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 CTA has a new web site. They have a new URL as well, which is:
Thanks to nospam-aileen@cyberconnect.com for a pointer to this. The CTA spent $108,000 (see WB Vol 1, #29) on this redesign. The early reviews from Usenet show that the site is pretty much considered a dud. It doesn't add much information, but it does add a lot of very high bandwidth graphics. The maps are so small as to be unreadable. The bus schedules are now gratuitously in PDF format. I seem to recall that in San Francisco, disabled activists sued Muni for putting PDF files on their site, claiming the files weren't accessible to the blind. Regardless of the bogosity of that lawsuit, the use of PDF is just plain dumb.
Rep. William Lipinski is getting involved in a proposal to grade separate several rail crossings on the the Metra Heritage Corridor route. The full project would involve these overpasses (estimated to cost $200 million) plus new signals and additional track work designed to unclog the freight traffic jams in the area. The project would be financed by the railroads, the state and federal government, Metra, and Amtrak (which uses the Heritage Corridor route for its St. Louis service). Scoping and funding discussions are in the very early phases, so expect nothing in the near future. The railroads have reacted very cautiously to the proposals. [ Source: Chicago Tribune, 7 April 1999 ]
Metra does not have enough funds to maintain the routes it already operates, but that is not stoping the agency from dreaming big for the future. It wants to build three brand new commuter routes at a total cost approaching $2 billion. One route is a new line to the south suburbs from LaSalle St. Station to Beecher. Another is a line linking O'Hare and Midway. A third is a massive outer circumferential route along the Elgin, Joliet and Easter railroad. It would run from Waukegan to Elgin to Aurora, to Joliet, and perhaps onward into Indiana. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 18 April 1999 ]
Eric Holeman (nospam-ehol@enteract.com) wrote in with this story of woe:
"Friday morning, Belmont, waiting for the purple line. And waiting. Finally, an announcement to get the red line to Howard and connect from there. A quick call to the CTA's unhelpful-but-friendly customer service line at 1-888-YOUR-CTA got an excuse about 'interlocking problems' and a 20 minute delay--so if I've waited 20 minutes already, does that mean the train's on its way? Didn't matter, as I boarded the slow train to Howard which just barely beat the Evanston train.
"I have an understanding boss, but for those who don't, the 1-888-YOUR-CTA line appears to be ready to mail documentation of your delay, in case your mother isn't available to write you a note. So I guess they're not as unhelpful as all that. They'll also mail you CTA schedules, in case you need a little light reading while waiting for your bus."
He also ads:
"So you need to get to the airport on Sunday morning, but aren't sure when your recently-cut bus service starts and stops? No problem, just call the RTA Info Line, at its much-advertised 836-7000 number. Just make sure you do it before 1 a.m., or after 4:45 a.m.--if you try to check on your morning bus after 1 a.m., you'll get a recording. The 1-888-YOUR-CTA people only work until 8 p.m. themselves, and disclaim any connection with the RTA."
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.
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