What Is The Worst El Line In Chicago (Manhattan: neighborhood, maintenance)

[KMG1]

This thread is just in time, I'll be in Chicago for the weekend and I want to purchase a CTA three day pass, is that good for both the train and bus?

[sydbarrett]

Originally Posted by KMG1

This thread is just in time, I'll be in Chicago for the weekend and I want to purchase a CTA three day pass, is that good for both the train and bus?

Yes.

[KMG1]

Thanks!

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

So the line that goes through the better areas should have been refurbished 1st?

Yes.

[Kamms]

Not sure if poster means ''worst'' L line in terms of neighborhoods the line runs through or the conditions of the stations, cars and tracks. I would say the Red Line mainly because it has the dirtiest cars and more shady riders at all times. It is a popular line so that explains the dirty cars; but the CTA needs to stay on top of this and enforce the rules (no eating/drinking). The Green Line runs through some bad areas on the south and west sides but the tracks are smooth and the cars are much cleaner than the Red Line.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Kamms

Not sure if poster means ''worst'' L line in terms of neighborhoods the line runs through or the conditions of the stations, cars and tracks. I would say the Red Line mainly because it has the dirtiest cars and more shady riders at all times. It is a popular line so that explains the dirty cars; but the CTA needs to stay on top of this and enforce the rules (no eating/drinking). The Green Line runs through some bad areas on the south and west sides but the tracks are smooth and the cars are much cleaner than the Red Line.

I ride the red line 5 days/week and I want to drink my coffee and read the paper. I hope they don't enforce no drinking on the train!

[Tracer Bullet]

I'm considering a move from New York to Chicago.

How does the Red Line compare with the NYC subway? Is it on par with the L or the 6 for rush hour congestion?

What about these "slow zones" I hear about? Friends I've talked to that live/have lived in Chicago have all warned me that the CTA is generally slower than the MTA.

[Link00seven]

Originally Posted by alexm23

i've only been on purple, brown, red (north half) and blue (o'hare).

keeping in mind that i've never gone further south than Jackson on red line (so i may be misguided),

it's not as goddamn bad as everyone here is making it out to be. sure it's slow, but that's because it has to serve a lot of people.
this homeless guy started talking to me once and got off at the same station as me, after asking me where i was gonna get off, but he didn't follow me, so no harm done. otherwise, sometimes people blast rap music with 65% curse words, sometimes train gets overrun with sweaty cubs fans, but overall it's not as much of a mess as it sounds. in terms of cleanliness, it's at least average. i definitely wouldn't say "avoid this line". seriously, like 90% of the times i've been on it, it's been completely fine, no problems at all.

Agreed! Where I live (Metro Detroit) mass transit is nothing more than a dream in the minds of the few of us who would rather not drive everywhere...so the El is a wonderful thing. I ended up on the Red line right before a cubs game once, and sure it was very crowded (and I was getting off before Addison!) but people were fine and moved the best they could to let me out at my stop. Cleanliness and such...eh, it's not amazing, but it's definitely not what I'd consider unacceptable.

I know I don't have the experience with the El that the locals do, but from what I've used of it (red mostly, a bit of blue, and once on the pink line) it was good!

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Tracer Bullet

I'm considering a move from New York to Chicago.

How does the Red Line compare with the NYC subway? Is it on par with the L or the 6 for rush hour congestion?

What about these "slow zones" I hear about? Friends I've talked to that live/have lived in Chicago have all warned me that the CTA is generally slower than the MTA.

Chicago doesn't really do express trains like Manhattan does, so just by that measure it's gonna be slower. There is a rush-hour-only "Purple express" train that runs between Howard (far north boarder) and Belmont Red/Brown/PurpleExpress station, but it's not really comparable. From a crowding standpoint, the trains can get pretty crowded, although on the whole I'd say the CTA trains have less crush-loading than New York ones.

The slow zones are what they sound like - areas trains have to go slower for various reasons. Because the "L" is exposed to the weather, it deteriorates faster than subways do, although New York subways still do have some slow zones, too. I don't know if Chicagos are actually worse than New York's or not.

Don't be afraid of the buses here. Especially for the lakefront neighborhoods, express buses are often quite fast and efficient getting to downtown, and unlike the MTA, the CTA doesn't charge extra for express buses. With the addition of CTA BusTracker information, you can always tell when a bus is coming in real time, so it eliminated the dreaded blind waiting that is a large part of what makes bus travel annoying.

Also, in my experience, Chicago buses are physically nicer than New York's in most cases, and very extensive in coverage.

In short, New York beats Chicago hands down when it comes to train coverage, and mostly because of that is overall faster than Chicago when it comes to transit. But, Chicago does have very good coverage when you include the bus system and it's still convenient enough that, unlike LA, the demographics of the typical CTA rider are pretty much exactly the same as the demographics for Chicago at large - in other words, like in New York, most people across the spectrum are at least occasional public transit users here.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by Kamms

...the CTA needs to ...enforce the rules (no eating/drinking).

Sorry, but drinking non-alcoholic beverages is not against the rules! It could actually be dangerous to have such a rule.

Eating on public transit is against the rules and VERY ANNOYING. It's a pet peeve of mine. These people who break open their McDonalds extra large big mac and fries meal are lowlifes... sorry, this is the bus, NOT your kitchen!