How do you feel about the quality of public transit? (Chicago: fit in, transfer)

[Aerio]

I like the CTA, and it has gotten me where I needed for $2.25 with possible a transfer. But in general, how do you feel about it personally at times? When I go on the blue line, I really do feel like the train will just jump off the track at times. No, I am not a dramatic or caring people, but it does startle me at times. How do you feel about he quality of your public transportation system? What would you add or delete from it? Do you ever feel in danger, or is your ride without worries? How would you rate it?

[squirrels]

The trains I find to be great, but in the winter because of my location I tend to mostly ride the buses. Those get annoyingly overcrowded. There have been times that two 22 buses have passed my stop because they were so crammed full that no one else could fit inside. If they would pay a little more attention to route optimisation and ensure that there are enough buses to service a route during rush hour I would be a much happier rider.

Then there are the times the bus drivers are late. I get really pissed when I stand at my stop (ten minute interval), wait half an hour, and then see three of my bus come along at the same time.

[TheSunshineKid]

The standard I'm looking at is the efficiency, comprehensiveness and timeliness of Tokyo's transit system. For an American system it's fine.

[mjtinmemphis]

I think the system is great by American standards.

The condition of the cars, slow zones on the blue line forest park leg is hideous. It can take 45 minutes to get from Washington to the end of the line.

The new trains are normal. They dont remind you of riding runaway mine train at 6 flags turning the corners. But they need to stick with the regular seating unless they are able to get wider cars.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Aerio

How do you feel about the quality of public transit?

In short... public transportation in Chicago is very comprehensive but often not time-efficient compared to driving. Using public transportation, you can get from any Point A to any Point B within a couple blocks at either end; the question is, can you get there in a time-efficient manner and/or can you get there during off-hours?

The secret to a satisfying public-transit-reliant life in Chicago is to live, work, shop, and generally recreate along one of the train lines, or along two of them if they share a common transfer point relatively close to where you intend to live/work/shop/generally recreate. The closer you live to a train line and the closer your common destinations are to stations on that same line, the better. Once transfers are involved, the equation changes. And if the transfer is from train to bus, or even worse, bus to bus . . . all bets are off.

[MassVt]

The Blue Line crash at O'Hare notwithstanding, I have found that public transit in Chicagi is quite good. Even when they had the Blue Line transformation several years ago, and they were working on several stops at once, and had to rely on bus transfers, the system went pretty smoothly..

Having at least a couple of lines working 24/7 is a definite plus, too...

[jwaiter]

I use the bus more, and squirrels is spot on with his comments. It's ridiculous when you wait 25 minutes for a bus in sub zero temps. They need to figure out how to get buses to arrive at regular intervals, no huge gaps between buses. Seattle can do it, I think they could if they gave a damn.

[MSchemist80]

I rode the Marta in Atlanta a few times and felt the system was cleaner, faster, cheaper, and more modern.

[Lookout Kid]

Just by having a rapid rail transit system, Chicago is way ahead of most American cities in terms of public transit. New York is clearly the gold standard in the U.S. in terms of coverage and frequency, but we compare favorably to just about any other city in the country. I think we're on par with or better than Boston, D.C., and Philadelphia--though D.C. has a much newer train system that is faster and more efficient.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

I rode the Marta in Atlanta a few times and felt the system was cleaner, faster, cheaper, and more modern.

And it doesn't cover any ground and is hardly used. Dallas/Ft. Worth isn't exactly transit friendly.

Plenty of "newer" cities have built modern train systems with a couple of branches, but they are rarely as comprehensive as the "L" system.