Posted Nov.10 at 3:15 p.m.

Have you ever felt an irrational rage against another rider?  Maybe not irrational, but an amount of anger that was unusual to the situation.  Days ago, I wanted to phsyically eject a rider for getting on the bus yacking on the phone.  This young lady clearly didn't have her fare ready, even though it was cold  and there were 10 people waiting behind her.  The bus operator asked her to go get it and come back, in a nice tone, and she kind of harumphed at him and stalked away...phone in hand.  Was this person unaware a bus might show up to the stop?  What is so hard about pulling out your Chicago Card and holding it in the hand not grasping a Blackberry Pearl?

I don't know about you, but I think it's getting a little too chilly for riders to be playing around, especially when it comes to boarding buses in a timely and efficient matter.

I'd say my tips for reaching that goal are: exit through the back (if you can), have your fare ready and sit in the inner seat so people don't have to climb around you or ask you to move so they can sit.

What are your tips?  Share them fast.  I've got my down coat out already.

Posted May 12, 8 a.m.

Do not be alarmed, I haven't committed a crime...yet.  No, I'm covering the R. Kelly child pornography trial on behalf of the RedEye.  So, starting Monday, my GP posts won't be as copious, but please know that I am still here, watching and registering your kudos and complaints.  So keep the party going with comments, and e-mails to goingpublic@tribune.com.

Posted April 19, 11:45 a.m

Let's take a little bit of an alternate route today, though believe me, I have some good (and bad) service stuff in store for later.

Right now, I want to talk about music to ride to...in short, mass transit-theme music that helps you get through your commute. (Disclaimer: I do not condone or support playing any type of music loudly, so get the right headphones, folks.)

Anywayz, I was thinking about hip-hop, having gotten a hot new CD from J. Live called "Then What Happened?" The production is amazing, and the lyrics are even more killer. I want to add it to my route-and-rail theme music. I also name some other hip-hop artists I like in my bi-monthly column, which today centered on hip-hop music.

But enough about me.  I want to know about you. 

What music do you absolutely need on your player when you're on the bus or the train?  Or better yet, are there songs that remind you of the CTA?  When I'm running for the bus, sometimes I hear Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming."

That's right, I went old school on you.

Posted March 18 - 2:54 p.m

Hiya! I just wanted to cordially invite you to my little slice of CTA heaven on FaceBook.  That's right, we're going worldwide.  I've got a "Going Public" group all set up for ya.  So, please don't stand, waiting for signals ahead, just click on:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9455422489. 

Posted March 18 - 12:11 a.m

Today's "Going Public" focuses on the general manager of the 74th Street bus garage, Jeanette Martin, who outlined a view of a brave new (and accountable) CTA.  But we couldn't get my entire diary into the column, so here's some more CTA scoop courtesy of Martin, who lives in the Beverly/Morgan Park 'hood. She's pictured on this page working on a bus, a task she said she undertook when she took over the garage about two years ago.  "I wanted to learn as much as I could," Martin told me of her mass transit mechanic act.

Worst part of the j-o-b: The hours are long, rider calls can be curt, and kudos are few and far between.  Martin said riders gave it to her good when the No.8-Halsted bus, which she now says is performing better, bunched like nobody's business. "Whew, girl," Martin said, fanning herself as if she were in the hot sun.  "They did not let UP."

Best part of the j-o-b: The new attitude Martin said she sees at the CTA. Martin said that prior to its new leadership, the agency got stuck in a time warp. "People were doing things not because they worked, but because that was the way we traditionally did it," Martin said, explaining that her garage recently piloted a more frequent, deeper-cleaning program that will be rolled out systemwide, as part of this new regime. "I'm glad with new leadership, we are open to trying new things."

A fun fact: Martin said that when she began at the garage about two years ago, she really wanted to know what she was doing. So, the bus garage general manager actually took some tools and worked on CTA buses alongside mechanics. "How can I tell someone what they need to do if I can't do it myself," Martin asked, as she proudly showed off her mass transit mechanic photos.

A sad fact: Absenteeism, or operators who don't show up and can throw off the schedule, continues to be a problem.  One, Martin said, she hopes to solve soon.  "When we see a pattern, we call them in for a chat," Martin said, adding that they must conduct this procedure to the letter due to union rules.  "We are not nasty, or talk to them any old kind of way.  But we want people to be proud of their jobs, and to do them right. They've got to show up." 

Tell me: Got any more questions about bus garages?  Want me to get more answers out of Jeanette Martin? Ask or comment away, and let's get to the bottom of bus service.

Posted by Kyra Kyles- 1:15 p.m., Feb. 27

Recently, I pursued a No.3-King Drive bus as if I were Indiana Jones chasing down the Holy Grail. Or maybe I was more like Jason Bourne with my smooth moves. It's a coin toss. Anyhoo, it all happened when I spied the Big King bus approaching my 35th Street stop. Sure, it was creaking along nearly four blocks away, but if it beat me, I knew I'd be waiting eons for another. So, Chicago Card in hand, I raced across the big, fat drive closest to my residence crossing (safely of course, so no worries, mom). I felt the bus barrelling down just behind me as I crossed one more time and darted up the icy sidewalk. Beware of that black ice, Chicagoans. Sadly, there were no other patrons at the stop, so I knew I had absolutely no stall time.

Maybe my time on the treadmill is starting to bear fruit. I made it to the stop slightly before the bus arrived and got onboard with no problem.

Sure, I'm lucky that I did not slip and bust my absolute tailfeather on the slippery sidewalk, but my actions were far from the most daring bus-pursuits I've seen.

What is your wildest bus-catching story, and did your efforts pay off? And who is ready for the bus-tracker already? Raise your hands....

Posted by Kyra Kyles- 12:17 p.m., Feb. 13

Think the CTA is dirty? Well, you've got one person to thank: you. This according to a reader who wrote in requesting a reprieve in CTA-smack-talking about dirty "L" stations and shoddy shoveling efforts around bus stops. Take a look at this e-mail -- ripped from the "Going Public" inbox, and let me know what you think.

"In the Red Eye today (2/13/08), there is a picture of CTA President Ron Hubberman working with sub contractors cleaning snow off of platforms. My question is why isn't he working with the CTA employees that have been in place to do the job for years. A lot of these people work hard and don't get any respect from they're bosses or the public.

I read complaints from riders all the time about how dirty the CTA is, but I never hear about them complaining about the real problem. The Passenger (not all of them, but enough of them). Passengers every day throw garbage on the floor, even though they are standing next to a garbage can.

They graffiti every day, urinate constantly in the windbreakers (among other things), and the janitors in place have 2 sometimes 3 or 4 stations to clean. There is no way to keep up with the flow of traffic that goes through some of these stations.

So don't discredit all janitors, In fact compliment the ones you do see cleaning and understand that they aren't cleaning a tamed office building, they are dealing with the public."

Does he have a point, public transit peeps? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Posted by Kyra Kyles- 5:25 p.m., Feb. 6

I know that it's easy to throw salt on the game of the CTA bus operators who blow past us at stops, bark at us about our malfunctioning fare cards, or seem to let the bus rock forward just when we're trying to take a seat.

Still, I must send this transit Valentine out to a No.65-Grand driver who kindly stopped close to the curb for me on an icy, icky day and after accidentally passing my desired stop, let me out at the next intersection.

It was just an extra ounce of much-needed niceness on a day I'd just as soon skip on the calendar.

Got any nice driver stories?

Posted by Kyra Kyles - Jan. 8

Mere seconds after a Red Line "L" pulled off from the 35th Street stop on a recent Friday, I witnessed an all-too-familiar South Side scenario.

A young man crossed through the cars and shouted over the roar of the train, "Three for $5! Three for $5," while holding out three deodorant sticks.

He must have mistaken me for an interested customer scrounging for money because he paused in front of me when I whipped out a piece of paper to record the incident.

When he saw that my paper was white, not green, he moved on, but not before murmuring to me: "It's a good deal. Try to beat it."

Posted by Kyra Kyles - Sept. 13

Pop some champagne on the train. Break out the balloons on the buses. Let's celebrate at all the stops. Doomsday has been averted with Wednesday's announcement that the state will provide $24 million to the CTA, staving off fare hikes and the cutting of 39 bus routes.

But before you don a party hat, isn't this doomsday deja vu? Didn't we have a similar celebration in 2005 when riders were threatened with dramatic fare hikes and then rescued by a $54.3 million bailout from the state?

Needed or not, Wednesday's temporary reprieve is nowhere near the $110 million the CTA needs to balance its budget and keep service levels intact. This most recent infusion is the equivalent of treating precious public transit like a temp worker, forced to live check-to-check instead of being offered a long-term livelihood.