CTA's 2011 ridership at 20-year high (Chicago, Clinton: price, buses, Whole Foods)

[emathias]

Originally Posted by FAReastcoast

I have taken the subway in new york for 25 years and rarely had any problems with the subway. anyway, who actually looks up real time arrival information before heading to the el? its not a commuter rail system. I also prefer subway systems to elevated systems, chicago has a lot of extreme weather and i would rather avoid it underground.

I'm just saying - if you want to minimize being out in the weather, Chicago has tools to do it.

Speaking of weather, when's the last time we had a system-wide shutdown due to weather? And for the MTA?

[FAReastcoast]

Originally Posted by emathias

I'm just saying - if you want to minimize being out in the weather, Chicago has tools to do it.

Speaking of weather, when's the last time we had a system-wide shutdown due to weather? And for the MTA?

Yeah, that shutdown was insane. I remember the MTA strike in '05 (or whenever it was), amazing how the city was paralyzed. Luck for me I hate Public Transit and avoid it as often as possibe

[geoking66]

Originally Posted by emathias

I'm just saying - if you want to minimize being out in the weather, Chicago has tools to do it.

Speaking of weather, when's the last time we had a system-wide shutdown due to weather? And for the MTA?

The MTA runs nearly the entire subway system, the largest in the world by track length, 24 hours a day through plenty of snowstorms. Irene was the sole system-wide shutdown for non-strike reasons in its history. The subway even ran after 9/11, which is pretty incredible. Had something happened with Irene, the MTA would have been sued out of its mind.

And I didn't mean for this to be L vs subway, just some observations I thought the CTA could have implemented to better with high volumes from an outsider's perspective.

[Vlajos]

CTA Sees Huge Ridership Increase in First Quarter | NBC Chicago

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

CTA Sees Huge Ridership Increase in First Quarter | NBC Chicago

Yep. If this holds for the rest of the year (it may weaken a little assuming gas prices dip now that oil is lower), 2012 will have the highest "L" ridership ever, beating out 1926, the previous record-holding year.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by emathias

Yep. If this holds for the rest of the year (it may weaken a little assuming gas prices dip now that oil is lower), 2012 will have the highest "L" ridership ever, beating out 1926, the previous record-holding year.

Quite impressive.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

CTA Sees Huge Ridership Increase in First Quarter | NBC Chicago

sweet. keep on investing...

from the CTA-specific link in there, go Blue:

All eight rail lines saw increased ridership. The biggest increase was on the Blue Line, which saw nearly 3.7 million more riders, up 8 percent. The second-biggest increase was on the Brown Line, up more than 2 million riders or 7 percent.

I do wonder what how folks on the South Side will cope with this:

CTA to close Dan Ryan branch of Red Line for 5 months - Chicago Tribune

Shuttle buses? I understand the "just get it done" concept, but ouch, I can see unintended consequences in terms of businesses closing, 5 months is a long time.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by FAReastcoast

anyway, who actually looks up real time arrival information before heading to the el? its not a commuter rail system.

I do it all it the time, it's awesome. It just takes a couple seconds and lets me know if I should finish doing a small task at home or work before leaving. I don't think I've spent more than a minute waiting for the L or a bus since they've introduced the tracker service. Late at night when service isn't as frequent it's really great.

[long101]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

sweet. keep on investing...

from the CTA-specific link in there, go Blue:

All eight rail lines saw increased ridership. The biggest increase was on the Blue Line, which saw nearly 3.7 million more riders, up 8 percent. .

I really hope they start running more cars on the Blue. I currently take the Blue East into the loop which is a synch, but will be moving back to WP and taking it East. It was such a nightmare 2 years ago, I can only imagine how much it will suck now.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by Attrill

I do it all it the time, it's awesome. It just takes a couple seconds and lets me know if I should finish doing a small task at home or work before leaving. I don't think I've spent more than a minute waiting for the L or a bus since they've introduced the tracker service. Late at night when service isn't as frequent it's really great.

oh, hell yes!