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Mass Transit Meeting: You Going?
Posted Aug. 19 at 12:55 p.m.
Longer "L" lines. Enhanced service. Sounds great, but how practical is it? I explored that very topic in today's "Going Public," so do check it out and feel free to post your visceral reaction. I may pluck a few and use them in tomorrow's "Hey, CTA!"
I also wondered if anyone is planning to attend the hearing on the possible extension of the Orange Line at Ford City Mall. Here are the complete deets:
Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Whereabouts: Ford City Mall
Lower Level – North Mall Entrance
7601 South Cicero
Chicago IL
I've been to quite a few of these and rider atttendance is typically low compared to the level of outrage when changes are/are not made. What's up with that?
in GOING PUBLIC COLUMN | View this letter only | Comments (1)Date: August 12, 2008
Column: Handicapped riders and the CTA
In April, 23-year-old Michael Brennan, a Rogers Park resident, decided to delve into the world of a wheelchair user for a school assignment. Brennan, who described himself as "athletic," rented a manual wheelchair and, on a Sunday in April, attempted to take the Red Line from Loyola to Belmont.
"You see elevators and the turnstiles catered toward wheelchair users," Brennan said. "You figure that accessibility is an important aspect of public transportation."
Over the next three hours, Brennan had difficulty navigating the lift on a No.155-Devon bus that took him to the Loyola stop; his front wheels became stuck several times between the "L" platform and the train; and he discovered too late that—at the time of his trip—there was not an elevator at the Howard stop.
The south entrance at the Howard Station has since been equipped with four elevators, according to CTA spokeswoman Wanda Taylor, who said they were added in June.
Ninety-one of the144 CTA stations will be wheelchair accessible when the Brown Line capacity expansion is complete by the end of 2009, according to CTA spokeswoman Wanda Taylor. Currently, all CTA buses and 84 stations are accessible, Taylor said. The CTA will add more stations to that list as funds become available, she said.
But other issues convinced Brennan that the CTA needs to be more accessible. "I kept looking around for a customer assistant on the platform but never saw one," Brennan said of his sticky situation at Loyola. "After that train left and a second train came, I had to ask some guy to help me board. He looked kind of embarrassed, but he helped me out."
Lack of sufficient CTA assistance is an everyday reality for riders in wheelchairs, said Ayo Maat, a spokeswoman for locally based Independent Movement of Paratransit Riders for Unity, Vehicles, Equality.
Maat, a motorized wheelchair user, says she often hears from members who have trouble getting CTA employees to assist them during their trips or are waylaid by broken elevators at "L" stops.
"One in three rail operators will not help members if they need help on or off a car," Maat said.
Taylor also said that assistance for riders in wheelchairs should be a touch away, via call buttons on platforms and in "L" cars. Customer assistants also can ask if riders need assistance, according to Taylor.
Well, that didn't happen in Brennan's case.
But riders who need help getting on or off the train or bus may have someone new to count on.
"If anyone even remotely looks like they're having physical difficulties, I'm right there, like 'do you need help?' " Brennan said. "I'd lift people up on the 'L' if I could."
Date: April 29, 2008
Today's Column: It's Time for CTA Spring Cleaning
Posted April 29, 12:00 p.m.
Hear those birds chirping?
See that grass growing?
OK, unless you're super observant, you may not see the grass growing, but other signs of spring are here.
It's also time for a painful process called spring cleaning, but take heart.
The CTA, too, is getting in on that action with its own renewed cleaning efforts, and riders will be the ultimate beneficiaries.
Sprucing spree at Wilson
This particular Red Line station appears to be a CTA stepchild, according to riders who have regularly written to "Going Public" lamenting the station's leaky roof, dingy lighting, propensity toward puddling and otherwise crumbly appearance. It must be especially painful for Wilson-ites who pass through the beautiful new Brown Line stations on their way downtown. But don't give up the good fight, Wilson-ites. The CTA already has undertaken steps toward fixing up your sketchy-looking stop by rebuilding the stairs and replacing lighting in the stairwell at the entrances on Wilson Street, according to agency spokeswoman Sheila Gregory. The agency also repaired the ceiling and roof of the station house and replaced entrance doors at the main entrance on Broadway, Gregory said. There's even a plan for the puddling, with a new drainage system being installed under the stairwell, Gregory said.
Efforts will only intensify as the weather warms, Gregory said, and crews will be working to refurbish benches and replace the canopy as well as plaster on the mezzanine floor, and repair the street-level entrance. But don't expect a transit Taj Mahal, as Wilson is an older station, and there is only so much the CTA can do to improve its aesthetics.
Pigeon-proofing
A caller to "Going Public" didn't leave a name, but he did leave a lengthy, impassioned voice mail decrying the Jefferson Park bus terminal and bus turnaround area, which he described as disgusting hubs for pigeons.
The CTA, too, seems perturbed by the strong pigeon presence at Jefferson Park. Last year, the agency added more anti-pigeon spikes at the stop for a total of 1,750 linear feet of roosting deterrent, Gregory said. Unfortunately, a recent inspection showed the pigeons are persistent, and there might be a rider-related reason."Customers are discouraged from having food or drink, and from feeding the birds around CTA property, which only exacerbates the situation," Gregory said, adding that there are signs to that effect in the area, which will be increased in number as well as translated into multiple languages.
As for that nasty turnaround, things will be turned around, according to Gregory, who said the CTA will power wash it more regularly as the weather warms and add more garbage cans to the area.
Sweeping change
So maybe you don't patronize Wilson or aren't feeling pigeonholed at Jefferson. Don't worry, there is a CTA cleanup initiative that applies to all riders coming this spring and summer. In addition to ongoing efforts to make the CTA sparkle, riders can expect to see the results of more frequent deep cleans, the public transit version of detailing. Starting next month, all stations—as well as "L" cars and buses—will be deep cleaned more frequently.
Date: April 07, 2008
It's time to reassess CTA rider satisfaction
We can judge it by the number of times we get to work or school on time each week.
We might trust our eyeballs and base it on whether our bus seats are spotless or our trains are stink-free.
Or we can count the number of times we've fired off an angry e-mail to ctahelp@transitchicago.com.
We aren't alone in assessing the agency's performance. The CTA seemingly is investing more time in analysis, with CTA President Ron Huberman holding weekly gatherings of top managers to review bus and train performance.
But will riders be privy to those findings? To get a head start on the hunt for more mass transit info, I asked the CTA for results from the newly launched Mystery Shopper Program, and, while I was at it, asked when riders will see more "L" and bus performance data.
Here's what CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory shared with me:
The real mystery: Is it working?
Two weeks ago, the CTA revealed exclusively in this column that the public could join its nearly year-old evaluation program once limited to CTA interns and employees. Through the Mystery Shopper program, riders fill out forms and submit them via mail or online to weigh in on criteria including cleanliness, efficiency, timeliness and customer service.
Approximately 2,261 secret shoppers signed up as of last week, Gregory told me, and 1,105 surveys have been submitted.
I wanted to measure whether the program is turning up solid solutions in light of some rider response that it could just be a glorified e-mail to CTA help desk staffers.
Gregory said the forms are having an impact. Shopper feedback led to the repair of a broken light fixture on the rear door of a No.78-Montrose bus, she said, and resulted in issuing of a safety violation and written warning to an overly speedy operator on the No. 92-Foster route.
If you're persuaded, start shopping by clicking on the "Mystery Shopper" icon at transitchicago.com.
Indicators evaporate?
Speaking of the CTA site, check out the new sleeker public transit portal. It's looking, to coin a phrase from comedian Larry David, pretty, pretty good. But there's something missing.
The CTA shuttered its performance indicators, quarterly reports that offered insights into the number of days between bus cleans, number of CTA commendations and complaints, as well as other fun facts.
Gregory said the CTA made the decision to scrub the stats from the CTA site because the most recent data were from the first quarter of '07.
Makes sense, but what about doling out more data in the future?
"The development and refinement of the performance indicators are a work in progress," Gregory told me. "Once a decision is made on what performance measures would have the greatest value and how the data will be collected and evaluated, the information is expected to be reported to the CTA Board and posted on our Web site as a public record."
Maybe we also should also measure the agency's performance on how long it takes to deliver on that time-sensitive task. Stop the delays, CTA.
