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Are they plain white or are they former fresh moves buses from 2010-2012? 77th still has one of them parked on the southern wall of the boneyard amongst oos D40LFs,LFS's and 2nd gen LFS's and it appears to be in running condition. This was the only angle I could get from the last time I went down there in April.
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Lincolnwood and the McCormick/Lincoln transfer point were the logical points for folks going south/east or to the mall (Glenview/Golf stations were for those North and Northwest), and CTA would take the passengers to the respective transit stations. The terminal changed as a result of the 2009-10 recession and pruning the routes made more sense then (as opposed to cutting everything to the bone). -
From a planning and evaluation. standpoint (and I also wrote the standards), comparing 210 with 304 and 326 may not be in the best interests of comparison. Different markets, same terrible ridership. Doesn’t detract from your thesis (or mine) that the routes have to go.
- Yesterday
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Yeah, those have been their for a minute, at least 8-9 months if not a year or more based on the last time I took the 100. A quick google maps look suggests they may be owned by "Speedy Gonzalez Landscaping" although I couldn't fathom what they'd need those buses for.
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If you come to cta it's 1st come 1st serve basis. So when it's time to pick your garage however many left when it's your turn that's where you'll end up unless you're needed to fill out a garage that dont have enough operators which can be any of the 7. But in most cases it's always FG or NP for the most part their the farthest garages in the system. Your seniority is everything once you get in cta as well and the longer you're here the better it'll get. 103rd is the most seniority based garage in the system meaning it's a lot of long timers lol so if you're just starting over here you'll get the scraps of what's left or most likely extra board. NP has the lightest seniority of course so if you stay there you'll have better chances of picking more decent routes. With my time I could get sat and Sundays off easily and get off crazy early if I was to go to NP, FG, or K as well.
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Its 2 old 6000 series flix buses parked right next to each other between 106th and 108th and Torrence both parked behind a gate along with a couple of school buses as well. I wish It was somebody I could talk to about those buses. If I have the money for it I would love to take 1 of those buses for myself lol. I've always wanted to drive those buses but time I started in 2012 they were already 2yrs retired from service. From the outside they look decent still they're stripped of their cta paint and I have no idea the shape their in. If any of you know that location you should check them out 1 day.
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6871 broke down Addison and Leavitt WB.
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Yeah, I was still living in Chicago when it went to Bryn Mawr, I think? Although this would've been right as my memory started to work. I always personally thought the 210 would be useless without a proper CTA connection (i.e. not the Yellow line) and it looks like I was right. Probably should've been one of the few Pace routes to continue into the city -
7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
BusHunter replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
Yeah but from what I hear everyone starts on the extra board. Everybody by me says that a deterrant. I dont mind. I'm like hello you are making good money. I'm pulling 12 hrs days between all my jobs. The only downside I see is getting something overnight like a #79 but driving at night is easier no traffic. I've been all over the city on rideshare so i dont see the danger. Besides you have a bullet proof shield. I just dont like long commutes on split shifts. Currently driving 45 minutes to work on a split shift. I learned though if you uber you can make money up until you are scheduled. I'm making a negative a positive but that's how I roll. -
I remember when the 210 ran downtown as a NORTRAN ( pre Pace). Then it was cut back to Western Brown Line and again to Lincolnwod Mall. Seemed like a matter of time before it would bite the dust. -
7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
artthouwill replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
I think the reason the instructor said no one wanted to go to FG is that most applicants are from the south and west sides and they are not familiar with the north and northwest sides of the city. To that end, NP isn't a popular choice for new applicants either. I knew an operator who lived on the west side but started with NP. She couldn't transfer to K fast enough as the north side was foreign to her. Most new applicants will try to get as close to home as possible. With seemingly the most senior of drivers at FG, sports for newbies may be hard to come by. Given a choice would you rather have a fixed bid at 103rd or be an extra board driver at FG? -
7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
BusHunter replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
Why do say that about the garages seems everyone wants to work 103rd or 77th. When I heard a bus instructor from chicago talk about bus garage assignments for new applicants no one wanted to go to fg. Np wouldnt be bad or chicago. I just dont want to drive an artic until I'm comfortable with the 40 footers. Pace seems easy to drive but it does pay less. You want more money drive cta the traffic is more challenging. -
Reading this makes me wonder why the 210 hasn't been cut. I always assumed it was Glenview and Oakton-Skokie keeping the line alive
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The bus itself is clean and runs in good shape Being 24 yr old bus, It has to be treated with a little more care of course! But its age is certainly showing
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210 has been historically dismal since the 2004 restructuring (and even more with the cut from the Brown Line). That’s 330 passengers spread against 13 hours a day (still 16.5 passengers/revenue hour) where ridership is spread with no clear objective or destination (crosstown services and whatever is in glenview can make it up)...not to mention if you compared 210 to the route classification (with the rest of the routes OR within Northwest/North Shore), it still ranks badly. Pulling resources from the 210 to cover better service (Crawford and 225/226) where markets justify it would be a better trade off.
- Last week
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7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
Mr.NewFlyer1051 replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
No one has Tinted except for the 8325’s there is a difference you can see on this one between the windshield (no tint which every bus has) and the sides are tinted -
7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
artthouwill replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
I would think that West or NW would be closer to you as the other two are very far. As for CTA I think they will try to honor requests for a specific garage but fill based on need. It might take 3 to 6 months to get in at FG but you could start working tomorrow if you work out of 77th or 103rd. But once you get your foot in the door you may be able to change garages during a systemwide pick. Finish your obligations where you are then apply when you are about a week from fulfilling your obligations. -
Someone did tell me from a cdl driving school that the worst they can do to you is make you repay the cdl costs. Basic cdl training is worth around 3k. I notice sometimes they say it's a year and sometimes they say 6 months. So it could be bs. Mostly I'm staying for the hiring bonus. I could earn better money for the cdl I have but for the most part it's a ladder job. I'm just happy they took the time to work with me. Plus my benefits exceed 4k in free money. So it's not a big deal. I can always rideshare to supplement my income. Now take away the hiring bonus and I could be a flight risk.
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That's North Shore.
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(Moved from CTA 7900s topic) An employer cannot revoke your CDL, only the state can. Some companies say things like this to make people afraid to quit, because employee turnover is high at most CDL jobs and they don't want to spend more money on hiring and training. Did you sign a contract with your current employer? It would be common for such a contract to stipulate that you may not work for a competitor, or that you must pay back your training cost, if you quit before six months of employment. That may be the source of the confusion.
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The Evanston garage.
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7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
BusHunter replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
Maybe I'll go out on one of these hot days and check out the 8325s myself. It makes sense with the tinted windows. They should try and and tint one of the 7900s windows just to see what is the effect. Yeah I know the 6400s are wonderful. If I was driving I'd probably request an old bus. They got to have some better ac for the driver on the 7900s. If not that buses ac is hopeless. I probably will end up at one of the two companies. My thinking is if I went to Pace I could try for the full time garages Aurora or Elgin. Most likely Elgin cause I'm on the north side. Depends what the pay is. I could escape all this part time. If I did do the part time I'd go to cta. The pay is excellent. I wouldnt be part time forever and the raises are excellent. CTA is the better paying job. I know some forest glen drivers that would be happy to see me and it should be easy to assigned there. I just dont want to get based on the south side with split shifts that's too much back and forth. That's the situation I'm currently in but I got a good deal with them. I've been driving a year and a half with rideshare and discovered I like driving. Had the opportunity to get a cdl so why not. I'm basically using them to get experience, but they claim they can disqualify my license if I leave within six months been driving almost 3 months now. Been talking to people some say yes they can do that some say no they cant. My driving ability is good. Because I'm a busfan this all interests me which makes me a good driver. Cta claims to do the same. Walk in with a permit they will license you up but a north park driver told me they told him you have to stay for a year or the license is disqualified. So bottom line it's going to be interesting but I do like driving buses. -
(Moved out of CTA 7900s topic) Which garage has no union? North?
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7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
artthouwill replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
They do. Maybe the 8325s are tinted darker, but they all have tinted windows. -
7900-series Nova LFS - Deliveries & Assignments
artthouwill replied to South Shop 7's topic in CTA Bus
Not discrimination. Before Pace became a reality, each garage was its own company with different unions, rates of pay, etc. Though now under the Pace umbrella, each garage still has its own rate of pay, union representation, etc. There's even one garage with no union.
