Do you think the CTA/METRA will come back after Covid or will it become obsolete? (Chicago: 2014, crimes)

[personone]

Yup. It's a slow but steady increase. Will probably see slow increases for the next 2 months (until Labor Day). Many companies are brining people back in from July 1 to September.

[Kmanshouse]

We are going in 1x/week. Wife 2x/week for the foreseeable future. Many places are re-evaluating still.

I think we will end up with slightly less crowded trains, which will be nice, actually.

Of course, Covid is skyrocketing again, so who knows what companies will do by fall.

As long as 40% of the population isn't getting vaccinated, we are going to keep seeing case surges with different variants. The only question will be whether companies and local governments will do anything about it or not.

[NYEddy]

It definitely seems like the Blue Line is well off its lows, at least during rush. Obviously, ORD seems like its experiencing a bounce-back as well, so that's helping. Certainly not what I remember 1Q20, but I would say roughly half of that, to my subjective eyes.

[personone]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

We are going in 1x/week. Wife 2x/week for the foreseeable future. Many places are re-evaluating still.

I think we will end up with slightly less crowded trains, which will be nice, actually.

Of course, Covid is skyrocketing again, so who knows what companies will do by fall.

As long as 40% of the population isn't getting vaccinated, we are going to keep seeing case surges with different variants. The only question will be whether companies and local governments will do anything about it or not.

Agree. I don’t think anything will ever fully open up again. Because of the surges. It is sad, but I think it will lead to the death of the classic American downtown. Businesses will move out and go remote. Less downtown activity the way it was. It is amazing how COVID has changed life as we know it forever. The only thing that could save it is if companies mandate vaccinations.

[JonhE]

Originally Posted by personone

Agree. I don’t think anything will ever fully open up again. Because of the surges. It is sad, but I think it will lead to the death of the classic American downtown. Businesses will move out and go remote. Less downtown activity the way it was. It is amazing how COVID has changed life as we know it forever. The only thing that could save it is if companies mandate vaccinations.

If you look at what is happening in Israel now you might change your opinion and maybe realize that you've been bamboozled. The vaccines don't give you immunity. Get ready for your BOOSTER!


The old folks and people with co-morbidities have been vaxxed up. According to the science, they are safe, so there should be no worries. No need to preach to us about how 12 year olds should get an experimental vaccine that has a higher risk of harming them then the actual virus. It's been over 1 1/2 years now.. a lot longer than the 2 weeks needed to "flatten the curve". Maybe turn off the tv when the mayor and her sycophants are on.

[personone]

Originally Posted by JonhE

If you look at what is happening in Israel now you might change your opinion and maybe realize that you've been bamboozled. The vaccines don't give you immunity. Get ready for your BOOSTER!


The old folks and people with co-morbidities have been vaxxed up. According to the science, they are safe, so there should be no worries. No need to preach to us about how 12 year olds should get an experimental vaccine that has a higher risk of harming them then the actual virus. It's been over 1 1/2 years now.. a lot longer than the 2 weeks needed to "flatten the curve". Maybe turn off the tv when the mayor and her sycophants are on.

I will be getting a BOOSTER as soon as it's available. But back to the thread topic. Downtown life as we know it will never be the same. Because of COVID and the surges, business will go remote. Downtown Chicago will never be as bustling as it once was.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by personone

I will be getting a BOOSTER as soon as it's available. But back to the thread topic. Downtown life as we know it will never be the same. Because of COVID and the surges, business will go remote. Downtown Chicago will never be as bustling as it once was.

It will probably need to realign the focus to people other than working individuals to become something other than the downtown that is dead on weekends. It is a common problem for downtown areas, but hopefully it will at least liven up somewhat when the shows come back this fall and give the area some evening traffic.

[personone]

Originally Posted by RamenAddict

It will probably need to realign the focus to people other than working individuals to become something other than the downtown that is dead on weekends. It is a common problem for downtown areas, but hopefully it will at least liven up somewhat when the shows come back this fall and give the area some evening traffic.

That's a good point. Although downtown's are so big that it will be hard to fill in all of that real estate to focus solely on people.

It will be interesting to see how downtowns change as a result of the pandemic.

[dtcbnd03]

CTA set to slash fares in bid to boost ridership.
Ridership at 50% of pre-pandemic levels.
2022 budget shortfall of about $386 million.
CTA is continuing to invest in infrastructure under the proposed budget.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10...oost-ridership

Took my first biz trip in about 2 years the other week. Was nice to see people in an office but the inefficiency of time/cost/travel was apparent to everyone. Office life and CTA ridership will never be the same.

[personone]

[quote=dtcbnd03;62162593]CTA set to slash fares in bid to boost ridership.
Ridership at 50% of pre-pandemic levels.
2022 budget shortfall of about $386 million.
CTA is continuing to invest in infrastructure under the proposed budget.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10...oost-ridership

Took my first biz trip in about 2 years the other week. Was nice to see people in an office but the inefficiency of time/cost/travel was apparent to everyone. Office life and CTA ridership will never be the same.[/QUOTE]

And this will directly impact downtown, and the small businesses that used to thrive from the everyday work crowd (delis, restaurants, etc). The volumes that they used to be able to rely on every day of the week will be slashed, as many will only be in offices a couple days (and some will be fully remote). The only potential saving grace could be if rents correct themselves and are substantially lowered. Then those small businesses food places and restaurants could potentially still exist. But the regular business crowds, and hustle and bustle, which contributed ambience to downtown will likely never be the same again. Hybrid and flexible work is a disruptive innovation that will change the way people work forever as a result of the pandemic.