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Old 05-12-2014, 06:16 AM
 
2,300 posts, read 6,185,102 times
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It's pretty depressing that the biggest transit improvement we might see is few miles of BRT on Ashland Ave. in five years or so. Daniel Burnham is rolling over in his grave.
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Old 05-12-2014, 06:36 AM
 
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Proposals like this seem much more likely: ASHLAND-WESTERN COALITION.COM-Home Page

Sometimes it makes more sense to deal with reality than fantasy.
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Old 05-18-2014, 05:53 PM
 
Location: Lincoln Square, Chicago
15 posts, read 36,860 times
Reputation: 10
the train I generally don't have a problem with, but the bus service is pretty terrible and it makes me pretty angry, honestly, considering how much it costs for one freaking ride. I often wait 20+ minutes for a bus home from work, and 15 minutes of my commute is unavoidably spent waiting for a bus after getting off the train. every single day. i leave earlier in order to try to make an earlier bus and not have to wait, but it never ever runs on time, and if i left any earlier, i'd be showing up at work 30+ minutes early. ugh.
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Old 05-18-2014, 07:05 PM
 
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I am a pretty harsh critic of lots of hare-brained transit plans but the use of GPS does seem to really help out -- CTA | Bus Tracker
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Old 05-19-2014, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Uptown
1,520 posts, read 2,576,262 times
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love my express bus, Foster to the office in under 30 minutes every day
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Old 05-19-2014, 10:33 PM
 
16,393 posts, read 30,287,859 times
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The CTA coverage of the city of Chicago is pretty decent.

However, I do not think that the train lines are properly maintained in any fashion. The trains are generally very dirty and the stations, especially in the loop are not well maintained. Track maintenance and safety is also a major issue as cited by several NTSB reports.
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Old 05-20-2014, 07:59 AM
 
741 posts, read 764,404 times
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The CTA has been rebuilding elevated stations for the past decade. The Red Line, the Blue Line. These are good stations and pretty well maintained. I ride the El almost daily (Red/Brown/Purple ... sometimes Blue) and I don't witness/experience dirty train cars. The Loop underground stations have always been poorly maintained, from what I've seen. Track maintenance is a challenge which at long last is being addressed. Those works are well documented in the media ... and by those who ride the trains where the construction has taken place (Blue to O'Hare - Red to 95th St.)
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Old 05-20-2014, 08:15 AM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,392,786 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Longford View Post
The CTA has been rebuilding elevated stations for the past decade. The Red Line, the Blue Line. These are good stations and pretty well maintained. I ride the El almost daily (Red/Brown/Purple ... sometimes Blue) and I don't witness/experience dirty train cars. The Loop underground stations have always been poorly maintained, from what I've seen. Track maintenance is a challenge which at long last is being addressed. Those works are well documented in the media ... and by those who ride the trains where the construction has taken place (Blue to O'Hare - Red to 95th St.)
You could replace "seen" with "smelled". Not that Chicago is unique, pretty much all US cities have filthy subways. Somebody should rewrite the "smell of victory" scene from Apocolypse Now --- "Smell that? That choking stink of human excrement and vermin? I hate to smell that morning or evening. Smells like defeat, cities too stupid / broke to keep functioning restrooms open to the public...".

If they can't find a way to fund such a basic level of maintenance they probably deserve to be ridiculed ....
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Old 05-20-2014, 09:25 AM
 
741 posts, read 764,404 times
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I suspect the city, the CTA, is spending sufficiently to clean the underground stations. However, there's no follow-up/supervision of the contractor(s) who aren't doing what they're probably being paid to do. The smell of unattended to urine on the interior floors and on the escalators at Howard St. (elevated) and on the platforms of some of the underground stations can be overpowering at times. I lived in Mexico City and used the Metro as a principal means of transportation. That subway system sees about 6 million riders a day. Compared to what I see in Chicago and experienced in Mexico City ... you could eat off of the floors in the Mexico City subway stations and not worry too much about becoming ill.
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Old 05-20-2014, 12:03 PM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,392,786 times
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I would not call it "lack of supervision" I would call it a direct result of hiring connected people.

Imagine this scene:

Custodial Supervisor: Hey, some bum just crapped on the platform at Washington.

Janitor: I cleaned that at 10AM

Supervisor: Well I was there are 10:30AM and the pile was still steamin'

Janitor: Suck to be a CTA rider...

Supervisor: Excuse me? Get over there and clean it

Janitor: Do I have to call my auntie? I mean I may not be the smartest janitor in all of Chicago but when my auntie is an alderman / state senator / county board member I a pretty sure you have to cut me some slack

Supervisor: Sucks to be a CTA rider...
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