Did they cut your bus route? (Chicago, Springfield: insuring, mortgage, home)

[j33]

So ... the CTA cuts for November and January have been outlined. I have serious doubts that they will all go through (as that would cripple transportation in the city). But, if they do, I am faced with an interesting dilemma, either buy a car (or quadruple my monthly taxi budget) or face practically being a prisoner in my neighborhood unless I am going to the LOOP. Thankfully, my neighborhood has pretty much everything I need, but that doesn't mean I never want to leave it, I have friends that live in other parts of the city (not to mention, there are a lot of interesting parts of the city I'd like to be able to visit) and do not relish the insanity of a commute that it would take to visit them.

They are seriously proposing cuts to 3 out of the 4 buses I regularly ride to get around the city and cuts to a myriad of buses I occasionally ride (1/2 of the buses in the entire city are on the chopping block). I was thinking of taking a class this January, but if these cuts go through, I will not be able to do so as I will have no way to to the class or get home from the class unless I want to take a taxi both ways.

How sad. I can only take solace in that at least I'll be able to get to work (if I can find a place on what promises to be a impossibly crowded train) ... I know more than one person who, when and if these cuts are enacted, will no longer be able to get to work.

.... I know that there are those who will just laugh and say "well, why don't you buy a car", but do not realize that people budget their lives around their existing conditions. I'm sure that if someone came up to you and said, 'in two months, your mortgage will go up $400 a month, that shouldn't be a problem, right?' (which is what the cost of buy, insuring, and parking a very modest used car would probably cost me) ....you would probably be a bit nervous. Not to mention, if I, along with everyone else, did go out and buy a car or start driving the care to work (as some people have suggested), chaos would most certainly ensue, the roads would be at an impasse, and every parking garage downtown would be full by 7am.

I cannot believe this. What is wrong with people?

[jdiddy]

I'll still be able to get to work, unless the Pace bus I use to finish my commute is cut.

I hope the prospects of these cuts finally wills Springfield into action, because these cuts will kill this city. And if Chicago's tax base diminishes, so goes our ability to subsidize the rest of the state.

[scarletneon]

yep. well, the one i mainly take to work is. The 152 Addison... can you believe it? So, if this all goes through, and i'm hoping it doesn't, i'll have to take the Belmont bus with the Belmont people, the rest of the Addison people and possibly a bunch of Diversey people. That alone probably will add a good extra 30 minutes to an hour to my commute (most of my commute is by bus, out to Kilbourn Park). so it's no fun. i also have to pick up a second job come january, and now i'm going to have to look in different places than I had intended.

thankfully, i live on top of the red line, and all of my essentials ARE within walking distance (bank, grocery stores, walgreens, post office if i really had to), so it's not TOO terrible.

the fare hike isn't what bothers me... it's the fact that we will be left with LESS THAN HALF of the bus routes we started with that's disgusting.

The "every man for himself" mentality of the good ol' US of A -- by those living here and those running the state -- is what's killing transit here. Many who drive think they're subsidizing something they don't use. Fine. I don't use schools here, but I'm still paying for them.

And I, like j33, can't afford an extra $400 a month for a car, unless i managed to find a MUCH better paying job. Plus, to be honest, I DO NOT LIKE DRIVING HERE. I don't like driving on the same roads as people who could be completely cool in any other circumstance, but when they get behind the wheel of a car they freak out (believe me, i live at Hollywood and Winthrop, and I fear for my life sometimes when they're flying off of LSD).

[doublesuited77]

its unfortunate that it has happened that way it has, however, this is a step in the right direction. We shouldn't have a public transportation system that can't pay for itself. Hopefully, this will inspire some private bus companies to take over some of the more popular routes.

[Drover]

The "every man for himself" model doesn't work very well for a transportation system when a vast, interdependent economy that transcends political boundaries relies on that system. That goes for buses, commuter trains, expressways, interstates and surface streets.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by doublesuited77

its unfortunate that it has happened that way it has, however, this is a step in the right direction. We shouldn't have a public transportation system that can't pay for itself. Hopefully, this will inspire some private bus companies to take over some of the more popular routes.

i dont entirely agree. the neighborhoods that need public transit the most are not necessarily going to provide the biggest revenue streams.

[PAKennedy]

Originally Posted by Drover

The "every man for himself" model doesn't work very well for a transportation system when a vast, interdependent economy that transcends political boundaries relies on that system. That goes for buses, commuter trains, expressways, interstates and surface streets.

Yeah, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out. This could devastate the economy if it isn't corrected. My move to Chicago could be decided by the state of the CTA and I'd imagine plenty more are in the same scenario.

[PAKennedy]

);

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by j33

So ... the CTA cuts for November and January have been outlined. I have serious doubts that they will all go through (as that would cripple transportation in the city). But, if they do, I am faced with an interesting dilemma, either buy a car (or quadruple my monthly taxi budget) or face practically being a prisoner in my neighborhood unless I am going to the LOOP. Thankfully, my neighborhood has pretty much everything I need, but that doesn't mean I never want to leave it, I have friends that live in other parts of the city (not to mention, there are a lot of interesting parts of the city I'd like to be able to visit) and do not relish the insanity of a commute that it would take to visit them.

They are seriously proposing cuts to 3 out of the 4 buses I regularly ride to get around the city and cuts to a myriad of buses I occasionally ride (1/2 of the buses in the entire city are on the chopping block). I was thinking of taking a class this January, but if these cuts go through, I will not be able to do so as I will have no way to to the class or get home from the class unless I want to take a taxi both ways.

How sad. I can only take solace in that at least I'll be able to get to work (if I can find a place on what promises to be a impossibly crowded train) ... I know more than one person who, when and if these cuts are enacted, will no longer be able to get to work.

.... I know that there are those who will just laugh and say "well, why don't you buy a car", but do not realize that people budget their lives around their existing conditions. I'm sure that if someone came up to you and said, 'in two months, your mortgage will go up $400 a month, that shouldn't be a problem, right?' (which is what the cost of buy, insuring, and parking a very modest used car would probably cost me) ....you would probably be a bit nervous. Not to mention, if I, along with everyone else, did go out and buy a car or start driving the care to work (as some people have suggested), chaos would most certainly ensue, the roads would be at an impasse, and every parking garage downtown would be full by 7am.

I cannot believe this. What is wrong with people?

First off, the roads aren't already at capacity??? LOL! And what is wrong with this whole picture? UMMMM, well people didn't really seem to give a whoot at the last election as the same elected officials for the most part just breezed right back into office past their opponents.

Overall it looks like Chicago is going to become more of a driving type of town, much like LA, Phoenix, and Vegas already are. It can work (becoming a car town), but we need to have a better road system in place vs. our current two lane roads we have all over the place and 3 & 4 lane on each side expressways.

Overall Chicago really needs to do something fast because our current roads cannot handle all the added traffic from all the added cars and cutting the CTA to death is the whole underlying cause of all the new cars added onto the roadways. I have an idea... Leave the CTA alone and fund it properly so we don't need all these cuts!!!

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by NYrules

Overall it looks like Chicago is going to become more of a driving type of town, much like LA, Phoenix, and Vegas already are. It can work (becoming a car town), but we need to have a better road system in place vs. our current two lane roads we have all over the place and 3 & 4 lane on each side expressways.

I dont see that happening...those cities were all built (for all intents and purposes) within the past 30 years, during the heydey of suburbia and expressways. Chicago was built as a rail/streetcar city. You cant just change that. And to be honest I dont want to. Chicago is and forever will be infinitely more liveable than any other of those boomtowns because of that fact.