by Aaron M. Renn
Chronicling life riding the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
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Pace is increasing its base fare from $1.15 to $1.25. Various passes and multi-ride tickets are increasing in price as well. It is also eliminating a few routes: #837, #838, and #894. These moves are to bring Pace into compliance with the RTA's mandate to cover 40% of operating expenses with fares. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 10 January 2000 ]
Beginning today and extending through next fall, Red Line trains will run "over the top" via the Loop L between midnight and 9am on Sunday to enable signal and cleaning work to be performed in the State St. subway. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 10 January 2000 ]
I heard a rumor this week that the CTA is planning to "go OPTO" (one person train operation) in the subways soon. Conductors would be eliminated on the last stretches of lines that have them.
Speaking of OPTO, it is also being implemented in New York City in some areas, and people don't like it one bit. Someone sent me a link to this page which bashes it:
http://flag.blackened.net/agony/OPTO.html
In Chicago, OPTO has really slowed down train operations. New Yorkers are advised to take note.
John F. Kuczaj wrote in to say:
With all the attention the CTA has paid to winterizing its trains, they seems to have neglected the automatic block signals on the "L" structures.There were delays on the Blue Line last night as ALL the automatic block signals in both directions between the Division and Western stations were frozen on the "red" position. A trip from Clark/Lake to Jeff Park that normally takes 30 minutes became a stomach-turning 55-minute odyssey. At 6:15pm, our train left the Division station, but stopped and waited a few minutes in the tunnel before proceeding. One we got outside the tunnel, the emergency brake switched on and the train lurched to a stop. At that point, the motorman proceeded to quickly accelerate, then allow the emergency brake to lurch the train to a stop. She repeated this a few times before announcing that the signals are broken and she's sorry for the rough ride and inconvenience. Apparently, quickest way to get past a red signal is this rapid acceleration/let the emergency brake stop us method rather than a slow crawl. It may be most effective, but it's also most nauseating. At 6:38pm, we finally got to the Damen station where the motorman apologized again for the problem and said it would be fixed tomorrow! As we started out on another spastic ride to Western, I could see an eastbound train pulling into Damen using the same lurch-method. At 6:43pm, we finally got to Western and the Motorman said that a repair crew was working on the signal problem at that time and service should be restored to normal soon. Thankfully, we had a smooth ride to the California stop and the rest of the way, and I arrived at Jeff Park at 7pm, 55 minutes after boarding the train at Clark/Lake.
And Joe Branham wrote in repeating an oft-heard complaint:
Has CTA ever made any plans to try and get riders (especially tourists and weekend subruban visitors, though am/pm commuters can be just as bad...) to more efficiently use space on the trains?Riders get on and stop in the doorways, crowding the door areas while the ends and centers stay wide open. Occasionally a conductor will make an announcement ("please fill in all areas of the train... do not block the doors...") but usually there is nothing. What about signs? Or standard announcements to go along with the no littering/radio playing ones?
I don't think we need Japan-style people-pushers, but it is disheartening to not be able to cram onto a train and then see the huge gaps between riders as it pulls away.
Any thoughts?
About the only thing we can do is lead by example.
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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