Tcmetro

Likely falls under "business to be at the airport" which sounds like it would be enforced at the discretion of the officer. Seems like a strong-handed move to address the homeless situation, which of course would be better spent helping people or fixing causes rather than telling people to go sleep somewhere else.

Trains go to O'Hare and drop off, then run empty to Rosemont. Departures take a shuttle bus to Rosemont. Workers with airport ID will be able to get in through the check point. No clue what happens to the homeless, I'd imagine the airport will just put them on the bus back to Rosemont.

This is happening with the CTA change to the Blue Line at O'Hare. Basically a roundabout way of saying the homeless are no longer welcome at the airport. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/7/31/21349321/ohare-midway-chicago-airports-restrict-terminal-access-ticketed-passengers-employees

Not sure if this is the right place, but I was looking at the rail schedules, which were quietly updated on May 24th. The Brown Line timetable shows the late night shuttle trains between Belmont and Kimball have been extended to the Loop. The Brown Line now has the last train circling the Loop, from approximately 2:00 AM to 2:10 AM. https://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/6/rail-tt_brown.pdf

Ah ok. For some reason I don't hit a paywall on Crain's on my phone. Basically, UP has notified Metra of a couple things. 1. If they win the lawsuit they will stop operating trains within 90 days. 2. Beginning August 1st (and continuing at set dates) UP will stop providing legal, claims, clerical, and mechanical/repair services for Metra. UP refused to share the statement to Metra with Crain's, but it sounds like there will be more news on this topic.

Article from Crains with some more info https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hinz-politics/metra-union-pacific-fight-heats

IDOT is dragging the Ike rebuild study along. Politically, the $8 billion cost is not palatable and IDOT is revising the study to reduce the costs.

CPTDB says 2829 (EZ Rider) and the Pace Axess buses are the BRT styling options. The regular EZ Rider II MAX and the regular Axess also look the same on the front end. https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/ElDorado_National_E-Z_Rider_II_BRT

My guess is that it's a multi-year contract and the 23 is just the first batch.

RTAs project update from May says 23 buses delivered by July, so any day now I guess. Says they will go to Fox Valley and MV Batavia. http://www.rtams.org/rtams/pmoProject.jsp?id=1037

Yeah, that's exactly right. Pandemic hit other lines harder than ME.

According to recent Metra board meeting ridership info, the ME has the highest ridership of any line right now. The last I heard about 95th St is that it is supposed to be rebuilt to accommodate longer trains and add a park and ride.

There's so much traffic on the Kennedy it's probably not worth it. The I-90 express from Elgin to Rosemont, then connecting to the Blue Line is very competitive with Metra in terms of time and cost. And the Blue Line takes you right into the Loop!

All of the prepaid boarding locations were manned. Basically, staffers make sure everyone taps their card. Can't remember how cash fares work. I wonder if CTA is bothering to continue it at Belmont Blue for the time being, given ridership is down so much.

This is the only one of the prepaid boarding pilots that became permanent. I believe the others were Lake Shore/Belmont, State/Madison, and 69th Red Line.