by Aaron M. Renn
Chronicling life riding the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
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Michael Nowak told me the following story. He was going to catch the Foster bus, saw one approaching the stop, and ran to try to make it. He got to the back of the bus, tried hitting it to get the driver's attention, but to no avail. The driver took off without him even though Mike was pretty sure the driver had seen him. Since this was near the end of the route, he knew the bus would be turning back. He ran to a future stop and waited for "his" bus to arrive so he could speak with the driver about it. The bus did arrive, but when Mike tried to get on, the driver recognized him, closed the door in his face, and took off.
Thanks for the story, Mike. And thank for having me on your show on WGN-720 last week.
Andrew Morris wrote in with what might be a possible YK2 preview:
I was listening to my scanner on Sunday morning and heard that a number of CTA buses had farebox problems. The clocks were wrong, which of course messes up the transfers. I don't know if the problem was related to the change from Daylight Savings time or not; one person said that the farebox clock was off by "two hours and ten minutes to the PM side," more than you'd expect. The supervisor had to call GFI, the farebox manufacturer. He also decided that, until they arrived, the drivers should issue emergency transfers (which, I gather from what was said, do not expire). "I might lose my job over this," said the supervisor. This being the CTA, I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Neither would some of the drivers, apparently, since one replied that, if the supervisor was fired, they (the drivers) would go with him.No word on what caused the problem, though a number of drivers said passengers were complaining about it. I wonder, though, if GFI forgot the old mnemonic about "spring forward, fall back" when programming the fareboxes.
Michael Hemmes wrote in with a reaction to Jonothan's piece from last week:
I wholeheartedly agree with CTA bus driver and Breakdown correspondent Jonothan that "yelling at a CTA bus driver for being late is like yelling at a cashier at Jewel for the high price of milk. We don't have any control over the situation." He adds that when conditions are poor (rain, construction, re-routing, heavy traffic, etc.) riders should EXPECT (his word) that busses will be late.He's right, of course. Still...
Bus drivers (like cashiers at Jewel) are on the front lines of the operation and should accept the fact that, as such, they will be the ones on whom people will dump their frustrations -- rightly or wrongly -- about the system. As Jonothan advised us riders to expect delays when conditions aren't optimal, I would advise Jonothan about tempermental passengers: "EXPECT IT!!!" That's part of your job!
And let me tell you: In my 20 years of using the CTA, I've seen a lot more bus drivers yelling (or just being rude) to passengers than I have seen passengers yelling at drivers! Wake up and smell the bus fumes, 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. The views expressed by contributors are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher.
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