Posted June 27, 2008 at 8:24 a.m.

The CTA can be a saviour for bicycling riders.  They can enjoy the beauty of this Chicago summer (now that it finally showed up) on their bikes and, if they get weary, climb aboard the bus or trains -- during certain hours, in the latter case. 

Sweet deal, huh?

Not always, according to two-wheelers who have written to "Going Public" recently with two different camps of complaints  The first issue focuses on the bike racks situated on the fronts of buses, particularly those connected to Comcast ads. 

Quoth a cyclist about the arrangement which he initially found impressive:

"When you lower the bike rack, to actually use it for something other than advertising, those Comcast signs block one of the two  red braces for your front tire from moving. This means your bike has nothing to hold it in place.  Of the two spots available for bicycles on the front of each bus, only one of them is usable. To revue, 50 % of the bicycle carrying capacity has been eliminated because some inovative ad executive found  a new revenue stream. Genuises."

The final complaint, which a rider actually illustrated for me with the photo below, is not about the CTA, but about the lazy CTA cyclists who don't remove their bikes from station racks. This photo, the rider told me, came from the Noyes Street stop and describes, at least the one on the right, as "quite weathered." 

What are your beefs -- cyclists or non-cyclists-- about bikes on the CTA?

Posted June 20, at 12:32 p.m.

Cramped cars full of angry riders.  Standing room only for long stretches of rail. 

Sounds like a page ripped from the CTA public transit playbook, but this time it's the Metra riders getting steamed over space constraints.  A Tribune article today details how rising gas prices are pushing more people onto the Metra, no doubt what the rail system would want.  But the agency definitely needs to plan for the squeeze.

I know what CTA riders are saying.  "Pardon me while I play the world's smallest violin."  Yes, I think Metra riders have it better with a reputation for cleaner cars, brisker commutes and the Holy Grail: functioning schedules.  I used to patronize the system myself, when I grew up in Beverly on the South Side, and more often than not, it was an absolute pleasure to ride. In fact, anytime my relatives from other cities come into town, they actually want to ride the Metra downtown.   No such statement is true for the CTA, though.

But reading articles like today's "Riders feel pinch" wakes you up to the fact that you have to keep your eye on the ball as a transit agency or you can squander even decades of good will.  So what do you think CTA-ers?  Any sympathy for your Metra brothers and sisters?

Posted May 20, 11:26 a.m.

Oh, our poor public transit peers in New York.  One out of every six elevators and escalators in the subway system was on the blink for more than a month last year, according to transit agency’s data reported on by the New York Times.

When you click on the link, check out the look of sorrow on the repairman's mug, and compare that with the faces of fury and confusion of riders around him.

The CTA for its part, has been working on keeping its elevators and escalators up and running, proudly posting the results in the performance metrics area of transitchicago.com.  Most recent stats show that in March, elevators were working  99.1% and escalators at 97.5% of the time.

Indeed, I don't get as many e-mails about malfunctioning 'vators and escalators along the CTA as I have in years past. 

But have you spotted one at your station lately? 

Or do you agree with the statement that we aren't suffering like our subway brothers and sisters in the Big Apple.

Posted May 8, 11:57 a.m.

OK, let me begin by stating that I did not leave the house this morning intending to commit a CTA sin, but sin I did. 

I consider this among the minor  infractions, but I was waaaay behind a friend who was boarding a bus and didn't think I'd make it.  She kindly asked the operator to wait, and he did, but I felt really bad, especially since I didn't have my Chicago Card ready.  When I boarded, I searched for it, but ended up paying two bucks because I didn't want to drag the drama out further.

Lest you say what I did wasn't that bad, I did get at least two dirty looks as I strolled to the back of the bus.  Call it a Walk of CTA Shame.  It reminded me of another day last summer when I absent-mindedly door-blocked and felt like I should be stripped of my transit-watching duties.

What is the worst thing you've ever done on public transit?  Come on, confess.  I won't judge you.

Posted April 28, 4:30 p.m.

I was just reading New York magazine online, and they had an eye-opening feature in which a writer tried to channel the thoughts of what he referred to as a "subway idiot" committing sins such as blocking stairwells, ogling women and loudly enjoying music.

The language in the piece is a bit too salty for this site, so I can't link to it.  (Sorry!)  But check it out by doing a search for "Inside the Mind of a Subway Idiot" on their site.   

The piece inspired me to explore what might go on in the minds of the pests that ride our local transit system, so I created an entry of my own for the train. 

Feel free to add on.  Pick your poison: a pest on the bus, train or even in a station.

With no further ado, I bring you the "L" Idiot:

Man, I know I just boarded the train, but I need to press my body up against the doors to the point my nose print is on the glass.  There is no way I'm missing my stop...even if it is at least 30 minutes away.

Hold up, did that person just step on my foot? Accident, smaccident.  Time for a loud confrontation and profanity-fest in front of everyone on this car, especially that cute little 3-year-old two feet from me.  It's about getting respect on the rails, yo!

Introducing a little musical interlude from Lil' Wayne or perhaps I'll share a little Celine Dion with this boring crowd.  I don't like headphones, so I'll just play it as loudly as possible on my phone.  These idiots around me could do with some musical education.  Maybe they'll get into it more if I sing along. 

Yesss!!!! [Checking caller I.D. on phone screen] It's my cheating ex. So glad my cellie works underground. I've been meaning to give that loser a piece of my mind ever since we broke up via phone on the "L" last week. Why not get this final confrontation over with in front of everybody on this car as well?  Maybe they can help me think of some stinging comebacks.

Glad I got that call out of the way, and it only took 15 minutes.  Whew! All that screaming, crying and accusing made me hungry.  Snack-time.  Think I'll just chow on this greasy gyro with double onions I've been saving in my 'pack.  Oops, forgot to grab some napkins.  Well, that's what seat cushions are for.

Boy, it's hard to balance this gyro, a can of soda, and my pack.  I'll put it on this other seat.  What are you looking at, grandma?  Standing gives you character, so suck it up.  It's not like your cane isn't helping hold you up.

Hmmm, wonder how long it will take the CTA to find that left-over gyro I secreted under the seats.  I guess I could throw it away when I get off, but nahhhh.... We've got to make those CTA janitors work for their money, honey.  My taxes pay for this train.

Posted April 2, 9:33 p.m

CTA folks, you know I've got your back.  But I have to take a little detour to deal with a Metra issue.  I got a message from a Metra rider who said that the transit agency may be imitating its CTA sibling (historically, anyway) when it comes to clunky communications.

Here's the note to which my Chicago Tribune transportation colleague Richard Wronski was kind enough to follow up with Metra about once I alerted him to it at about 11:30 a.m. today:

"Yesterday morning, before the rush hour commute, a pedestrian appears to have committed suicide on the Union Pacific North Line Metra tracks.  While this is a tragic event, I want to inquire about the communications provided by Metra to the riding public.

I am one of many hundreds of passengers that commute into the city and switch to another line to get to my final destination.  After hearing the news early and realizing that there would be some delays, I rode the Northwest line into OTC.  Once there, I questioned several Metra employees about the prospects for getting a North line train that would stop at my destination.  I was assured by each separate employee that the 7:25 North bound train was leaving on time and that we would at least make it to the Clybourn stop.  I figured that at worst, I would have to find an alternative to riding the rest of the way north from Clybourn.  I made sure to ask the specific question about arriving at Clybourn and was assured that we would make it to that station.  However, as you can imagine, things did not go as stated.

While we did leave the station on time, the train was halted apparently 200 yards from the Clybourn stop and announcements were made by the Metra train personnel that "We are waiting for other train traffic to clear" before proceeding into the Clybourn station and "We apologize for any inconvenience".  This announcement was repeated about every 1/4 hour for about 90 minutes while we watched train after train pass us by going into the city from both the North & Northwest lines.  At last an announcement was made around 8:45 that we would be moving at about 9:15.  This was then followed by the great news that the train we were on would be an express train going to Highland Park.  The next train would be express to Waukegan.  The third train would be a local stopping at all stations going north.

Had my fellow passengers on the 7:25 and I been made aware that it was even possible that we would not be allowed to reach the Clybourn station, we would have taken the opportunity to utilize alternative means to get to work.  From the OTC we can walk to buses, walk to CTA Brown & Red lines or take a cab.  Any of these would have been preferable to standing on an unmoving train for 2 hours.

While the train personnel on board communicated what little information they had, the overall communication scheme from Metra is often abysmal.  I fully realize that the release of the tracks for train usage was under the control of the Chicago Police & Fire departments and they were not going to release said tracks until they had completed their investigations.  At the least, Metra could communicate that to their passengers prior to allowing them to get trapped by their other regulations.  If there is a possibility that the train cannot reach the next station, don’t allow it to leave.  Once we are out of a station, it is very difficult to gain permission to reverse direction and return to the previous station.  I also understand why you would not want to allow passengers to de-train in a location other than a station platform for safety reasons.  I’m just asking that they try to prevent passengers from getting stuck in the train equivalent of the middle of nowhere.

A most useful piece of information came from a conductor on the North line just this morning.  He indicated that any time there is a fatality on the tracks, he allows at least 4 hours before service will return to normal.  2-3 hours for the authorities to investigate and cleanup and 1-2 hours for service recovery - getting all current passengers to their destinations and getting all equipment into its required location.  Just posting that to all passengers would be an improvement.

Richard has said he will do his best to follow up and post an update in comments here, so stay tuned. Let's see how long it takes from Wednesday afternoon's query to get a reply. Check the time....9:37 p.m. and nothing yet, according to Richard.