bus vs train (Addison, Pulaski: station, location, charge)

[Milwaukee City]

Trains are the sexy choice and while waiting for a bus for some is a sign of being poor. Just an observation I have seen. In Milwaukee are buses run late all the time and nothing but the dirtiest of people ride the city bus, commuter bus is our version of the L, white collar types, clean, runs on a strict schedule. our buses used to run every 15mins now it seems like 30 minutes.

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

FFS.

Two things, this is happening to cities across the country as a result of the recession, which is why its ridiculous that a few 'centrist' senators were able to prevent transit operating costs from being included in stimulus.

Second, the absurd Blago 'free rides for seniors' inclusion to the last transit bill needs to be repealed immediately.

yes, it's a shame that most of this country still doesn't understand that transit is a necessary evil whether they like it or not.

and free rides need to go away fast. ALL OF THEM. we are going to pay dearly thanks to the fact that Blago's boneheaded maneuver is not only law, but his stupid idea spread to other groups. i guarantee you we will lose service this year if something isn't changed.

to tell the truth, i still see plenty of elderly people using their reduced fare cards. i don't know if it's out of protest or if they haven't managed to get their free cards yet.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

and free rides need to go away fast. ALL OF THEM. we are going to pay dearly thanks to the fact that Blago's boneheaded maneuver is not only law, but his stupid idea spread to other groups. i guarantee you we will lose service this year if something isn't changed.

It is offensive to me to provide free public transportation to seniors as a whole. I see plenty of people who qualify for the free transportation who could easily afford to pay full fare.

If they made it available to indigent seniors, that would not bother me as much.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Trains are the sexy choice and while waiting for a bus for some is a sign of being poor. Just an observation I have seen. In Milwaukee are buses run late all the time and nothing but the dirtiest of people ride the city bus, commuter bus is our version of the L, white collar types, clean, runs on a strict schedule. our buses used to run every 15mins now it seems like 30 minutes.

Chicago is very different from Milwaukee in this respect. Many people with money take the buses--particularly the North Side Lake Shore Drive express buses.

[Avengerfire]

All the CTA has to do is cut down on the frequency of buses on certain underutilized routes. Some buses run way to frequently especially during the day when most people are at work or school.

For example: I can live ( and I am sure most people could) with 2-3 buses an hour during the day on Addison M-F yet between 10am and 1pm yet there are buses every 6-13 minutes going east and between 10am-2pm there are buses very 4-12 minutes going west!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They can put Addison on a Saturday or Sunday frequency EVERYDAY (except for extra buses for Cub games and the High Schools) and everything would be just fine. The frequency on Sat and Sun is acceptable. Just keep the hours of operation the same as M-F currently is. Heck they could even expand the hours of operation (back to what it was when I was a kid and teenager) and still save a boatload of money if they went by my changes.
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Do you see where money is being wasted now?
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They do not have to eliminate any routes (although there are a couple that should be)

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

All the CTA has to do is cut down on the frequency of buses on certain underutilized routes. Some buses run way to frequently especially during the day when most people are at work or school.

For example: I can live ( and I am sure most people could) with 2-3 buses an hour during the day on Addison M-F yet between 10am and 1pm yet there are buses every 6-13 minutes going east and between 10am-2pm there are buses very 4-12 minutes going west!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They can put Addison on a Saturday or Sunday frequency EVERYDAY (except for extra buses for Cub games and the High Schools) and everything would be just fine. The frequency on Sat and Sun is acceptable. Just keep the hours of operation the same as M-F currently is. Heck they could even expand the hours of operation (back to what it was when I was a kid and teenager) and still save a boatload of money if they went by my changes.
================================================== ===
Do you see where money is being wasted now?
================================================== ===

They do not have to eliminate any routes (although there are a couple that should be)

i can't live with it that way.
sorry, i don't go to work at 9 am every day and i need that bus to be frequent.
and, even when i do have to be at work at 1 pm or later, i DO wind up waiting probably 8-10 minutes longer than if i get to the stop at 9.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

i can't live with it that way.
sorry, i don't go to work at 9 am every day and i need that bus to be frequent.

Neither do I. But people are going to have sacrifice and the CTA needs to shape up. That agency is very poorly run and there are many ways they can cut waste.

Don't you ever use Bus Tracker when going to work? It works like a charm.

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Neither do I. But people are going to have sacrifice and the CTA needs to shape up. That agency is very poorly run and there are many ways they can cut waste.

Don't you ever use Bus Tracker when going to work? It works like a charm.

it's not useful for me to use it for the Addison bus because i live so far north and i don't have internet on my phone.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

it's not useful for me to use it for the Addison bus because i live so far north and i don't have internet on my phone.

Well I dont have it on my phone either. What I do is write down or keep in my head the estimated times of arrival of the buses right when I leave the house.

I am sure the Red Line runs pretty much on schedule at that time of day. As long as you know how long the ride usually takes and how long it takes you to walk to the train station you can pretty much gauge what buses you will catch at Addison...

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Well I dont have it on my phone either. What I do is write down or keep in my head the estimated times of arrival of the buses right when I leave the house.

I am sure the Red Line runs pretty much on schedule at that time of day. As long as you know how long the ride usually takes and how long it takes you to walk to the train station you can pretty much gauge what buses you will catch at Addison...

i've tried it, i really did. the problem is that the buses don't show up on bus tracker until they're about 27 minutes away.. for me it takes about 5 minutes to walk to the station, then about 5 minutes for the train to come and anywhere between 10-20 minutes to ride the train down there. The red line is predictable in that yes, it will come frequently, but it's hard to tell what will happen when i get on it, hah! I can see how you can do it because you're a little bit closer.

if you were in charge and wanted to make this change, would you keep any buses on high frequency during the day time? would you want Belmont to have a high frequency all day? because hypothetically then i would just go down to Belmont.