by Aaron M. Renn
Chronicling life riding the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
Visit The Weekly Breakdown on the web at http://www.urbanophile.com/breakdown/
The first of the rehabbed 2600 series rail cars entered service on the Howard-Dan Ryan line this week. This $363 million project will add an estimated 25 years of life to all 598 series 2600 cars. Part of the rehab involved replacing the electrical systems, including enclosing them in a waterproof area. This should prevent the engines from shorting out during heavy snowfall such as the one that knocked a large portion of the CTA's rail fleet out of service in January. Other improvements include more powerful air conditioning, additional ventilation, brighter lights, an improved public address system, new seat covers, and locking wheelchair spaces. The rest of the fleet will be rehabbed at a rate of 14 per month through the year 2002. The contractor is Alstom Transportation of New York. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 26 March 1999 and Chicago Sun-Times 26 March 1999 ] [ I hope this rehab is pretty spectacular, because the $600,000 per car the CTA is spending on it is not that far away from the $1 million it would cost to buy a brand new one - AMR ]
A number of West Side community groups have filed a civil rights complaint with the Federal Transit Administration against the CTA. They claim that the potential shutdown of the Douglas L is racially motivated. Various community representatives called the possible shutdown "racist" and "an attack on minority communities". The CTA claims that rehabbing the Douglas L is its highest priority and that if the line is shut down it will be strictly for safety reasons. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 23 Marche 1999 ] [ The Douglas L has pathetic ridership compared to the rest of the system. I'd like to suggest that these community groups spend a little more time trying to get people into the trains instead of filing bogus complaints. Of course, the Douglas L doesn't exactly meet the transportation needs of Pilsen residents, which is why so few people there ride it. Everyone I know from Pilsen (admittedly not that many) rides the bus. - AMR ]
The judge in the Rachel Barton civil trial against Metra and the Union Pacific Railroad refused to declare a mistrial after questioning a juror in the case. The juror, Alina Andrzejewski, had failed to inform the court of her own pending civil suit against a store for alleged injuries to her finger she suffered from a door there. Metra attornery Barry Montgomery expressed disappointment that the judge had asked very few questions of Andrzejewski. [ Source: Chicago Sun-Times 25 March 1999 ]
The Chicago Tribune ran an editorial this week calling for more state money for the CTA. Unfortunately, they just parrotted the CTA management's capital wish list and said the state should fund it. I'm a big believer in more money for the CTA, but the current management is planning many extremely high cost, low benefit projects that deserve a critical look, not unquestioning acceptance from our local news media. [ The editoral ran on 22 March 1999 ]
Jon Hilkevitch devoted his column this week to the Straphangers Campaign, a New York transit consumer's organization. The article mentioned how an effective and vocal consumer movement in New York prevented the MTA from cutting services and routes. Additionally it mentioned how the previously filthy transit system has been cleaned up considerably. However, it does give prominent play to the $21 billion New York spent on capital improvements. This plays right into the hands of the CTA which claims it needs a massive infusion of cash before it can do anything. In my opinion, there are many very low cost things that can be done right now to make things better on the CTA. These include minor repairs and new paint at L stations, and a commitment to cleanliness. In New York, one reason ridership is so high is that the MTA started giving away free bus-rail transfers to Metrocard holders. They also instituted a monthly pass which, at $63, is cheaper than the CTA. Factoring in the New York cost of living makes this disparity even wider. New York made some intelligent (and lucky) decisions on fares and quality of service. There are definitely some lessons to be learned. I doubt the CTA will learn any of them though.
If anyone is interested in a transit consumer activism in Chicago, I recommend contacting Adam H. Kerman of the Transit Riders Authority at ahk@chinet.chinet.com. I am happy to be associated with this organization, and I am sure you would be too.
UserNo4 (nospame-userno4@aol.com) wrote in to tell us amout an Amtrak experience.
"I ride the UP-West line daily, and I've done the Eurail Pass thing in college (lots of possible stories there; well, at least one or two).
"But I've never been on an inter-city train in the US. So when I had to make a one-way trip to Michigan to pick up a car a few months ago, I thought it was the perfect time to try Amtrack.
"Then I realized, experientially, why people like to drive. I took the UP-W from my 'burb to Northwest station. Walked over to US. Waited an hour for Amtrak to load.
"Then we got on the train and waited to leave. And waited. For 45 minutes, just sitting there on the Union Station tracks. No explanation, no word. Nothing.
"Finally, we start moving. An announcement comes on the PA .... about the dining car, which is not yet open. ... The ticket taker comes by and punches our tix. Someone asks him what happened. I strain to hear. He says something, which now I forget. It wasn't satisfactory, so I ask him myself as he walks by. He says "there's no one on duty."
"Sensing frustration on the part of a nearby passenger, and being ticked off myself, I yelled out, as the conductor walked way "What the hell does that mean?" A guy behind me said "oh, the train just started by itself, I guess." The ticket-takers attitude seemed to be so much "It's not in my job description."
"... I normally don't talk like that, but it lack of any explanation ... or even acknowledgement, got my worked up. Even on airlines, which are usually late, at least the captain comes on and tells you something ('there's 6 planes stacked up in front of us,' etc.).
"Once we got going, the ride was more comfortable than driving, or flying (plenty of leg room) ...."
The Weekly Breakdown is a small Internet journal devoted to the trials and tribulations of being a regular rider of the Chicago Transit Authority. I would be happy to hear about and include your experiences. Just send mail to breakdown@urbanophile.com.
Just Say No to Frames, Ads, and Animated GIF's