Hater's Guide to Chicago Public Transportation (Irving, Pulaski: 2013, bus, airport)

[Thepreacherswife]

Come unload on your favorite idiot commuter stereotypes!

The hater’s guide to Chicago public transit | Commuter Age

[chet everett]

Fun stuff!

[marothisu]

Funny and interesting. I do think the new cars are a little roomier and it's funny they use MTA as the example as that. A better example would be DC's cars. Now THOSE are roomy cars.

I'm going to comment on a few things though.

1) The thing about the people moving to the door while the train is moving because they think they will miss their exit. Yeah it can be rude for sure, but I have been in some situations where I've personally almost missed my exit even though I was just at the other door. This happens a lot on the Red Line in the summer when the Cubs are playing. When it's really busy and you have tourists who don't know what the **** they're doing, it creates a giant clog in the middle of the places and yes, definitely possible to miss your exit in the right situations. Without a lot of tourists/non train riders though, you probably won't miss your stop, hopefully. Possible but not as likely to happen.

2 & 2B) Pretty true. The only thing I'll say is about the blue line and orange line from the airport. If you want a seat, it's pretty hard to make sure your bag is by your side when you do it without blocking anything. Even if you leave the aisle seat open, your bag is next to it and someone's going to have to climb over it. The cars are really ****ing poorly designed for this. Not the airport though, I agree. I never understood why people only take the aisle seat and not the window.

3) Yeah that can be annoying. I'll admit I'll stand in the doorway of a train but I'll only stay when almost nobody is on and when there's like 2 people getting on or off. If a lot of people are getting on, hopefully people move. I don't think that type of thing is bad. What IS bad is when there's a **** load of people trying to get off the train and people just stand and try and shift within the car instead of getting off.

4) Yeah. I can't stand people with heavy bags who insist on "wearing" them above the waist when it's really busy, and then you get hit or you can't fit as many people on.



I have to agree with them that some of this is poorly designed. The stops in the middle of the expressways **** me off. The things where an exit is on only one side of the street..kill me now.

[marothisu]

Here's one they didn't mention that I have encountered countless times in the morning commuting via the train.

iYou are about to get on the train and It's a packed train. You realize there's no room for you to get onto a car, but then you look at the back of the train and realize there's about 4 feet of space in the aisle of the car and nobody will move back to let you on. Everyone just crowds the door. 3 or 4 people could easily take up that space to let one more person on. Now you've missed your train and have to wait for the next.

[Thepreacherswife]

I'm fortunate that when I go downtown for work I get on the Blue Line at Irving Park and get off at Jackson so I can usually get on and go stand in the back (next to the emergency ladder) with no trouble and the train empties out at Clark/Lake so no worries about being stuck in the back and missing my stop.

But I will say that if I ever catch the idiot who I think every day must scatter a box of stale Dunkin Donut Munchkins on the sidewalk on Pulaski at the Irving Park station, I will stave in his skull and fill it with pigeon droppings. I'm ready to start going vigilante on those pigeons and cooking up some homebrew poison.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Here's one they didn't mention that I have encountered countless times in the morning commuting via the train.

iYou are about to get on the train and It's a packed train. You realize there's no room for you to get onto a car, but then you look at the back of the train and realize there's about 4 feet of space in the aisle of the car and nobody will move back to let you on. Everyone just crowds the door. 3 or 4 people could easily take up that space to let one more person on. Now you've missed your train and have to wait for the next.

Oh Lordy, it's 10,000 times worse when people do this on the bus. It sucks when you wait forever for a bus and it's packed right up to the door so you can't go on and, as it passes by, you see that NO ONE has moved up the stairs and to the back. Seriously, it's like people are afraid to go up those stairs.

My newest gripe: I DESPISE the State and Lake stop during rush hour. There are certain times during the day whee it's just a pure bottleneck of people trying to get off the train and people trying to get on. It's even worse when people with jumbo suitcases are involved (they can seriously take up the whole platform with those bags). Add in the issue of getting through the turnstiles and up/down the stairs and it makes you just want to get off at Randolph and walk a bit further just to avoid the mess.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by marothisu

2 & 2B) Pretty true. The only thing I'll say is about the blue line and orange line from the airport. If you want a seat, it's pretty hard to make sure your bag is by your side when you do it without blocking anything. Even if you leave the aisle seat open, your bag is next to it and someone's going to have to climb over it. The cars are really ****ing poorly designed for this. Not the airport though, I agree. I never understood why people only take the aisle seat and not the window.

While I never employed the "hog the aisle seat" tactic when I used the blue line, I can tell you why people do it. They do it because, inevitably, when you move in to the window, a total fata** takes the aisle seat and is pressed up against you for the next 20 minutes, which is both uncomfortable and gross. If you're in the aisle. you have the ability to move over a little and not be physically touching them. If you're in the window seat there is nowhere to go. I have been smashed into a window seat more times than I can count, it sucks.

[marothisu]

^ That's true. I have witnessed that many times, but I've also seen more times than I can count someone who does that and there's about 2 other people on the train i.e. tons of open seats and they'd never run the risk of a person even sitting next to them in the first place. I have also seen the fatass take the aisle too..

[brianfmorrissey]

Originally Posted by Thepreacherswife

I'm fortunate that when I go downtown for work I get on the Blue Line at Irving Park and get off at Jackson so I can usually get on and go stand in the back (next to the emergency ladder) with no trouble and the train empties out at Clark/Lake so no worries about being stuck in the back and missing my stop.

But I will say that if I ever catch the idiot who I think every day must scatter a box of stale Dunkin Donut Munchkins on the sidewalk on Pulaski at the Irving Park station, I will stave in his skull and fill it with pigeon droppings. I'm ready to start going vigilante on those pigeons and cooking up some homebrew poison.

Ha! Wow, that is hateful. But, yeah, I have to say the east exit at Pulaski is about the most disgusting piece of infrastructure in the entire system. I think there is so much litter at every expressway station (Blue and Red) just because they are hideous and not worth caring about. I am instantly depressed as soon I as enter one.

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

While I never employed the "hog the aisle seat" tactic when I used the blue line, I can tell you why people do it. They do it because, inevitably, when you move in to the window, a total fata** takes the aisle seat and is pressed up against you for the next 20 minutes, which is both uncomfortable and gross. If you're in the aisle. you have the ability to move over a little and not be physically touching them. If you're in the window seat there is nowhere to go. I have been smashed into a window seat more times than I can count, it sucks.

wow! the cta must be good incentive to go on a diet.

Seriously, i am a larger person, and I make sure that I do not squeeze in anyone sitting next to me, is that a solution to fatazzes sitting next to you?