Cta

Everyone's used to characters on the CTA. Now the CTA is using characters - about 140 of them - to its advantage. The CTA on Thursday celebrated the one-month anniversary of its Twitter and Facebook accounts. Since it launched its social media presence on Nov. 1, the CTA has garnered more than 3,400 Twitter followers and more than 4,700 likes on its Facebook page. "We believe this is a valuable resource for customers," said Brian Steele, the new CTA director of communications and media relations, who regularly updates the agency's social media outlets with a few other CTA employees.

Police issued a community alert Wednesday warning of cellphone robberies this month near the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT stop. Police say two men have been robbing people of their cellphones near the Green Line stop, which has been seeing more traffic since the CTA closed the southern section of the Red Line for five-month track renewal Sunday. The incidents occurred on or near CTA property at about 9:35 a.m., Friday, in the 0-100 block of West 35th Street, and about 3:18 p.m., Monday, in the 3500 block of South State Street.

Call 'em rail fails. Some Going Public readers have been railing against problems with CTA stations and train service lately. Next stop: Frustration station. No crown for Brown It seems that ever since the platform expansion was completed Brown Line off-peak trains (especially during the day and weekends) are only four cars. I feel that this is a problem because I have to stand every time and the trains are just packed. Especially with less frequent service it is quite inconvenient.

Today is the deadline to submit ideas for the Chicago Architecture Foundation's contest to design bus shelters for express bus service that's coming to Ashland Avenue and the Loop. The "Next Stop" contest was created to encourage conversation about bus rapid transit, express bus service that typically allows bus-only lanes and traffic signal priority over cars, said Ingrid Haftel, associate curator for the Architecture Foundation. Participants envision how the bus shelters should look in the Loop and on Ashland Avenue , where bus rapid transit is slated to arrive in the next few...

The CTA today launched its campaign about stroller use on buses, reminding riders that priority seating is intended for the elderly and riders with disabilities. "Open strollers may be parked in this area if these seats are not in use, but must be moved if a customer with a disability or a senior needs the seat," says the placards on CTA buses and trains. Bus operators, who received retraining on the stroller policy, which has been in place for nearly 10 years, will pass out fliers with the policy to riders with strollers when they board the bus. The leaflets are available at rail stations, the CTA...

Six male riders - including a teenager - have been killed on CTA tracks since March, an increase from previous years, according to the transit agency's data. The most recent rail death was last week, when a 27-year-old ex-Marine visiting Chicago was electrocuted after touching the third rail at the South Boulevard stop on the Purple Line. Evanston police said he was on the tracks urinating and accidentally fell on the third rail. Zachary McKee's death was the second CTA rail death in April.

Forget about rush hour. Every day on the CTA, it's crush hour - on men. For more than nine months, the website ctacrush.com has encouraged Chicagoans to submit photos of their CTA crushes. A new photo is uploaded about once a day. Sometimes they're of crushes on the buses, sometimes they're of crushes on the trains. The one thing all these crushes have in common: They are all men. Only one photo of a woman, a blond in a trench coat holding a pen and biting her finger in the back of a CTA bus, has been submitted.

Janet Martin loves to add a dash of honey to your commute. The CTA customer service agent greets many Brown Line riders with a "honey" and asks them about their day. If they need help getting to the platform, she's always there with an extra hand. The riders at the Kedzie stop in Albany Park, where Martin works from 6-9:30 a.m., don't just like her. They adore her. In a post last week on everyblock.com , a Chicago neighborhood discussion board, riders heaped praise on Martin, who has worked at the Chicago, Western and Addison stops in the past few years.

It's Valentine's Day, and you don't have a date? Don't panic yet; it's not too late. Several missed CTA connections are posted on RedEye's site. Some romantic, some funny, many based on sight. Going Public created a poem of some of the best pines. Orange, Blue and the bus lines. Each line is from a different submission. Check 'em out if you want love or if you're just out fishin': I first noticed you when we were walking through the turnstiles/ You had a bright pink phone, dark hair and nice smile.

The Red Line, the backbone of the 'L,' has become more like a ball of nerves. Last week, the CTA touted a 3 percent increase in ridership from 2010 to 2011, but the southern portion of the Red Line saw a dip - perhaps due to slow zones. The case of Red Line slow zones may provide clues to how Red Line and Loop ridership could be affected in the next few months when two construction projects will likely bring similar slowdowns. The CTA will be working on renewing its track in the Loop this spring, and the agency will be improving stations on the northern sections of the Red Line...

Police have issued a community alert seeking a man accused of battery at the CTA Roosevelt stop Tuesday. A 41-year-old woman said a man approached her from behind and placed his hand on her leg as she rode the escalator to the elevated train platform at about 11 a.m., police said. The man fled in an unknown direction. The man was described as being Asian, 20 to 30 years old, with short, black hair and a medium build. He was last sean wearing glasses, blue jeans and carrying a backpack.

Attention, customers: There has been an uptick in theft on the Chicago Transit Authority's trains in the Loop this May. The rash of robberies was the subject of a community alert issued by police officials Monday afternoon. The alert said that in each incident a male offender about 18-29 years old stole iPhones and purses from people riding the trains or waiting for them. The first incident was reported in the 200 block of South State Street on May 17 at about 5:30 p.m. The second took place three hours later in the 100...

Starting Sunday, CTA riders will be able to transfer for free between the Lake Red Line and Washington Blue Line stations, the CTA announced Wednesday. CTA riders with a farecard currently pay 25 cents, the standard transfer fare, to travel between the stations using the pedway in the lower level of the Block 37 shopping center. The CTA has long talked about making this a free transfer point for riders. The CTA said it is making this change in correlation with the southern Red Line project, during which the...

Riders who use the Cermak-Chinatown station just can't catch a break. Five years ago, a semi-trailer truck crashed into the station escalator, killing two people and injuring about two dozen more. Over the next few years, the CTA overhauled the station by building a new stationhouse, installing a new elevator and replacing the stairs and escalator. During this time, the CTA closed entrances and rerouted buses to the station, which formally reopened in spring of 2011. Now the station will close Sunday, this time for five...

CTA riders now will be able to track their trains through various stops, search for train stations near them and see trains move on an interactive map using their phones or Web browser as part of new train tracker features the CTA plans to introduce Wednesday. The new tools include: > > Follow this train: Riders can use their phone or browser to click on an approaching train to find out how long it should take them to reach their destination instead of just being able to see when their trains are going to pick them up. ...

The White Sox are offering a $10 off deal for CTA riders a day after the CTA shuts down the southern portion of the Red Line, including the Sox-35th station. Sox fans can use the "SOXCTA" code to purchase tickets online through Ticketmaster for the Boston Red Sox series May 20-22. The Sox will knock $10 off lower box, outfield reserve and bleacher seats, Sox spokesman Marty Maloney said. The CTA will close the Red Line between Cermak-Chinatown and 95th Street May 19 to Oct. 19 for track overhaul.

The CTA tweeted around 3:43 p.m. May 29 that the Brown, Purple, and Red Line trains are experiencing delays due to fire department activity near Fullerton. The building, Roy's Home Furnishings, 2455 North Sheffield Ave., was "totally involved," with heavy smoke and fire damage, according to the Chicago Fire Department . As a result, southbound Red, Brown and Purple line trains are being turned back north at Belmont, and northbound trains are being turned back south at Armitage, a CTA spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune . Bus shuttles are being set up and the No. 11/Lincoln bus...

The CTA logged 2.4 percent more rides last year compared with 2011 and recorded its best ridership year since 1990, the agency said Monday. Most of the increase was on the rail side, which saw a 4.2 percent jump over 2011. Bus ridership saw a 1.1 percent rise, CTA data shows. The CTA recorded 545 million rides in 2012, up from 532 million in 2011. The 2012 number was the highest annual total for the CTA in 22 years, agency spokeswoman Tammy Chase said. “Customers chose affordable, reliable public transit over high gas prices during a slow economic recovery, and recognized and appreciated the...

Here comes the pain - but not the train. It's finally arrived, CTA riders. The CTA on Sunday will shut down the Red Line between Cermak-Chinatown and 95th Street for five months to overhaul the track. The agency is offering various alternatives from free shuttle buses to rerouted Red Line trains on Green Line tracks. Avoid the Red-ache. Going Public has your last-minute checklist for surviving the Dread Line. > > Take a test run. Now is the time to practice your commute if you can. Don't get caught Monday without an idea of how to get where you need to go. The CTA has posted a trip...

The CTA this week touted success with last year's plan to decrowd buses and trains by adding service, but a RedEye analysis shows mixed results and a decrease in ridership in some routes. Of the 48 bus routes that received additional service, 19 of the routes saw an increase in ridership during the time the service was added, typically rush hour. Eighteen of the routes saw a ridership decrease while five routes had flat ridership, the CTA said. The other six routes saw the times of their schedule change but didn't...