CTA Goes SRO
The CTA will introduce seatless "L" cars within a few months, starting with the Brown Line. In other words, "Brown Line riders, we know you've tolerated several years of construction zones and station closures so we could improve service by running 8-car trains instead of 6-car trains. Here's your reward: reach for a pole because those new cars won't have any seats!" Gee, thanks.

CTA President Ron Huberman knows the limits of what the Chicago commuter will bear:

Huberman assured CTA riders that he is not looking to Asia or the Third World for ideas. He said CTA customers won't be asked to ride on the roofs of trains, as riders frequently do in India.

At least the bar is set low enough for riders to grab onto.

Labels: CTA

- posted by David Johnsen @ 4:26 PM 0 comments

 
Bastard of the Day
Okay, you've all been waiting for this... I am today's bastard.

I was sitting in my car at the Brown Line crossing on Rockwell Street waiting for a train. When a westbound train passed, a cyclist on the north side of the tracks pedaled around the still-lowered gates and continued south. And in that instant, I had two thoughts: 1.) a man from Milwaukee died doing the exact same thing in this exact same place last month, and 2.) I hope this guy gets creamed just to teach him a lesson for his stupidity, even though I'd rather not be a witness.

And that's where I crossed the line into bastardhood. My anger toward people who do stupid stuff, particularly on bicycles, has grown so intense that I wish death upon them for their ignorance. In that moment I was rooting for it to happen.

It turned out there was an eastbound train coming, but fortunately for the dumbass bike rider it stopped at the station. Sometimes trains that are "not in service" do pass through without stopping, so he was damn lucky -- there was no way he could have seen whether a train was coming through eastbound until it was too late. Oh well, I hope he made good use of the extra ten seconds he saved by risking his life. That's the kind of shit that gives CTA motormen nightmares.


Speaking of the Rockwell crossing (and other at-grade crossings on the Brown Line), why did the CTA (or the city) replace all the crossing gates a couple years ago without making each long enough to cross the entire street? Since I moved here nine years ago, there have probably been about 10 accidents involving idiots driving (or pedaling) around the gates. Adding ten feet to each gate would be a small price to pay to discourage this reckless behavior. There's nothing like a train crushing a car to screw up everyone's commute.

Labels: bastards, bicycling, CTA

- posted by David Johnsen @ 6:35 PM 0 comments

 
Putting the "Ewww" in "Euphemism"
Today's Red Eye has a story about how -- surprise, surprise -- public transportation is a breeding ground for germs. Isn't it strange that this topic never comes up when CTA funding is an issue? No one ever says, "Hey, maybe the CTA needs a bigger subsidy so they can thoroughly clean the train cars more than once every 14 days!" But this was my favorite part of the multi-article coverage:

"In the past year, we invested in new water vacuum-cleaning machines to deep-clean upholstered seat inserts," CTA spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said. "These are used during intense cleaning and may also be done if there is a wet spill on the upholstery or a biohazard incident."

A "biohazard incident" is most likely a homeless person urinating or even defecating on the seat. Or maybe it's just blood splattered from a stabbing or shooting victim. At least now you have something worse to think about than merely picking up a few bacteria while holding onto the pole.

Of course, swabbing the seats and poles is literally scraping the surface when it comes to risk of illness on the bus or train. What about the guy sitting next to you who has been coughing for fifteen minutes? Or the woman behind you who is holding her coffee and a book, leaving no hand free to catch the sneeze that just moistened your neck?

Labels: CTA

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:27 AM 0 comments

 
Santa Derailed
Every year the Chicago Transit Authority runs a special Holiday Train in the weeks leading up to Christmas. It features red and green lights, as well as a flatbed railcar with Santa Claus on board. CTA employees are dressed like elves. I've never been on this train, but I once saw it out the window of our guest bedroom (known as "the Train Room").

Yesterday, for the second time in three years, the Holiday Train derailed... in the exact same spot! Wendy McClure, author of I'm Not The New Me, was there and took pictures. (hat tip to Gapers Block)

Labels: Christmas, CTA

- posted by David Johnsen @ 2:53 PM 0 comments