much guarantee you that ME Too is wrong that the policy is that the driver must always stop if there is someone near the stop, even if it serves multiple bus routes. I've taken busses where there were multiple routes and I can tell you that is just not the way it works. The driver will slow down (if it is neccessary to do so and, by all means, it is not always neccessary) and if the person or people standing at the stop do not give any indication that they want to board the bus will pass it. Otherwise, it would be utterly ridiculaus. The bus would have to stop at every stop where there are people gathered and ask everyone if they are boarding. They will probably reply something like(or at least want to) "if I were boarding I would not be looking in another direction other than the bus and I would have walked toward it when it came close". It isn't always rush hour and there are not always people at every stop boarding every route.

Look it: everyone knows that if you're standing near a bus stop and along comes a bus, you better show SOME sign, even small, that possibly you are interested in catching that bus, otherwise, that bus driver ain't gonna stop. If they did stop, buses would be slower than they already are and bus drivers more stressed -out than they already are. People, grow-up; stop acting like the bus system is soemthing it isn't.

As far as Huberman's accomplishments, I feel somewhere in the middle. I think he has changed some things around; but they are always slow--heck, they had to be slow since he had to go through that whole funding mess for most of his first year. Still, it's only been a year, so no one should be running-around giving out awards, either. That Blue Line mess a month ago says enough about that.

You all are blind if you don't think the fleet isn't somewhat cleaner than it was a year ago. Sorry to be so blunt, but, it is very obvious an effort has been made. Now, whether it bankrupts the CTA getting it so clean is still to be seen, isn't it.

As far as the performance of the rail system: it is operating worse, worse, worse than it was before Huberman--that is also clear. What's different, is why: because he actually pulled the trigger, stepped-up to the plate, and decided the damn thing needed to be fixed. And guess what: It sucks right now. It is a mess. But so did the Dan Ryan when it went under the knife; so is the Edens right now. That's what happens.

Honest Frank, who gets credit for being such a political brain-power, actually NEVER had the political cajones to actually disrupt the rail service in the short run, in order to get it functioning at a world class level in the long run. He would have let it stagnate, into further disrepair (probably costing the tax-payers more money in the long-run), then actually step up--look the riders in the eye and say, "sorry for the mess, but it's gotta happen."

I don't like how the rail's running right now, but at least I know where it's headed. Before, we never knew.