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I rocks with this bus driver

Good evening or morning. Just sharing some information on train consists during early AM, middays, evenings, overnights and weekends. Looks like CTA is returning to the pre-Covid 4 cars consists again on the Blue 🔵, Brown 🟤, Green 🟢, Orange 🟠, Purple 🟣 and Red 🔴 lines.

Good! That was awful what he did to that lady! 😠

NB Track 3 between Argyle and Berwyn will be open for service Friday night 11/21/2025*

Nora is doing a fantastic job as president they should keep her

Perhaps an (over)abundance of caution based on having to pull 5000s out of service while equipping the Green Line with them. CTA didn't want to be caught off guard if an issue arise with the 7000s.

Orange line is gonna be the last to get the 7000s. Once Blue is equipped then they start hitting the brown line who in turn will send its 3200s to Midway to start scrapping the 2600s there. Then finally Orange gets them so were probably like 2-3 years away before we see any new cars on the Orange

Well to paraphrase in the meantime.... outside of the Orange changes, the article mentions a set of plans the president came to Springfield with including expansion of the frequent bus network and a plan to make rail lines 8 min headways. Then there's also some stuff we already found in other topics like the Cook County sheriff task force, lower fare ox recovery etc.

IIRC, when thie :Regiona; Transit Planning" category was created, @MetroShadow said something like, :even though that's an oxymoron." Now, that NITA will have responsibility for service planning and construction, it is time to mull over or revive some ideas, primariiy crossing Chicago city limits. 385: Someone once asked why not extend 87, and I said that infringed Pace territory. Now tat there is supposed to be unified planning, I don't see what a route like 385, which snakes around to avoid the city limits, accomplishes, and 87 and 112 could be extended. Whatever remains of the North Shore Coordination Plan to replace 54A with some Pace route connecting at Jefferson Park, and extending 54 or reinstating X54 to Jefferson Park. 201 south of Howard was on the [speculative] Service Changes after 2025 list, which CTA could implement on its own. 90/318 changes also implied by that list, and better coordination with 307. Although 155A and 211 were discontinued, maybe extend some 155 trips to Cumberland Blue Line. Halsted and 95th Pulse have interagency cooperation, but construction probably will be taken over by NITA, and maybe this could lead the way to an X8 connecting with Halsted Pulse at 95th. Any other ideas?

Quite a lot between the 3. I've seen a lot posted on the Dan Ryan alone. Guess it's our equivalent of subway surfing

Here's an MMIS assignment report I received from a FOIA request, as well as lifecycle info in a spreadsheet. FOIA_Railcars.xlsx FOIA_MMIS.pdf

Wild fact. Chicago had to pick up some of 77 for a brief time after Archer closed.

With the 385 routing, I wonder how many riders go to Midway/Orange Line from 87th or 111th or even Alsip when you can ride 383, 384 and 386 to Midway and the 382 should be restored and a new Roberts Road route to the Orange. But I kinda like the idea of 87 and 112 being extended and the 53A could go to Rivercrest Mall. Definitely extend 54 and/or restore X54 to Jefferson Park. I would also like to see if that North Shore plan will be revived. With 307/318 going to convert to Pulse routes in the future, the 90 should extend to Forest Park Blue Line Terminal. 155 to Cumberland could work. With 352 running Pulse like service between 95th and 127th 24/7, maybe CTA can restore the local 108 24/7.

I wasn't really surprised that they actually resolved the funding issue. You guys know I've been consistently on record in my belief that they would move to get something done. But what I am surprised by is that they got it done this month. When the news dropped that the overall RTA deficit coming from CTA, Metra and Pace's budgets dropped from $770 million to less $230 million for fiscal 2026, I was virtually certain that it wouldn't be until the regular session in the spring that we got the transit funding crisis behind us. But I am glad to see we got the one big part of it that suburban residents and we city residents were in overall agreement on, the abolishing of RTA and the official establishment of NITA in its place. Hopefully streamlining the responsibility of setting fares and addressing future capital needs among the other three boards brings positive budget impacts as hoped going forward.

Update: I changed this post after finding SB2111 and the following in the Tribune: "As a counterbalance to pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for road work, the bill also included a sharp, 45-cent-per-toll increase on the Illinois Tollway, which one GOP lawmaker said amounted to a 60% increase. The new tollway fares could generate as much as $1 billion annually for roadwork on the tollways that serve about a dozen counties, supporters said." This implies that I-Pass on passenger cars would be irrelevant to the fixed surcharge. Apparently it is it is 45 cents at the usual 0.95/1.90 toll on the Tr-State morth of O'Hare, and also $1.40/$2.80 at the Waukegan Toll Plaza, and the frequent .20/.40 toll on Ill. 390. It appears that tolls became more graduated with open-road tolling. The toll schedule is here, which also reveals that commercial vehicles don't get an I-Pass discount. The fixed increase is irrelevant, as the bill provides and the Trib says: "In addition to the 45-cent-per-toll hike for passenger vehicles on Illinois State Toll Highway Authority roads, the legislation called for increasing tolls for commercial vehicles by 30%. Tolls could continue to increase in subsequent years through inflation-based increases..."

Uihlein only moved his company to Kenosha County. He & his equally extreme right wing wife still prefer to live in a huge Lake Forest estate. If Illinois is so bad, why not move their home to Wisconsin? I believe they are descendants of the Schlitz brewing family, so maybe they don't want to live in the same state as the rest of the family.

7249/50 are the highest numbered cars i have seen and rode on so far. I have no idea what is in Skokie Shops or the CRRC facility.

The 93 extension is still confirmed for the Winter pick. The 54 extension to Midway (with supposedly the elimination of 54B) is still under consideration but nothing has been approved as of yet.

We only have 7245-46 yet to enter service currently.

Here is an up-to-date roster as of November 28, 2025, that showcases the current assignments of buses. Buses that are in the boneyard or have not been active in over 2 will not be counted on this roster. Forest Glen Garage (Total 269) New Flyer D40LF (Total 139): 1005, 1008, 1016, 1018-1021, 1023, 1028-1036, 1038-1064, 1066, 1068-1072, 1074, 1076-1077, 1355-1362, 1364, 1385, 1388-1398, 1400, 1402-1404, 1406-1408, 1410-1411, 1431, 1445, 1448, 1450, 1453, 1512, 1514, 1518, 1521, 1528, 1537, 1543, 1557, 1592-1595, 1597-1600, 1602-1625, 1627-1633, 1641, 1653, 1655, 1663. 7900-8349 Series Nova LFS (Total 61): 7979-7985, 7987-7989, 7991-7994, 7996-7999, 8202-8212, 8220, 8231-8236, 8238-8259, 8347-8349 8350-8949 Series Nova LFS (Total 69): 8351-8382, 8384-8387, 8391-8395, 8397, 8399, 8466, 8681, 8709, 8712, 8713, 8723-8725, 8728-8729, 8734-8735, 8737, 8739-8740, 8742-8745, 8747-8749, 8754, 8867, 8890, 8920 North Park Garage (Total 278) New Flyer D40LF (Total 79): 1174, 1177-1178, 1181, 1183, 1185, 1188, 1190, 1194, 1401, 1413, 1416, 1418, 1430, 1432, 1435, 1437, 1439-1443, 1454, 1457, 1505, 1507, 1510, 1515, 1522-1523, 1538, 1540, 1545-1548, 1550, 1552-1553, 1574, 1584-1586, 1589-1591, 1719-1720, 1725, 1762, 1764, 1767-1769, 1780, 1787-1788, 1793, 1798, 1801, 1806-1807, 1818, 1826, 1830, 1832, 1853, 1855, 1860, 1862-1863, 1865, 1872-1873, 1878, 1880, 1881, 1891, 1932 New Flyer DE60LF (Total 52): 4007, 4014-4016, 4018-4022, 4025-4030, 4032, 4106, 4123-4124, 4126, 4128-4130, 4133-4136, 4139, 4143-4144, 4146-4148, 4150, 4155-4158, 4160, 4162-4166, 4170-4171, 4196, 4199-4201, 4205-4206 New Flyer DE60LFR/D60LFR (Total 60): 4325, 4334-4340, 4342-4351, 4353-4357, 4359-4363, 4365-4373, 4376-4380, 4382-4399 7900-8349 Series Nova LFS (Total 3): 8303-8305 8350-8949 Series Nova LFS (Total 84): 8639, 8752-8753, 8755-8758, 8761-8764, 8766-8771, 8773-8774, 8777-8778, 8783-8786, 8788-8801, 8803-8810, 8813-8814, 8816, 8823, 8826-8830, 8832-8833, 8836-8839, 8844-8847, 8850-8860, 8862, 8866, 8868, 8876, 8880, 8886, 8891 Chicago Garage (Total 278) Proterra ZX5 (Total 12): 606, 608-609, 612-613, 615-621 New Flyer D40LF (Total 38): 1078-1080, 1090, 1098-1099, 1102-1104, 1106, 1108-1112, 1119, 1133, 1152, 1155, 1173, 1193, 1216, 1904, 1906, 1909, 1915, 1919, 1929, 1950, 1957, 1962, 1975, 1982, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2019, 2025 7900-8349 Series Nova LFS (Total 71): 7902, 8109-8114, 8116-8119, 8122-8131, 8133-8134, 8137-8143, 8145-8160, 8162-8179, 8181-8184, 8300, 8302, 8306 8350-8949 Series Nova LFS (Total 157): 8411-8416, 8418, 8423-8425, 8427, 8429, 8430, 8433, 8501, 8504, 8508-8509, 8547-8549, 8552-8555, 8561-8562, 8564, 8567-8569, 8571, 8573-8588, 8590-8591, 8593, 8595, 8598, 8600-8601, 8603, 8606-8612, 8614-8619, 8622, 8625, 8647-8654, 8656-8659, 8661-8668, 8670-8673, 8682-8685, 8687, 8689-8691, 8693-8694, 8715, 8718-8719, 8721-8722, 8726-8727, 8730, 8733, 8736, 8759-8760, 8772, 8775-8776, 8779-8782, 8787, 8802, 8811-8812, 8815, 8817-8821, 8824, 8863-8865, 8870-8871, 8873-8875, 8877-8878, 8881-8882, 8884, 8887, 8889, 8893, 8899, 8902, 8904, 8906, 8930, 8937 Kedzie Garage (Total 217) New Flyer D40LF (Total 43): 1113-1114, 1116, 1121, 1128-1129, 1142, 1149, 1154, 1158, 1166-1172, 1192, 1200-1201, 1206-1207, 1209, 1214, 1220, 1227, 1673, 1676-1677, 1683, 1688, 1714-1715, 1721, 1724, 1736, 1750, 1783, 1803, 1809, 1846, 1874, 1920 New Flyer DE60LF (Total 42): 4001, 4003-4004, 4006, 4009-4010, 4012-4013, 4023, 4041-4042, 4049-4050, 4052-4056, 4058-4059, 4069, 4071, 4073-4074, 4076-4079, 4081, 4084, 4087-4088, 4092-4095, 4098-4099, 4104, 4117, 4120, 4122 7900-8349 Series Nova LFS (Total 75): 7903-7906, 7908, 8100-8108, 8115, 8121, 8135-8136, 8180, 8260-8275, 8277-8279, 8281-8287, 8289-8299, 8301, 8307-8324 8350-8949 Series Nova LFS (Total 57): 8517, 8556, 8589, 8592, 8596-8597, 8599, 8620, 8623, 8626-8638, 8641-8646, 8717, 8738, 8741, 8746, 8750-8751, 8765, 8822, 8825, 8831, 8834, 8840-8843, 8848, 8861, 8869, 8872, 8883, 8892, 8895, 8897-8898, 8910, 8912, 8916-8917, 8944 74th Garage (Total 295) Proterra ZX5 (Total 3): 610-611, 622 New Flyer D40LF (Total 146): 1026-1027, 1065, 1067, 1075, 1085, 1100, 1115, 1366-1367, 1369-1384, 1386-1387, 1399, 1409, 1412, 1414-1415, 1420-1422, 1424-1426, 1428-1429, 1433-1434, 1436, 1438, 1444, 1446, 1449, 1451-1452, 1455-1456, 1458-1465, 1468-1474, 1476-1497, 1499-1504, 1506, 1508, 1511, 1516-1517, 1519-1520, 1524-1527, 1529-1536, 1539, 1541-1542, 1544, 1549, 1554-1556, 1558-1573, 1575-1576, 1578-1583 7900-8349 Series Nova LFS (Total 118): 8010-8022, 8024-8049, 8051-8067, 8069-8099, 8185-8189, 8191-8194, 8196-8201, 8213-8219, 8221-8228, 8230 8350-8949 Series Nova LFS (Total 28): 8699-8708, 8710-8711, 8714, 8716, 8731-8732, 8835, 8849, 8905, 8907-8909, 8921-8924, 8934, 8945 77th Garage (Total 299) New Flyer D40LF (Total 151) 1003-1004, 1006-1007, 1009, 1013-1015, 1082, 1086, 1092, 1095, 1101, 1141, 1202-1205, 1210-1213, 1215, 1217, 1219, 1221-1226, 1229-1271, 1273-1300, 1302-1304, 1306-1320, 1322-1330, 1332-1334, 1336-1341, 1343-1354, 1365 (Note: 1335 is off the list due to a legal hold) 7900-8349 Series Nova LFS (Total 72): 7911-7928, 7930-7949, 7951-7954, 7956-7978, 7986, 7990, 7995, 8343-8346 8350-8949 Series Nova LFS (Total 76): 8398, 8401, 8403, 8405, 8408, 8410, 8419-8422, 8449-8452, 8456-8458, 8461-8463, 8465, 8467-8468, 8470-8471, 8473, 8481, 8506-8507, 8523, 8526, 8529, 8531, 8543-8544, 8550-8551, 8557-8560, 8563, 8565, 8566, 8570, 8604, 8613, 8621, 8624, 8655, 8669, 8674-8680, 8686, 8688, 8692, 8695-8698, 8720, 8901, 8903, 8911, 8918, 8926, 8928, 8933, 8940, 8946, 8948 103rd Garage (Total 267) New Flyer D40LF (Total 57): 1084, 1088-1089, 1091, 1093, 1096-1097, 1105, 1107, 1118, 1120, 1122, 1124, 1126-1127, 1130-1132, 1134-1140, 1143-1148, 1151, 1153, 1156-1157, 1160-1165, 1175-1176, 1179-1180, 1182, 1184, 1186-1187, 1191, 1196-1199, 1321, 1405, 1417 New Flyer DE60LF (Total 36): 4000, 4005, 4011, 4034-4037, 4040, 4046-4047, 4051, 4063-4068, 4070, 4083, 4090-4091, 4097, 4101, 4103, 4108-4109, 4111, 4113, 4175-4177, 4180, 4182, 4184, 4190, 4194 New Flyer DE60LFR (Total 25): 4301, 4303-4306, 4308, 4310-4315, 4317, 4319-4322, 4324, 4326-4332 7900-8349 Series Nova LFS (Total 35): 7900-7901, 7907, 7909-7910, 8000-8009, 8132, 8276, 8280, 8288, 8325-8326, 8328-8339, 8341-8342 8350-8949 Series Nova LFS (Total 114): 8383, 8388-8390, 8396, 8400, 8402, 8404, 8406-8407, 8409, 8417, 8426, 8428, 8431-8432, 8434-8448, 8453-8455, 8459-8460, 8464, 8469, 8472, 8474-8480, 8482-8498, 8500, 8502-8503, 8505, 8510-8516, 8518-8522, 8524-8525, 8527-8528, 8530, 8532-8542, 8545-8546, 8602, 8605, 8879, 8885, 8888, 8896, 8913, 8915, 8927, 8929, 8935-8936, 8938, 8941-8943, 8949 The Total Amount of Buses Active is 1,903. The next post I send below will go into detail where all the buses not active or not on this list are at.

Alright, thanks for the updates. That helps me out with the current up to date rosters that I’m working on now.

So it's similar to LA's G Line, formerly called the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley from the North Hollywood Metro station west to Chatsworth. It's runs on an exclusive busway most of the way, which is an abandoned rail line.

Also, the Northwestern Gillig hybrid has the hump on the back: However. the Pace bus appears to have a full roof hump. Any rea; difference?

This would be fine if the 290 gets extended to Rosemont instead.

If you are talking 800s ir 4000-4332, that's 16 year old technology that was never very efficient. Anyway, none of the bus assemblers manufacture the powertrains. Pace hadn't worked with Gillig since 1986 (20 35' Phantoms for Waukegan), but is working with them now, and every time the board asks Metzger how the Gillig buses are doing, she says "fine." By the time this order goes in, Pace will have experience with the 25500 series Gillig hybrids. Yes I did, but I don't think the procurement process will be as complex as before, given the lack of competition, cutting down customization, and use of multijurisdict contracts. For instance, Pace hasn't shown the rear of 25500, but I doubt it has the full-width sign. One thing on which I can bet (and I did with Milennium shill @East New York) is that unless Rivaz/ENC proves that it is a reliable producer, it won't get the contract. It is supposed to be the lowest qualified bidder, and CTA has already been burned by NABI and Proterra. Also, both CTA and Pace must have had some idea what a hybrid bus cost when they requested grnts in specific amounts.

They still got the elves train cars. Wonder if that will ever come back

1644 cars is rudiculous, and it looks like they retired maybe 66 2600s while receiving 248 7000s.

That long ago? Anyway... N201 primarily served Evanston Hospital and bar hoppers in downtown Evanston. If shift changes at Evanston Hospital are such that the Purple Line is sufficient (last train schedule says Sun-Th 1:35 am from Linden, 2:05 F-Sat), N201 isn't necessary.

I forgot what school these trips are meant to serve, but apparently they require artics. I suppose the intent besides serving the school is to serve a high density rush route. While I think K could still do the school trips on 82, why can't K do the trips on 22 or 147 downtown and then return to K? That eliminates the unnecessarily long DH from P to do a NB 82 and the long DH J would have to do from Peterson to Belmont to do 77/151/156. To my knowledge P still handles the PN SB school trippers on the 82 which end at the Blue Line or close by so they can easily DH downtown.

Thank you. It solves my mystery.

#2999-3000 is on brown saw leading as run #420

These came from 134, 143, 165 in the PM. There was one or 2 in the AM that cta mentioned along with the afternoon trips when this started these but AM runs from K have been a thing on and off since the 2010 cuts. I know one that became a 134 or 156, but it started further west than Kimball so it didn't work 82 like these do. K runs on 151 are reduced to Peak SB AM rush, peak NB PM rush. No more midday Belmont-Halsted runs except the 2 weird ones on the weekend*. *I don't know if this is still planned but CTA wants to get rid of the weekend K trips possibly.

I always felt that the X3 AM/PM Rush, X54 and X80 should be reinstated and X9 and X49 should run midday. 54/X54 should be extended to Jefferson Park Blue Line Bus Terminal.

I remember that video! What really annoyed me was how they mispronounced all the street names.

The running time for the 208 is god-awful long, so I wouldn't be surprised if they broke it off at Des Plaines (I'll take the 20 minute frequency, on the other hand). So the question returns to "will we see the elimination of the one-seat ride" versus "are frequency improvements better along the entire segment?" Re: 215 - the City Line is at Howard, but I don't think the board cares about those semantics (this group, OTOH)... (Apologies to nitpick)

For any of this kind of history, look at chicago-l.org or maps at irm-cta.org. I didn't think it significant because I rode it from Quincy for the indicated purpose. And for a swipe at the transit "geniuses" at Brooklyn Tech HS, this is one of the reasons their harebrained proposal to eliminate junctions at Towers 12 and 18 won't work--you again couldn't get frpm Quincy to Clark and Lake.

The 2026 budget is here. The propsed fares are: Curiosities are: Niles is stil considered a revenue source, even though it is currently suspended. The 5-year capital [lan includes 16 CNGs in 2027, presumably to replace what's left of the 2015 15500 series, which is either to take advantage of the holes in the electrification law for electric buses not being available or carrying stuff forward. There are also hybrids scheduled for 2028, presumably in connection with the Wheeling garage. While suburban service won't be cut in 2026, the budget "includes $13.8 million in operating efficiencies from the delay of previously planned service adjustments," so no Jarrett Walker ridership or coverage implementation yet.

8949 has entered service outta 103rd currently on the 29 State

Raeda Dynamics the former VMC has updated their website.They have conceptual photos of their new Redius bus.Word has it that it's run by a Chinese company. Lastly, it was mentioned on another website that it was supposed to be shown at the CUTA Transit Conference and Expo this week(Can't confirm this info)

Not being a planning professional, I didn't completely follow this, but I don't think it has as much to do with how people get to the L or Metra station but how to get denser, more affordable housing near transit. It becomes cheaper if a city doesn't require one parking space per unit. From the description, clearly anything new along the Milwaukee and Dempster Pulse lines would be subject to the law, and maybe that is what the law was modelled on. We'll have to see whether some really-depressed area, like Harvey, gets development, as it is clearly a transit hub.

In that it is now questionable, it was only supposed to be for off peak hours. The intention wasn't to run max capacity cars during rush hour, nor affect frequency. Your second paragraph may be more to the point, as it is probably safr not to spread sparese riders among 8 cars at 2:00 a.m. BTW, someone noted that there were not any schedule alerts, and the schedule brochures for the L are the prior ones. So the pick may be wholly internal.

Well let’s see what happens down the wire following the point of this topic being created. @Mr.NewFlyer1279’s comment made me scroll up knowing I wasn’t tripping as I read everything accurately. If u read the flyer it stated “EFFECTIVE Sunday, 11/2/25”

I guess there's a reason why this thread was renamed "speculative." If CTA is scheduled to go off the fiscal cliff in July, and the NITA Act takes effect in June, there won't be money to implement a growth budget until planning authority is turned over to NITA. CTA just proposed a growth budget only because the RTA told it to.

While Purple ran primarily 2400s, they only had about 40 to 50 max, which meant they needed about 20 2600s to supplement the Express service. I guess they also used them on the shuttle service also. The Yellow Line used the 2600s when they went to third rail and their 3200s went to the Brown Line.

Below: This basically shows why it won't happen in the Chicago area. There isn't enough right of way, unless CTA was going to implement my idea of an LRT on S. Michigan unloading directly into the paid area of the 95th station. ,Pulse, with some gussied up bus shelters and a slightly raised platforms, certainly isn't like this. Most of Chicago's experiments on prepay (such as the one Loop Link station) failed. too. And while the NWTC was expanded, nobody built a 6-story parking garage there (only comparable garage is at Cumberland-Blue Line).

Neither 1982 or 2001 are retired they both returned this afternoon. The total is still 12.

IDK if this is part of the end of the specialty electric bus assemblers. At the time, Toronto had ordered, on an equal basis, Proterras, BYDs, and NFs, but soon cut back on the BYDs. Now it has large orders of NFs and Novas. There was the SEPTA debacle for whatever cause. BC Transit disaffirmed in the bankruptcy case, because of product defects. Pace's order supposedly went from "soon on the line" in early 2024 to "4 buses on the line" a couple of months ago. The CTA count (according to the 2025 Budget) is down from 23 to 20. According to @maths22's Run History, 15 have recently been in service, which is better than it was. (One has been reported in training.) No word on the other 22 on order. Your Miami-Dade post establishes that NF can deliver, and we'll have to see if Pace's Gilligs are delivered before the PhoenixEVs.

I watched a YT video. It's almost like a light rail concept, even with crossing gates at intersection so the bus doesn't have to stop except at stations. Perhaps if ridership grows enough they may actually build rail

1177 is having a bad day on dearborn

You almost answered the question: I'd like to call your attention to the headlights: Gilligs never had them (Low Floors, Phantoms, etc) since they would encapsulate both the front and part of the sides near the door. Orion has, as you mentioned, had the "vertical" from the five, six, and early seven models (until the New Generations came on by). The defense rests. 😅