CTA Tattler

Welcome gifts the CTA gave us this year

Many of us around here, myself included, are sometimes critical of the CTA. But I think they deserve credit when they do well. So I've compiled this list of gifts the CTA has given us this past year to make our commutes easier. I've probably missed a few things. Tell me.

• Fixed the worst rail system slow zones.
• Finished the three-track project six months ahead of schedule.
• Opened newly rehabbed stations at Southport, Armitage, Diversey, Chicago, Irving Park ad Damen on the Brown Line.
• Increased Brown Line capacity by adding eight-car trains.
• Launched a newly redesigned Web site.
• Expanded the Bus Tracker system to more than half of its bus routes -- 75 out of 144 routes.
• Greater transparency with the introduction of reports such as Performance Metrics.
• The announcement of the Bus Rapid Transit Pilot Program.
• The introduction with the new Web site of system alerts via RSS feeds.
• The partnership with Google on its Google Transit Web site.

Rail service to increase Dec. 29 on Red, Brown and Purple lines

With all four tracks open now at Belmont and Fullerton, the CTA plans to increase service Monday, Dec. 29, on the Red, Brown and Purple lines, said a CTA spokesperson.

• Purple Line trains to the Loop will increase from every 15 minutes to every 8 minutes in the rush periods.

• Brown Line trains will increase from every 5 minutes to every 4 minutes during the rush periods.

• Red Line frequency will increase in the AM rush from approximately 4 minutes to 3.5 minutes. The PM rush trains will continue to operate at approximately 4 minute intervals.

Operation of Purple Line trains on the Loop elevated will also change on Dec. 29. Trains will operate on the inner loop in a clockwise manner, returning to the direction of travel used before the three track project began. From the press release:

“Restoring normal Purple Express routing in the Loop allows riders improved rush-hour options,” said CTA President Ron Huberman. “Purple Express trains are a faster option than the Brown Line for customers headed to the Lake and State Street elevated stations, and in the evening rush allows riders headed to the North Side to use either side of the elevated platforms to exit the Loop.”

This is more great news.

Ray LaHood for Transportation secretary? The jury is still out

President-elect Obama promised a bipartisan cabinet, and he kept that promise last week by naming a Republican -- former U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood of Peoria -- as his Transportation secretary.

The blogosphere has not been too kind in its assessment of the pick. I think we need to withhold judgment and let's see how he does.

We know that he was among few Republicans who voted last summer to give Amtrak more funding. And LaHood also supported the "Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008."

But he also is close to Caterpillar, one of the biggest highway project lobbies. Certainly we know that highway construction will be a big part of the Obama's public works plans. But we also need a loud voice for mass transit funding in Barack's administration.

I hope LaHood will be that voice.

"Don't shoot the messenger"

A Red Line train heads north at Wilson at about 4:30 pm on a Thursday.

The motorman announces that his delayed northbound train will run express to Thorndale, and that other trains are following immediately. He issues the usual CTA shuck and jive in the usual affectless monotone.

Except that … In the middle of the boilerplate announcements, and without changing his tone of voice or cadence, he says:

“I only work here.”

(Hat tip to an emailer.)

Fourth track opens Saturday at Belmont

Good-bye to three-tracking and good riddance. The CTA quietly announced in the weekend service changes email alert that Track 1 goes back into service at Belmont at 4 am Saturday for the Purple and Brown Lines.

I commend the CTA for accelerating the work and opening all four tracks before the end of the year as they had promised.

Now the question is when/how will service increase. I've asked the CTA for that info and will let you know.

First-person account from CTA "grinding" victim -- and what you can do if you're a victim

I've written a few times in the past about CTA sexual perverts -- whether gropers, wankers or flashers. Trish commented yesterday about her experience with a "grinder" on the 135 bus. I'm making a full post of it to bring more attention to this problem, and because she has good ideas about what a victim should do. Thanks for speaking up, Trish:

I was sexually harassed this morning on the 135. I was standing near the front of the bus, against the driver's side wheel well, when we pulled up to Wacker and Columbus and a large number of people exited. As usual, I squeezed up against the well to make room for the exiting passengers, so I didn't realize at first what was happening -- I thought what I was feeling was just the pressure of people passing by. Suddenly I realized that this creep behind me was grinding his genital area against me. More on reflex than anything else, I wheeled around and yelled at him to get away, although sadly I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture of him. After I yelled, a blonde lady paused as she was exiting the bus to say "Just so you know, he did it to me, too."

1) I seem to remember reading a comment about this guy on this site before -- he's Latino, about 5', possibly with a mustache, wearing a red, white and green jacket, and reeks of booze. This happened to me once before, also on the 135, and with the same guy, but I didn't know enough to do what I did this time: I called the police and filed a report.

2) To all the people who gave me weird/dirty looks when I yelled at him: Sorry to disturb your commute, but I'm not the crazy one. Should your mother/sister/daughter find herself in a similar situation, I hope her fellow passengers are a little kinder. Because the alternative is to remain silent, and just stand there and take the abuse. Speaking of which,

3) To the blonde lady: Your tone suggested that you may have been the person leaning heavily on my arm this morning on the way down Lake Shore, and that you were doing so to get away from the creep. First, I'm sorry I didn't move. I couldn't reach the next pole over and I'm so used to being squashed in the mornings that it seemed less like a signal and more par for the course. Believe me when I say if I'd known he was there I would have made more space for you even if it meant some shoving and pissing off people on my other side. Next time, even if you don't want to confront the guy, tap me on the shoulder. SAY something. I will do my best to help you. I will move. I will take his picture. Nobody should have to put up with this sh*t. Which brings me to

4) Ladies, if he bothers you, call him out, humiliate him before the rest of the bus/train car, and call the police! Note the time, date, run # and bus # and call the CTA too. Reporting is the only way to stop him. This is predatory sexual behavior, and it is NOT your fault, and the only way to protect yourself and your fellow passengers is to get the word out, to us and to the authorities.

Holiday Train an assault on the senses

In riding the CTA's Holiday Train, one has to be prepared for a bombardment of sight, sound and imagery.

And it helps not to be claustrophobic.

A few friends of Tattler took me up on my offer to meet-up on last Saturday's Holiday Train. (Thanks guys, great to meet you!)

We got on the first car at Roosevelt, which was already filled with families and kids of all ages. There was a general buzz in the car -- a good, Christmasy intoxicating buzz.

Elves, dressing the part in elaborate costume, handed out candy canes to every person who boarded at every stop. Two elves staffed every car -- 12 elves total. Santa's sleigh took up the spot for car 3 and 4 of the eight-car train. They are paid CTA employees, but there were other unpaid employees on board who were volunteering their time.

In my car, most of the windows were covered by decorations and exterior signs. In place of ads ringing the top of the car were seasonal joke ads and generally bad jokes.

After awhile, it seemed like the adults were enjoying the ride the most, and the kids got bored after awhile. On a train Martha was on, her godchild remarked that one of the "ads" didn't make any sense, when it actually was a joke a little over her head. A bad joke.

Some highlights were watching the faces of riders on the platform as it pulled into the station. We saw a mix of wonderment, joy, astonishment and downright confusion. One woman hesitated to board because she didn't think it was a "regular" Brown Line, despite the best efforts by the motorman to convince her otherwise.

Finally, we exited at Belmont and I dashed down the platform to get photos of Santa on the open car/sleigh. It looked like a paparazzi lineup. And no one hassled any of these photographers.

We all had a great time afterward over drinks and conversation.

Here's the schedule for the final weekend (through Tuesday) of the Holiday Train. Check it out.

CTA launches RSS feeds for every train and bus line

My brother Dan O'Neil, founder of CTA Alerts and CTA Tweets, posted about the RSS feeds on the new CTA feeds over at his blog, Derivative Works.

He saw the preview Monday night with me and also writes about some of the changes at the CTA to support these feeds.

Check it out. And I like his ending promise: "Look for these feeds to be pumped into their appropriate CTA Tweet feeds soon."

New CTA Web site a breath of fresh air -- with lots more information

The CTA enters the 21st Century with the launch of its new Web site some time today after the morning rush.

In a sneak preview Monday night for CTA Tattler and other journalists, we saw a new home page that features a clean, more graphical look -- quite a departure from the previous text-heavy home page.

Quick links in the top right corner take customers to schedules, maps and alerts, with the Trip Planner directly beneath it. These are pages that research shows were the most-visited on the site.

The new site is chock-full of useful information -- with everything from planned and emergency alerts, to RSS feeds for elevator status and bus and train lines.

Other features:

• A new -- much-needed -- site search function.
• A new at-a-glance System Status box.
• A mobile version of the site for handhelds.

The site redesign was a partnership with Americaneagle.com, a Park Ridge Web development firm that won a $2.6 million contract for lots of stuff, including the Web site -- which cost about $150,000 of that.

Let us know what you think of the new site.

Clark, Sheridan, Broadway buses show big "reliability improvements"

The biggest surprise for me in Ron's President Report to the CTA board at the December meeting is that the 22 Clark, 151 Sheridan and 36 Broadway buses showed double-digit increases in "reliability improvement" this year.

So what does that mean? According to the CTA, "Improved reliability is measured by the increase in consistency of the route.  The #22 route has significantly improved in regard to gaps in service."

 

I probed further about this, and here's how a CTA spokesperson explained it:

"The #22 has been increasing the entire year. There are three factors leading to the #22's growth: 1) reliability has improved by almost 50%. While the route still has challenges in maintaining good reliability, it is one of our most improved routes; 2) Service-level constraints on the nearby rail lines due to three-track operation made Clark Street a more competitive alternative to the Red, Brown or Purple Lines, particularly in the Lincoln Park, Gold Coast and near North sections of the route's service area; and 3) by traversing a service area with already congested parking and low-auto ownership, a street like Clark Street is more likely to pick-up new riders as gas-prices increased.

The titles, "reliability improvement" means the route had improvements made to its reliability; "service improvement" means the route was injected with more frequent service, or increased hours of service and "3-Track" means the service is thought to be beneficially impacted by the 3-Track rail project.

Who knew?