It's already hard enough being a regular CTA rider.
We have to put up with smelly and slow trains. Now the CTA wants to pack us in like cattle.
They announced a plan this week to tear the seats out of some of the cars and create standing room only for as many as 140 people per car.
There's no way I'd get in one of those cars. It's hard enough riding the train as it is, but to be sandwiched in between other passengers would not only be uncomfortable but potentially unsafe.
The way some of the conductors brake, I'd be afraid of people falling on top of one another. And being packed in so close offers more opportunities for pickpockets and pervs.
They will make two of the eight cars seatless, but that'll make the it even harder to find a seat on the other cars.
This is just a temporary solution to train overcrowding. But the CTA needs capital funding so that it can purchase new train cars.
In a city like Chicago, our trains should offer us a smooth ride.
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"CTA Cattle Cars",are definitely going to cause a stir simply because of the lack of seats, period! Most people using public transportation look forward to finding a SEAT for their ride home
from the work place!! Not to mention all those people standing, and bumping off one another make this idea a "pick-pocket thief's"
dream and turns what used to be an ordinary ride into a human pin-
ball game. Hopefully those at the CTA will do some studies and take into account all the variables that go with this idea. One thing is for certain and that is the CTA is trying, with an open mind, different ideas, etc. As a El and Bus rider, things can only get better and I pray that they do!!!! Good luck and God bless!!
I dont understand how the CTA thought the existing cars were a good idea. If you are not by the vestibule, or right where the doors are, there is nothing to hold on to. You are supposed to move into the car, but where are the handrails? The back of someones head! There are no overhead straps, no floor to ceiling poles, only these things on the seats. usually peoples heads are there. it is insane. ive never been on a subway car that was designed like this. DC, Boston, NYC, SF, all are better designed. THe current cars are as inefficient as can be. They fit a minimum of people, not a maximum.
CTA Cattle Cars. That would make an excellent trademark.
amy Pick: "The back of someone's head!"
An excellent opportunity to pick out the bugs.
If you think public transportation is bad in Chicago and in a lot of ways it is, try the southwest suburbs. I live in Joliet where buses are few and far between. Routes make little sense going in seemingly senseless circles and ignoring common destinations such as schools, hospitals, social service offices and oh, where the jobs are.
Chicago is a great destination but a lousy hub if you need to go from say Joliet to Naperville in under 2 hours (normally about a 45 minute drive straight up Weber Ave.). I have had to turn down several jobs in these tough economic times because the connections were either not there or far too time consuming to make. Like 70% of the population of Will County commutes outside of it to make a living so I've heard.That's a lot of drivers that could be riders.
Even within Joliet, the buses stop running after 7:17pm to my part of town - a whopping 3 miles from downtown. Hmm, they are struggling to get businesses to stay downtown. They have several festivals all which are inaccessible to those wanting to stay past the evening news. Seems there is a connection here somewhere.
RTA had a hearing and the new board of director J. D. Ross seemed receptive to riders complaints and suggestions. A new study has been done and an estimate of $10 billion for maintenance was determined. Held at the Joliet Historical Museum, the meeting was an hour long. I had to run to catch the last bus home at 7:17pm.