Blue Line Commute to City from WP area - Good / Bad / Ugly ? (Chicago: live in, train)

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

It so does not. I don't care what the schedules say.


Hey, actual Blue Line commuter here. During rush hour, you can typically expect a train every 3-10 minutes, usually about 5 minutesish, but sh*t happens. They're supposed to be super frequent, but with it being rush hour and all, things get hairy. Sometimes it gets so backed up that the trains need to run express, and since sadly you're not on one of the express stops (which are Jeff Park, Logan Square, Damen, and Clark/Lake, I believe), there will be times when you're waiting for too damn long and get excited to see a train is finally coming, only to find it's express and will pass you by. The good news is this isn't typical. Most mornings the train will be there within 5 minutes of your arrival to the station during commuting hours.

Also, the trains are crowded as sh*t by the time they get to your stop. I get on farther NW than you (Irving Park) so I usually have a place to sit, but by the time you're at California, everyone's standing, and by the time you're at Damen, everyone is asscheek to asscheek. If you were farther NW, you'd likely get on with less crowding and delays, but even where you are, you'll be fine most of the time. It's rare to wait more than 10 min for the train to show in the morning. You'll have to get comfy with your fellow travelers because space will be limited, but you're good.

Maybe ONCE have I ever waited 10 minutes for a blue line train at rush hour. You always remember the times they make you wait, but not the 90% of time that they arrive every 3-5 minutes at rush hour going into or out of downtown. That's a normal day.

Anyway - to the OP - if you're curious you can just get the free app as well and check it here and there to see what it typically says. For instance now at 9:30am it says a train is coming right now, in 3 minutes, 8 minutes, 10 minutes and 16 minutes. Going the other way is 3 minutes, 7 minutes and 15 minutes. Seems fairly average.

[Lorielicious]

That's pretty much what I said:

• During rush hour, you can typically expect a train every 3-10 minutes, usually about 5 minutesish
• Most mornings the train will be there within 5 minutes of your arrival to the station during commuting hours
• It's rare to wait more than 10 min for the train to show in the morning

And I've been living on the Blue Line for three years now (three years as of 4 days ago, woot), and 10 minute waits are rare at rush hour, but it's certainly happened more than ONCE.

[jwaiter]

I live at a location where I can take the Blue Line into the loop or the Milwaukee Bus (#56), I've done both often (13 years) and I prefer the bus. It takes longer but I pretty much take the bus every day instead of the Blue Line.

Forgot to mention I get on Blue Line at Division.

[It'sAutomatic]

Try them both but the 56 bus more or less mirrors the blue line and will probably be less crowded. Busses are slower, especially during rush hour, but you should take into account if you end up waiting an extra 15 minutes for a train that's not full. It's also nicer to be outside instead of in a subway.

Biking would be the fastest way to get to work. Milwaukee Avenue is like a bicycle highway during rush hour so you won't be alone, and you can ride in separated bike lanes for nearly your entire commute. There's been a lot written on bike commuting, but my main advice is to be confident/aggressive in traffic, get a bike you enjoy riding, and keep your tires inflated properly.

[long101]

Originally Posted by pm_

Thanks for the quick feedback.

Allow me to clarify a little. I've heard/read a few times that there are a lot of commuters between 7-9am, such that you could spend 15-30 minutes just waiting on the platform for train; some will just go by because they are full, or there's enough of a line that you'll have to wait a few trains or more for one that has room. So I'm looking for people's experience. Is this correct, if yes, is it frequent, and is it predictable?

I take the blue line into the loop from Division. I usually will get to the stop around 745-815. There are days that I do have to wait 15-30 min to get on a train, because they are packed. There are also days that I will get on the first train that comes. Anytime I get to the stop before 730 I get on the first train. I would say on average I probably have to let 2 trains go by, before I can get on one. So maybe 7-10min of waiting?

There are some horrible times when the trains are messed up, and you could be stuck waiting an hour. At that point I will either call it quits and walk back home (you wont be able to find a cab in the area on these days) or jump on a divvy bike and painfully bike to work).

Each station towards Ohare would make it that much easier to get on. I doubt if you were to get on at Western or Logan square if you would ever have to let a train pass.

[long101]

Originally Posted by jwaiter

I live at a location where I can take the Blue Line into the loop or the Milwaukee Bus (#56), I've done both often (13 years) and I prefer the bus. It takes longer but I pretty much take the bus every day instead of the Blue Line.

Forgot to mention I get on Blue Line at Division.

I've been meaning to give the Milwaukee bus a shot for years instead of the division blue. But every time I look it up on the tracker, its always 15+ min out. Some day, some day

[wickedripeplum]

I hate taking the Milwaukee bus in the morning, it takes forever compared to the blue line.

I take the blue line into the loop from Division. I usually will get to the stop around 745-815. There are days that I do have to wait 15-30 min to get on a train, because they are packed. There are also days that I will get on the first train that comes. Anytime I get to the stop before 730 I get on the first train. I would say on average I probably have to let 2 trains go by, before I can get on one. So maybe 7-10min of waiting?

Seriously though I think if you're letting trains go by because you think they're too crowded that's a choice you're making. I'd bet you anything you could get on any one of the trains you let pass. I watch people not even try to get on cars that could hold many more people. It just requires a willingness to be a bit squished and sometimes to yell at the people near the center of the car who like to hoard space like they aren't part of the problem of the crush by the door.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by wickedripeplum

Seriously though I think if you're letting trains go by because you think they're too crowded that's a choice you're making. I'd bet you anything you could get on any one of the trains you let pass. I watch people not even try to get on cars that could hold many more people. It just requires a willingness to be a bit squished and sometimes to yell at the people near the center of the car who like to hoard space like they aren't part of the problem of the crush by the door.

Yep, that happens on the red line all the time. One time I couldn't get on, and I looked to my left to see 5 feet of open space between this girl and the next person. She was so clueless when I kind of motioned to her to move so I could get on. Other times it's crowded but yeah. You can get on, and some people would be surprised at how 5 people moving an inch can actually let another person on.

What actually annoys me is people who wear big backpacks on a crowded train. If they'd just take them off and hold them below the waist, even more people could get on. It's like the size of a quarter or half of a person, and a few of those added up means a person or two can't get on. I ALWAYS do this with my briefcase with packed trains.

[nikitakolata]

I just wanted to add that the CTA is nowhere near as comfortable as Metra. So, yes, the ride is shorter but you aren't standing on the blue line the way you stand on a Metra train. People are very much in your space and it is not comfortable. Also, if you board metra in Aurora then you are standing by choice. On the CTA, you won't have the option to sit 99% of the time if you board at Division during rush hour.

I agree that how long you wait really depends on your personal comfort level with pushing your way onto a train and how close you're willing to be to your fellow commuters. If you want a shot at getting a seat then I would suggest looking at places near Western or farther west. I would get a seat maybe one out of five days a week, maybe, when I took the train from Western. Things really fill up at Damen.

The blue line is no worse than any other CTA line. It does have its share of homeless people since it's a line that runs 24 hours and those vestibules at the ends of the cars often smell of urine. But, that's every line, in my experience.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by marothisu

What actually annoys me is people who wear big backpacks on a crowded train.

I hate people who do this, same thing on a crowded bus, "I think I'll take up twice as much space for the hell of it".