CTA Tattler

Catching up: Circle Line funds OK'ed; CTA bets wrong on fuel prices

Here are some short pieces on CTA news from the last week that happened while I was reporting other news. After all, this is not a 24-hour news shop I'm running here.

Circle Line engineering $$ OK'ed by Congress: The Chi-Town Daily News tells us that about $6 million to fund "some of the initial engineering" on the proposed Circle Line project was included in the Omnibus Appropriations Act passed by Congress and signed into law by the president last week. It's just another step closer for the Circle Line.

Cheaper to ride Metra than CTA? The Sun-Times Monday reported that in some case, taking the Metra is cheaper than the CTA. As pointed out, it's one of those "yes, but" stories. You're a slave to the limited schedule outside of rush hour, and you can't transfer to a CTA bus or El line without paying a CTA fare.

Wrong bet on fuel prices: The Sun-Times and others noted last week that the CTA hedged their entire fuel bill for the year at $3.80 a gallon for diesel, and bet wrong. Diesel now sells for about $2.30 a gallon. CTA Board Chairwoman Carole Brown said: "We can't bargain shop for something as critical as fuel costs. Sometimes the lack of uncertainty is worth a lot."

Get CTA news from Tattler feed: In case you hadn't noticed, we recently changed the CTA news feed in the center column from Yahoo to Google. The Yahoo feed often didn't work, and recently was broken. So far I'm happy with Google -- even if some of the news is not quite CTA related.

Guardian Angels "detain" alleged tagger -- or it is assault?

A video posted on YouTube last month shows four Guardian Angels "detaining" two alleged taggers at the Western Blue Line station. The problem here is this detainment seems to cross the line to assault, especially when one Angel yanks and twists a guy's leg while two other Angels sit astride his upper body, immobilizing him. The prone "perp" also complains about having his nose smashed.

Yes, it is illegal to deface CTA property. And graffiti cleanup costs us more than $4 million a year, But to me, the tactics used by Guardian Angels here are over the top, and may be illegal. I'm trying to get a police comment on that.

You can visit 3RDRAIL1988's YouTube channel and see other similar videos. Here is part of 3RDRAIL1988's explanation for the force used, as copied straight from the YouTube info:

WE ONLY USED AS MUCH FORCE AS WAS NEEDED, KEEP IN MIND HE COULD OF KILLED HIMSELF OR US IF WE FELL BETWEEN THE TRAIN CARS. WE COULD NOT TAKE CHANCES. AT THE END I APPLIED A PRESSURE POINT TO THE NOSE AND GAINED CONTROL OF SUSPECT. IT HURT HIM SO BAD HE BEGAN TO YELL AND ONLY WHEN THE POLICED ARRIVED.

The CTA officially discourages such citizen actions: "CTA does not recommend that any private citizen engage someone they suspect of criminal behavior on the system. Individuals are advised to notify personnel immediately or contact 9-1-1 for assistance." The CTA also distances itself from the Guardian Angels:

"CTA Security is provided by the Chicago Police Department Public Transportation Section. Officers from the unit include both uniformed and plainclothes officers who ride the trains and buses and patrol stations. Because they handle security on our system, any questions regarding the Guardian Angels should be directed to the CPD.  CTA does not have a formal relationship with the Guardian Angels."

The Angels videotape detainments to protect themselves from liability issues. Seems to me that this video could be used against them.

CTA ridership growth continues, especially on rails and weekends

In his only board meeting as acting president, Dorval Carter last month got to report some good news: CTA ridership continues to grow system-wide. And at President Richard Rodriguez's first meeting this week, the good ridership news continued -- perhaps the only good news at the board meeting.

Overall ridership was up almost 6% in February, and 5% for the year. The biggest increases came on the weekend and at off-peak hours. Some of you folks wondered how there could be a budget deficit with ridership growth. It's very simple. That growth is nowhere near enough to offset the lost sales and real estate tax due to the slumping economy. 

Weekend service changes. Check them out here, including Blue and Red Line changes. And, oh yeah, the real St. Patrick's Day Parade shuts down Western Avenue on the Far South Side for much of the day Sunday. There's also the downtown parade Saturday.

Cheers to the Irish!

-- Kevin O'Neil

Welcome President Rodriguez! Now fix the CTA's $155 million deficit

Talk about an unwelcome welcoming gift! At the same meeting Wednesday where CTA board members ratified Mayor Daley's appointment of Richard Rodriguez as the transit agency's new president, Board Chairwoman Carole Brown said service cuts and more fare hikes are definitely under consideration to plug this year's $155 million deficit.

Makes you wonder if the poor guy even knows where the bathroom and lunchroom is, before being faced with this gaping hole in the budget caused by the slumping economy.

But the CTA has ideas to bridge more than half that gap with other savings and efficiencies. In a report to the board, Paul Fish, the CTA’s vice president of budget and capital finance, suggested these 11 cost-saving ideas:

• Lower Injury And Damages Reserve
• Allocate Remaining Lease Deal Money
• Reduce Non-operational Vacancies
• Restrict Non-Emergency Overtime
• Improve Bus and Rail Scheduling Efficiencies
• Identify Savings by increasing Bus and Rail Car Rehabs
• Restructure Management Positions
• Maximize Real Estate Opportunities
• Review and Renegotiate Contracts
• Non-operational training
• Review Compensation and Hiring Strategies

These would save $80 million. I (and other readers) offered many of these same ideas, so glad to know they look to us for advice. For the other $75 million, Fish proposed RTA loans and "other funds" (not sure which funds though). And finally, in the "other options" category, he mentioned:

• Labor Solutions To Lower Cost And Retain Labor Force
• Service Cuts
• Fare Increases

Rodriguez and his new staff will offer details on how to get out of this mess at its April 7 board meeting. It seems inevitable that either service cuts or another fare hike -- or both -- will be part of that balancing equation. Unless the RTA does come up with a solution at its own board meeting on April 2.

Fish's presentation also showed how the CTA now expects to get 21% less than originally budgeted from sales tax and real estate transfer tax revenue, accounting for the $155 million budget gap.

My question is this: Since this deficit is related to the slumping economy, when we come out of this and the tax revenues presumably recover to "regular" levels, would any service cuts or fare hikes be rolled back?

The beggar and his reluctant partner

The guy made the usual loud racket as he came banging through the door connecting the Red Line train cars. He began his begging rap right away, except there was a twist.

He was dragging his 8-year-old son along, featuring him prominently in his pitch:

"Me and my son are in and out of shelters right now. Anything you can spare would be really helpful."

His son stood sheepishly with him, looking slightly embarrassed. He was eating the cuff of his jacket with eyes downcast. His dad then held him directly in front of him as he personally confronted every single passenger on the car, asking them for money.

And his success rate was a bit higher than what I usually see. Generally I rarely see a beggar score any cash at all. This guy got two passengers on my car to pony up.

But at what price to this poor kid?

Further details on CTA stimulus funds: Cermak rehab, Dearborn subway ties replaced

The Cermak-Chinatown station will be renovated and Dearborn subway ties replaced with funding earmearked to the CTA from President Obama's economic stimulus law.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning OK'ed the $240 million from the CTA last week. See this post for general spending categories. In the meantime, a source provided me with some of the following details:

• Rail car overhaul - 2600 series overhaul (300 cars).
• Reconstruct rail station - Cermak Station renovation.
• Replace/upgrade distribution & signal - Rehab Red Line substations.
• Replace buses - Purchase Articulated Hybrid Buses (100 buses).
• Infrastructure & renewal program - Dearborn subway ties.
• Improve facilities - Various bus garage improvements.

A CTA spokesperson was unable to confirm these details from source. And she voiced a word of caution about the CMAP numbers: "The numbers in the CMAP list are estimates/placeholders.  Until we have bids/contracts we won’t know exactly how much will be allocated to these projects and that in turn impacts what is available to spend on other projects."

Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office has named Illinois as one of the states it will be auditing and closely watching how it spends the $22.7 billion it is expected to receive in stimulus funding and tax cuts, Crain's Business reports.

And who can blame them? First, the state is set to receive the sixth-highest amount overall. Not to mention the fact it has been the laughingstock of the nation in the past few months with an impeached and ousted governor and a new senator under federal scrutiny about how he got his job.

"Fantasy" CTA bike enhancements

A reader last week shared what he called "fantasy" CTA bike enhancements. These enhancements are depicted in a video here. They include:

• Bigger, easier fare gates for people rolling bicycles into the station.
• Wheel channels for rolling bike up stairs.
• Train interior space for holding bicycles vertically.

The CTA has made efforts to become more bike-friendly, including the construction by CDOT of bike shelters last year at four CTA stations. One shelter is on the "mezzanine level" at the Damen Blue Line station. Click the continuation to see a photo by my friend Mike.

Also at Damen, wheel channels (photo below by Mike) were installed on the stairs to make it easier for bikers to push their steeds up to the platform. So there is some incremental progress, but certainly much more is needed.

More details on CTA stimulus request: Lots of maintenance, renewal programs

The CTA is asking the feds for $80 million in stimulus funding to do preventive maintenance, and more than $83 million for "infrastructure and renewal programs."

That $163 million ask represents more than two-thirds of the total $240 million in requests made for cash available under President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Below are the details in the pdf at the posted at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

Pages 40 to 46 of the pdf show CTA projects included in amendments and revisions to CMAP's Transportation Improvement Program. The rows with a "TRA" funding source show projects for which the CTA is seeking stimulus dollars. Those are in the above spreadsheet.

The CMAP Transportation Committee will consider all the requests at a 9:30 am meeting today (March 6) at its headquarters, 233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 800 in Chicago. From CMAP's blog:

If the CMAP MPO Policy Committee concurs at its March 12 meeting, the locally programmed transportation funding from the ARRA will be distributed to the Councils of Mayors (including the city of Chicago) using the regular STP distribution formula. At the CMAP Council of Mayors Executive Committee meeting on March 3, the mayors discussed the desirability for consultation with IDOT on the IDOT-selected projects in their regions and the need to assure that the ARRA funds programmed by the Councils are not supplanting projects that would have been accomplished in the next year anyway.

I'm still looking for more details on the line items. Stay tuned.

List of Additional Funding Requests by the CTA in light of the Stimulus Bill

Guest post by Daniel X. O'Neil.

In light of the American Recovery and Reinvestment act (ARRA)-- otherwise known as the "stimulus bill", the Chicago Transit Authority has revised upwards its budget requests from the federal government by a whopping $323,469,000. This includes $248,827,000 in fresh requests for new projects and $74,642,000 in additional requests for existing projects.

You can view the document-- "Proposed American Reinvestment and Recovery Act Projects", published on the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Web site, yourself.

UPDATE: It's our understanding that some of the additional funds requested are not directly related to the stimulus package. If you're following along in the original document, only those items marked "TRA" in the Fund Source column (about $240 million) represent stimulus funds. We'll do more reporting on this as time goes by. Here's a breakdown of the changes to the CTA-related projects in the document:

On page 40, there is an extra $5,000,000, 9.38% over the original $53,300,000, for mid-life bus rehabilitation overhauls. The project name is "CTA - 021.806 PERFORM MID-LIFE BUS OVERHAUL".

On page 41, there is an extra $7,142,000, or 5.67% over the original $125,965,000, for similar work on rail cars. The project name is "CTA - 022.903 PERFORM RAIL CAR OVERHAUL & MID-LIFE REHABILITATION" and the work type is "ROLLING STOCK - REHABILITATE VEHICLES".

On page 42, there is a request for an extra $5,000,000 change for work on signals, for a whopping 25.51% in additional funds from the original $19,603,000. The project name is "CTA - 121.500 REPL/UPGRADE DISTRIB&SIGNAL" and the work type is "CPS - POWER".

On page 43, there is a request of $80,000,000 in fresh money for preventive maintenance. This is a new request, not made before the stimulus. As with all of the projects in this list, there are no details on where the money will be spent. The project name is "CTA - 407.001 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE" and the work type is "MISCELLANEOUS - EXEMPT PROJECTS".

On page 44, another large upgrade in cash requests-- $55,000,000 extra to replace buses, for a 42.73% over the original $128,703,000. This project is called, "16-96-00611 CTA - 031.054 REPLACE BUSES" and the work type is "ROLLING STOCK - REPLACE EXISTING VEHICLES".

On page 45, another brand-new request: $166,327,000 brand-new money for unspecified rail line projects. The project is called, "CTA - 181.500 INFRASTRUCTURE & RENEWAL PROGRAM" and the work type is "RAIL LINE - MAINTAIN, REHABILITATE, REPLACE"

On page 46, there is a request for an extra $2,500,000, or a 4.21% change over the original $59,320,000, in money for facilities. The project is called, "16-99-0002 CTA - 073.500 IMPROVE FACILITIES" and the work type is "MULTI-MODAL CENTER - MAINTAIN, REHABILITATE, REPLACE"

So the new total is $710,360,000 -- an 83.61% increase over the original request of $386,891,000. We'll be following up on the details for all this money-- stay tuned.

Here's more info from CMAP:

To provide your comments via U.S. Mail, please send attn: TIP Amendments, CMAP, Sears Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606. Comments can be provided via e-mail addressed to tip@cmap.illinois.gov, or by attending the CMAP Transportation Committee on March 6, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. at the CMAP offices. To attend that meeting, please contact Holly Ostdick at 312-386-8836.

Here's a spreadsheet summary for you:

What, me worry? About no stimulus funds list yet? Eh . . .

There continues to be great angst about whether/when Illinois and Chicago will get their acts together to identify transit projects for funding under the economic stimulus law passed last month.

But I'm taking the Alfred E. Neuman approach: "What, me worry?"

Yeah, yeah, I know. We all need to play by the same rules. Make the deadlines as posted.

But I mean, come on! Does anyone really think that the city and state where the president lives who championed this law will not get stimulus funds because they missed a deadline? We'll be fine.

And we know that the CTA has been forthright with its needs from the beginning. But Da Mayor no doubt has the final say on exactly what they will get.

And methinks Da Mayor WILL get what he wants.

So, no worries!