Cta Riders

The season of good cheer has almost arrived - just in time to lift some CTA riders' spirits. Readers have been complaining to Going Public about riders who waste space and suck face. GP rounded up the jeer - in order to reveal who's making the "naughty list" this year. Looking for stand-up riders [Last month] I witnessed a very pregnant woman, an elderly lady and a man with a cane who was clearly disabled stand for their entire ride while onlookers who were sitting didn't even offer their spot.

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 block of North Wabash Avenue.

There's a Brown Line and a Red Line and now there's a Timeline. The CTA on Friday unveiled its new Facebook timeline, which features photos of the first all-metal rapid transit cars (September 1950) and the last streetcar trip (June 1958), among other transit milestones. In the spirit of the new timeline, Going Public looks forward to the transit-related events that are rapidly approaching. > > Wednesday: Local activists will be gathering at 6 p.m., at CTA headquarters, 567 W. Lake St., for Occupy National Day of Action for Public Transportation.

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 CTA will close stations south of Roosevelt Road for five...

A CTA rider looked like he had gotten his foot stuck in between the train and the platform at the Jackson station in the Loop. Another rider stopped to help the man and then got on the train--without his wallet. The man's foot was never stuck, police said at a recent press conference where they aired CTA footage of the scam to get riders' wallets. Chicago police say they have identified 165 active pickpockets on the CTA. On Thursday, they provided CTA riders with safety tips for the holidays.

CTA riders had mixed reactions about their commute Monday, the first workday since the agency's service cuts and additions took effect. Steffany Amacher of Lakeview typically takes the No. 80-Irving Park bus, the Brown Line and the Red Line to the Loop for work in the morning. On Monday, she noticed the Brown Line was less crowded, the Red Line was still crowded and the Irving Park bus had not changed. "On the Brown Line, there weren't seats, but I didn't feel like a sardine in a can. That's a pretty good improvement," said Amacher, 28. "The Red...

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.

Starting this week, the Red Line may become the "Dread Line" for some North Side riders. On Friday, the CTA will close the Granville stop in Edgewater for up to six weeks as part of its program to rehab seven of the most deplorable stations on the North Side Red Line. Granville is the first of seven stations to close, and the CTA is encouraging riders to use the Thorndale stop, which is less than a half mile away, or the Loyola stop, which is about a half mile away. The station closure will likely bring slower trains.

If you ride the train Sunday, you'll need a CTA pass but you won't need pants. The annual No Pants Subway Ride kicks off at noon Sunday at 1210 W. Arthur St. The ride, which is scheduled to last three hours, is the same day as New York's annual No Pants Subway Ride, which began 10 years ago as a prank by an improv group. Chicago's event has been held for more than five years. More than 285 people signed up on Facebook to participate, as of Tuesday afternoon. More than 200 CTA riders took the Red Line last year sans pants, according to news reports.

CTA riders, this is not the way to ring in the new year. Chicago police issued two separate alerts last week warning riders about recent cellphone thefts on the Red and Pink lines. Police said a group of men have been snatching electronic devices from riders on trains and platforms between 55th and 95th Streets on the Red Line since early this year. This weekend, police released a photo of a suspect they say has been using a gun to rob riders of their cellphones on the Pink Line since late last month.

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.

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...

A reader emailed Going Public last week with a unique complaint: There was too much CTA service. The reader said his 30-minute Wacker bus commute more than doubled as the CTA ran shuttle buses to replace Brown Line service to and from the Loop, which was suspended until Monday morning while the Chicago Department of Transportation overhauled the Wells Street Bridge. There were too many shuttle buses, which clogged traffic and delayed other bus service, the reader complained. Many of the shuttle buses he spotted carried only a few riders, he said.

The CTA is asking for rider opinion on rail car seating arrangements as it gathers information before selecting a manufacturer for the upcoming 7000-series cars. In a survey e-mailed to some CTA riders this week , the agency asks riders to weigh in on whether they prefer the aisle-facing seats on the new 5000-series rail cars to the standard seating on the older rail cars on the Brown and Blue lines. The CTA also asks riders whether they would rather see the aisle-facing cloth seats on the 5000-series cars or plastic bench seats featured in...

Here's the gist of Monday's state hearing about CTA's Ventra system: The public transit agency is not doing a good job of educating the public about the details of its new fare collection method, which is scheduled to roll out within months. The CTA said it plans to launch this month an extensive outreach campaign about transitioning to Ventra, which may start as early as "early this summer," CTA President Forrest Claypool said at Monday's hearing, which was attended by CTA, Metra and Pace officials.

Time to get a new line, CTA. The agency has dusted off a version of its infamous "leave early, leave late, alternate" motto for the Wells Street bridge closure project, which begins Friday night and is slated to end before morning rush hour March 11. For more than nine days, riders will be subjected to Brown and Purple Line and Loop reroutes as the Chicago Department of Transportation overhauls the Wells Street bridge and the CTA replaces tracks...

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 block of North Wabash Avenue.

Brown and Purple Line riders, your commute will get a little loopy starting next month. Part of Brown and Purple Line service will shutter for nine-day periods in March and late April as the city overhauls the Wells Street Bridge. At the same time, the CTA is rebuilding the Loop junction at Lake and Wells Streets and fixing track along Hubbard Street that suffers from slow zones. Chicago Department of Transportation commissioner Gabe Klein said Monday that CTA riders will endure a "little bit of pain.

Red Line trains will run on Green Line tracks, and CTA riders will be able to ride for free at the Garfield Green Line station, according to the plans the CTA unveiled Thursday for its spring Red Line south shutdown--one of its biggest reconstruction projects ever. As the CTA overhauls track, it will close nine Red Line stations from Cermak-Chinatown to 95th Street from May 19 through Oct. 19. The agency said it will run free shuttle buses to the Garfield Green Line stop from the 95th, 87th, 79th and 69th Street Red Line stations.

CTA riders, this is not the way to ring in the new year. Chicago police issued two separate alerts last week warning riders about recent cellphone thefts on the Red and Pink lines. Police said a group of men have been snatching electronic devices from riders on trains and platforms between 55th and 95th Streets on the Red Line since early this year. This weekend, police released a photo of a suspect they say has been using a gun to rob riders of their cellphones on the Pink Line since late last month.