Cta

The CTA board is poised to approve an agreement Wednesday with the University of Chicago that would allow the CTA to continue to operate four campus bus routes for five years. The buses that would continue to run are the Nos. 170-U. of Chicago/Midway, 171 U. of Chicago/Hyde Park, 172 U. of Chicago/Kenwood, and 192 U. of Chicago Hospitals Express. The buses are primarily used by University of Chicago students. There will be no changes to the routes, CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase said.

The CTA said this week it is delaying installation of more than 200 Bus Tracker displays at bus stops across the city so it can make upgrades to the signs. The CTA had announced in September 2011 that 400 electronic displays at bus stops would be installed within a year. The CTA said the first 150 signs were implemented by the spring, and the agency is delaying implementing 210 signs as it makes changes to the system. Installations now will not likely occur until 2013, the CTA said, and the total quantity installed will only be 360 displays partly because of additional costs for the technology changes.

The CTA this month is experiencing the most slow zones the system has seen in more than four years, according to recently released data. Nearly 16 percent of the system is under slow zone, during which trains operate at 35 miles per hour or slower, according to a map posted on transitchicago.com last week. This is the highest percentage of slow zones since April 2008, when 16.1 percent of the system was under slow zone, CTA data shows. This month, there's at least one slow zone on every rail line.

The CTA plan that would reduce service on low ridership routes and add service on high ridership routes starting in December could speed rider commutes--if it's done right. There's no question that there are some areas on the rail system that could use more frequent train service. The CTA is considering adding more train service on the Red, Brown and Blue Lines during rush hour. The Blue Line alone has seen a 16 percent increase in weekday ridership over the last four years, as RedEye has previously reported.

It was a soggy but quiet homecoming for the CTA's 5000-series rail cars, which debuted on the Pink Line this week after a nearly six-month hiatus. The CTA on Sunday rolled out two trains, each composed of six cars, which feature electronic signs, security cameras and the controversial aisle-facing seats. The cars had been out of service since late last year, when the CTA noticed defective wheel parts. Cars already in the CTA's possession were retrofit with new parts. The CTA said it has asked for additional inspections and checks from Bombardier, the company that manufactures the cars.

The CTA is winding down its program to clean and repair stations across the system - but it's not exactly a clean sweep. When CTA president Forrest Claypool and Mayor Emanuel announced the Renew Crew program in September 2011, Claypool promised 100 stations would see improvements in a year. Eighty-eight of the CTA's 145 stations have received facelifts, according to a Going Public analysis of CTA data. The CTA says it has completed 101 station projects, which include replacing lighting and signage and painting walls and scrubbing floors.

Nearly 17 percent of CTA track is under slow zones this month, which is the slowest the rail system has been in nearly five years. The slow-zone snapshot for February shows 16.7 percent of the rail system is under slow zones, which is when a train travels 35 mph or slower. The last time the CTA saw a percentage that high was in March 2008, when the CTA logged 16.9 percent slow zones. "The slow zone percentage is a dynamic number," CTA spokesman Brian Steele said. "As we repair slow zones, other slow zones can occur.

The CTA has not been meeting its monthly targets for bus cleanliness and rail delays, according to performance metrics released Tuesday. The agency scored 73.5 out of 100 on its bus cleanliness inspection in March, the most recent data available. During March, the agency also recorded 113 rail delays of 10 minutes or more, the third straight month of logging more than 100 of these delays. The CTA blamed the bus score on more stringent cleaning standards adopted in July. Since October, the CTA has increased the amount of time it spends deep cleaning buses from 2 1/2 hours once a month to four hours for 40-foot buses and six hours for 60-foot buses.

The CTA today released details about its upcoming experiment with bus rapid transit, an express bus service that typically relies on bus-only lanes and traffic signal priority for buses. The service, which will run along Jeffery Boulevard, will be called Jeffery Jump, the CTA announced today. It also released a photo of the bus, which will be blue. The route, which will operate between 103rd Street and Ogilvie station, is expected to begin running in November. The agency says it will shave five to seven minutes off the morning and evening commute.

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.