Blue Line Commute to City from WP area - Good / Bad / Ugly ? (Chicago: how much, home)

[pm_]

I'm single, 30s, have been looking for a place in the city, and the Wicker Park area in particular. Currently, I live in Aurora, work in the loop, and take the Metra, which takes about 65 minutes one way - I'd really love for it to be half that. I've read a lot of the Blue Line reviews on Yelp, many of which are rather hilarious, but most of which are years old and don't give me the info I need; I'm looking for more of a current, accurate picture.

What'd I'd really like to know is:
* How consistent / predictable is service from Division?
* How much time would I have to spend actually waiting for trains on platforms if I'm heading in between 8am and 9am? Any better between 9am and 10am (I sometimes have some flexibility)?
* Would I have to spend less time waiting for trains if I was commuting from further out, perhaps as far as Logan Square?
* Are there reasonably accurate service alerts that one can subscribe to via text or smartphone app?

Thanks!

[marothisu]

You are clearly not familiar with the city trains, which is fine. They're completely different than the Metra. The Metra has far more infrequent service than the city trains. Far more infrequent.

1) The train comes every 2-4 minutes between 7:30am and 9am between Wicker Park and the Loop.
2) The train comes every 6 minutes between 9am and 10am between Wicker Park and the Loop
3) I'm not sure I understand your question about spending less time waiting for trains - they're on a schedule and follow it pretty well, so #1 and #2 would be accurate as well.
4) Yes, there are smart phone apps that allow you to track trains and buses. You can see how many minutes until the next bus or train arrives at whatever stop you're inquiring about.

Also on the way home in the evening out of the Loop, they come every probably 3-5 minutes, and sometimes every like 8 minutes. The only times you should worry about waiting is if you're riding it at like 4am as sometimes they have 15 minute wait times. During the day though? No, this isn't the Metra - they come every few minutes.

[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?

[marothisu]

I don't commute on the Blue Line everyday so I can't 100% answer your question. I commute on the Red Line, which has an even higher average daily weekday ridership than the Blue Line and my line is packed every morning. I've been on the Blue Line during evening rush hour and it can be packed, but still slightly less than the Red Line. The same sort of thing happens - Sometimes you can legitimately not get on - consider how old the reviews you are reading are with this. About 1.5 years ago, the CTA added more frequent trains for decrowding purposes which has worked. Before 1.5 years ago, you could wait for a few trains and still not get on. Currently this is much less apt to happen because service is more frequent during rush hour.

Regarding crowded trains - you'll run into this and it will depend on your comfort level with packed trains. Some people wait to get on even though there is technically room for them. Often times trains look more packed than they really are. People crowd around the doors and there have been times it's looked crowded, only to realize there's 5 or 6 feet of open standing space near someone. In the end though, I doubt you'll have to wait for more than a few trains - maybe 10 minutes total at the worst IMO. In the beginning you may be hesitant to get on a really packed train but over time you may learn these things I've shared with you.

In the end, you may have better luck in an area like Logan Square, but there will be a lot of people at those stops getting on too. In that case, don't be hesitant about waiting your turn to get on the train. It's not a line, but a cluster of people forms around the train when it comes. I always get to the front so I can be guaranteed to get on. Of course there is etiquette involved - such as when people get off at certain stops in a packed train, some people have to step off the train so others can get out. If that is your stop, always let those people back on the train first before you.

I personally wouldn't worry about commute though being a decision in where you live Wicker Park versus Logan Square. The CTA is not like the Metra where if you miss a train, you're screwed for 45-60 minutes. If the train comes every 3 minutes, even if you miss 5, it's 15 minutes. After 9am is less crowded too. At least on my train, if you're commuting at 9:05am 9:10am or after, you can always get on and it's not super packed. In the end if I were you, I'd live in the area that I wanted to and not consider all this stuff too much.

[Lorielicious]

Originally Posted by marothisu

2) The train comes every 6 minutes between 9am and 10am between Wicker Park and the Loop

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

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?

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.

[wickedripeplum]

I got on the blue line at Chicago for 8 years, in that time I couldn't get on train once because it was too crowded. Yes sometimes it runs express and yes it is packed, but with just a little aggression you can get on the train no problem. The blue line clears out drastically at Clark and Lake so if you have further to go, you can usually sit after that.

ETA: With crowded trains how much you want to get on that train will govern how quickly you do. For me the answer was always I want to get on that train so I did. I know not everyone is willing to do that, but honestly I think they're being overly squeamish about public transit.

[Attrill]

In my experience it can be hard to get on a train after Western between 8:15 and 8:45. I get on at California (most days) or Western, around 8:20, and while the train can be crowded I can always get on it. I can even get a seat some days when I get on at California. Damen is where it starts to get crowded, and it just gets worse at Division. That said, if you can get on at Division before 8:00, or around 9:00, it's OK.

Where in the Loop are you headed to? If you're headed to the North side of the Loop/South River North the Grand Ave. bus from Ukrainian Village can work pretty well. And you can even walk to the North end of the Loop in 45 minutes or so from Ukrainian Village (and less from West Town).

[jdiddy]

The benefit of being near Division rather than Logan Square is you are also only a 10 minute bike/divvy ride or a 15 min Bus ride.

[pm_]

Great info - thanks everyone. You've essentially allayed concerns about consistently terrible commutes.

My preference is to live close to and get on around division. I work in the financial district, and can kind of choose my start time, so I should be able to avoid most of the 8-9 rush.

Crowded cars and standing is fine , especially for a 15 minute ride...I stand on the metra half the time anyway, and that's 45 minutes.

So what about alerts / notices when there's an accident, emergent repairs etc? Do these tend to come promptly via txt/app? I'd have no problem making alternative arrangements in such cases, so long as the notification system is prompt / correct.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by pm_

So what about alerts / notices when there's an accident, emergent repairs etc? Do these tend to come promptly via txt/app? I'd have no problem making alternative arrangements in such cases, so long as the notification system is prompt / correct.

Take my initial suggestion. Unless it's a major delay, like the train won't be running for 3 hours due to some screwed up malfunction, you aren't going to get an alert usually if the train is delayed for 15 minutes.

Get one of the tens of smart phone apps out there which tell you when your train is coming. You can easily see when it's delayed. I think most apps have an alert system built in too.