Los Angeles and the Dignity of Bus Stop Shelters
Why Los Angeles doesn’t have adequate bus stop shelters. And why it should.
Are CTA Employees to Blame for Annoying New Warning Announcements on the ‘L’?
The CTA blames bad rider behavior for the annoying, live ‘doors are closing’ announcements now made every time an ‘L’ train leaves a station. But the problem might not exist if train operators didn’t abuse the existing recorded warning in the first place.
CTA Bus Tracker Vs. Union Negotiating Power
When CTA Doomsday eliminated 20% of Chicago bus service in February, labor leaders expected a public outcry from stranded transit riders to help save the jobs of 1,100 bus union workers. Instead, riders took the cutbacks in stride–because any rider with a smart phone can instantly find out exactly when the next bus is coming. Does the rise of transit-tracking smart phone apps spell doomsday for the union’s ability to rile up the ridership?
VIDEO: On Why Chicago Transit Authority President Richard Rodriguez Shouldn’t Be Driving to Work
Chicago Transit Authority president Richard Rodriguez canceled the free-car perq for dozens of high-ranking CTA managers. So why does the president of the nation’s second-largest public transit system continue to drive to work instead of riding his own agency’s buses and ‘L’ trains?
CTA Surveys Customers…Badly
This week, the Chicago Transit Authority is surveying riders on the front page of its website. As you might expect (especially in the still-turbulent wake of Ron Huberman’s exit), the agency is doing a rotten job of it.
Why I Like the Chicago ‘L’
A visit from an NYC friend yesterday reminded me how much I prefer the Chicago ‘L’–and Chicago, in general–over New York and its (apparently) increasingly dangerous subway. Click above to view my premiere video blog and I’ll tell you my reasons why.
Transit Riders Still Second-Class in Second City
A world city rises and falls on the strength of its public transit, no matter what Mayor Daley says. World city leaders know this through and through. So why doesn’t Daley?
Why Daley Is Wrong to Move Huberman
This week, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley made his most uninformed, misguided decision in recent memory by deciding to pull Chicago Transit Authority President Ron Huberman out of the post and install him as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
Who Stole the ‘L’ Stop at Washington/State?
It may be the biggest heist in Chicago history, folks, and it’s right under our noses. Or our feet, anyway. One look at this year’s new Chicago Transit Authority map uncovers the dastardly deed: someone has stolen the Washington/State Red Line station.
Snowy CTA Night with Coalition for the Homeless
On the very snowy evening of Tuesday, December 9th, the Chicago Coalition for the Coalition invited me to tag along on a field-monitoring mission to see whether and how the CTA’s new homeless-ejection policy was being put into practice at rail terminals throughout the system.