CTA in 2023: How bad is it? (Chicago, Rosemont: appointed, home, transfer)

[MichWolverines1983]

At the moment, my expectations are that there are a lot of safety issues and delays to put it kindly. My experience with the CTA was from when Richard M Daley and Rahm Emanuel were mayors. Besides normal delays and occasional mechanical issues, I remember being very satisfied with the reliability of the CTA. I remember texting a bus stop number to the CTA and it would send you schedule information. I also remember using bus/train tracker when it first rolled out for the CTA on smart phones. I used the old Chicago "Plus" Card before Ventra.

Unfortunately, but maybe fortunately? We will not be leaving Nashville for a few more years. Hopefully things will improve by the time we are ready to leave. We are definitely watching and keeping up with things and are hoping things improve.

[quigboto]

Here's how bad it is. I used to be a real believer in the CTA, and rarely drove in the city. I used to get the monthly unlimited plan via my employer (To save on taxes) and commuted every day. Fast forward to now, I've had a $203 balance on my Ventra card sitting unused and I've taken the CTA maybe twice in the last 3 years.
Will the CTA ever be restored to its former glory? I hope so. I would like to use that $203 balance sometime before I die.

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

I'm not sure about Blue. I think it's in between, safety wise.

Blue Line rider chiming in with my post-COVID observations:

1) The Train Tracker arrival times have been a total crapshoot lately, which is puzzling because it used to be consistently accurate to within a minute or less. Nowadays it's more of a 2-to-5-minute guesstimate. Of course that's not a crisis or anything, but it's enough to make you wonder if and when the damn thing's gonna get there after a few minutes have passed -- especially when...

2) There's the growing issue of "mystery trains" that suddenly disappear off the Tracker. And I'm not just talking trains with calculated arrival times based on headway schedules that for some reason never left the terminal, though that's an issue in its own right as someone who boards at Rosemont. I'm also talking trains that were being tracked in real time using switching data and/or GPS or however they're tracked these days. They'll be trucking along toward the stop and then suddenly disappear, as if the driver kicked everyone off a few stops up the line and pulled onto a side track to take a nap or something.

And finally....

3) I'm getting tired of vagrants using the trains as their rolling Club Meds. And they REALLY love the Blue Line because a) O'Hare has become a sort of unofficial homeless shelter; b) they can sleep for up to two hours from O'Hare to Forest Park or vice-versa before arriving and being rousted at the terminal on the other end; and c) some social-services NPO frequently sets up shop at the Forest Park terminal so the hobos often have food and coffee and other goodies waiting for them there.

And this accounts for 95% of my current commute frustration. Items 1 and 2 above usually have a small overall impact on my commute, if any. But the homeless situation in Chicago is getting out of control. It was tolerable as pertains to riding the L when there were maybe one or two per train, if any. But it's reached the point where up to 20% of any given car is already taken up by a full regiment of supine hooch lizards and their pushcarts full of malodorous crap when the train pulls into Rosemont from O'Hare. You can imagine how displeased would-be riders are when the car is already full to capacity by the time it gets to California or Logan Square.

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by Bitey

3) I'm getting tired of vagrants using the trains as their rolling Club Meds. And they REALLY love the Blue Line because a) O'Hare has become a sort of unofficial homeless shelter; b) they can sleep for up to two hours from O'Hare to Forest Park or vice-versa before arriving and being rousted at the terminal on the other end; and c) some social-services NPO frequently sets up shop at the Forest Park terminal so the hobos often have food and coffee and other goodies waiting for them there.

And this accounts for 95% of my current commute frustration. Items 1 and 2 above usually have a small overall impact on my commute, if any. But the homeless situation in Chicago is getting out of control. It was tolerable as pertains to riding the L when there were maybe one or two per train, if any. But it's reached the point where up to 20% of any given car is already taken up by a full regiment of supine hooch lizards and their pushcarts full of malodorous crap when the train pulls into Rosemont from O'Hare. You can imagine how displeased would-be riders are when the car is already full to capacity by the time it gets to California or Logan Square.

And today it was hopheads, assing up the entire train car with their wafting dope smoke. I didn't feel like dealing with that so I moved to the next car to discover... another group of hopheads doing the same thing.

So I guess I get to go into work today smelling like a skunk's ballsack. Hooray for another authentic urban experience.

[Kmanshouse]

Wow, what time of day is this happening Bitey?

[Master Jay]

Bitey, good morning,
As someone that has never been a smoker, I assure you I can smell when cigarette smoke is on someone (in their hair, clothes, etc.) if they are near me.

The marijuana smoke, to ME, smells just as bad!

That said, now that there are legal options, it IS going to be a reality when traveling on public transportation.

I feel for you!

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

Wow, what time of day is this happening Bitey?

Today it was 7:30ish.

[quigboto]

I thought this was a good read, so wanted to share it here: https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-m...to-save-the-l/

[jdiddy]

It’s so infuriating to know that no one is around to drive the trains because not enough time has been spent holding a flag first.

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by quigboto

I thought this was a good read, so wanted to share it here: https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-m...to-save-the-l/

Here's a couple brilliant solutions these mush-heads came up with:

A better solution for crime prevention [in lieu of increased police presence]: something along the lines of the “transit ambassadors” deployed by the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. Run by the transit police, the program trains unarmed outreach workers in *de-escalation and antibias techniques meant to reduce conflicts.

If that weren't precious enough, there's also this:

The CTA’s 2023 budget includes $2 million for nonprofits such as the Night Ministry to connect people sheltering on trains with services. And Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a $3 million tiny homes pilot to take people off the street. The most effective thing she could do is back the proposed Bring Chicago Home Ordinance, to raise the real estate transfer tax on properties sold for $1 million or more. Those funds would go toward affordable housing and support services. She’s currently blocking the ordinance.

What a fantastic summation of the current political zeitgeist of Chicago.