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/
Elan Foster gave birth to a baby girl on board the #3-King bus last week. She was only seven months pregnant and the baby weighed in at only four pounds, fourteen ounces. The driver stopped the bus and radioed for paramedics to come take the woman and her child to the hospital. [ Source: Chicago Sun-Times 30 June 1999 ]
A 14 year old boy was killed a couple weeks ago when he stepped on the third rail. Michael Ridely had been walking illegally along the Green Line tracks about 2:15am when he slipped and fell onto the rail. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 21 June 1999 ]
The RTA study of the northwest suburban corridor is currently examining a bus transit option. Buses along dedicated bus lanes or separate right of way would be far cheaper to implement than a rail solution. Schaumburg transportation planner Leeann Redden admitted she had not read the report, but said her village still prefers a rail solution. [ Source: Chicago Sun-Times 30 June 1999 ]
Matthew Robert Zannon (nospam-mzanon@knox.edu) wrote in with this story:
"I was riding a Howard bound Red Line train on Tuesday evening when a man across the aisle from me began rubbing his leg againt the leg of a woman sleeping next to him. He then proceeded to expose himself to her. She woke up and began screaming at him, attracting the attention of everyone in the car. After she threatened to use a knife aginst him, the not-so-gentleman hastily got up and left the train at the next stop, Granville."
Jonothan, a CTA bus driver, wrote in again this week with more good information.
"This week, I would like to tell you about two things: bus bunching, and another topic that is guaranteed to ruffle some feathers.
"First, bus bunching. Buses arriving in groups of two, three, four are the daily norm at CTA. Passengers often times ask me why? Are the buses scheduled like that? Were we sleeping at the terminal or on a coffee break? Let me explain to you the mechanics behind bus bunching. Let's say you have three buses leaving Union Station on the #151. Bus #1 leaves at 4pm, bus #2 leaves at 4:05pm, and bus #3 leaves at 4:10pm. Bus #1 leaves on time and travels down the street and runs into a delay (traffic, wheelchair, etc.). Because of this delay, bus #1 is now 5 minutes late. Because he is late, bus #1 will have more passengers to pick up. Bus #2 leaves on time and doesn't pick up as many passengers as he should because bus #1 (which is running late) is picking them all up. So, bus #2 eventually catches up to bus #1. So, the two buses follow each other down the street, picking up people along the way, and because they are following each other, they both end up late. Bus #3 leaves on time, and he is picking up fewer people then he should because the other two buses (which are late) are picking everybody up. So, bus #3 catches up to the other two buses, and bam - you got bus bunching. Bus bunching is difficult to prevent, since there are so many factors that can contribute to making a bus run behind schedule. CTA is hoping that when its new BECS units (which I mentioned last week) come online, it will help to reduce bus bunching.
"Now, here's a bit of information that is sure to anger a lot of people. A certain bus garage on the north side, which services the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Edgewater, and other affluent areas of the city, will not allow its bus drivers to work overtime. Now, you're saying 'so what'? Well, it turns out that because this garage won't allow overtime, and they are short staffed, they are holding buses in the garage instead of paying drivers overtime to drive the buses. The result of this is that passengers end up waiting longer for a bus, because some buses are missing off the street. Why is it that this particular garage won't allow its bus drivers to work overtime, when every other bus garage in the city allows overtime? Because, the general manager of the said garage receives a bonus at the end of the year if she keeps her costs down. So, service is sacrificed to save money. Think about that the next time you are standing out in the freezing cold waiting on a bus.
"Starting July 15th, the CTA will be holding a contest for its passengers and will be giving out a wide range of gifts. To play, all one has to do is have a TransitCard, pass, or permit in their possession that doesn't expire before July 15th. The CTA will be posting serial numbers from the cards every week, and if the number matches the serial number on your card, you win. The prizes include CD players, jackets, two round trip, first class tickets on United Airlines to St. Thomas, weekend getaways at the Talbott Hotel, and many others. Full details are available on CTA's website - http://www.yourcta.com."
Thanks for the info, Jonothan.
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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