Tcmetro

They definitely know which routes have seen less ridership declines. They really should shift buses from some of the downtown expresses (I can't imagine we need the 134 and the 156 running every few minutes) to the crosstown lines that have been less hard hit.

NY, LA, and Chicago haven't made changes to bus and rail service yet. Some other cities, namely Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Seattle, Minneapolis, and BART in the Bay Area have already cut hours or changed to operating on reduced weekday/Saturday schedules.

According to the Pace meeting minutes all of the base 75 bus order are going to West. I don't believe they've said where the 10 additional are going, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's also West.

SF Muni (I believe Vancouver TransLink as well) have roaming teams of fare inspectors. In my few visits, I've never seen them. Because of app fares and paper transfers, riders don't necessarily need to validate their fare with the operator. CTA will be a bit different because cash payments have to go through the front door, otherwise a Ventra card has to be tapped. I wonder if CTA will have drivers enforce fares if you just walk past the driver. Los Angeles also has similar practices now on the 720 (Wilshire Rapid) and 754 (Vermont Rapid) lines.

When the Brown Line was rerouted to the subway a couple years ago for work on the Ravenswood-Loop connector, it ran to Roosevelt, then empty to 63rd Middle

Yeah, it's definitely because it's a "Jump" route, which is basically CTAs once-implemented version of SBS. J14 has really high frequency at rush hour, so this will hopefully reduce bunching.

CTA will run a six-month trial of all-door boarding this year, starting in June. Ventra readers will be placed at the back doors of 30 buses on the J14 and 192 lines. The cost is $450,000 for 30 readers, so that comes to $15,000 each. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/transportation/ct-biz-cta-bus-boarding-getting-around-20200224-57pscolhgfamvkxtyoeft5br6i-story.html

Eldorado did pick up a 295-bus order for Los Angeles County a few years ago, their biggest order besides Pace. Could be a contender. But it's likely New Flyer or Nova. Clearly either works for CTA, it's just gonna come down to price between the two. If they do go with Nova, I hope the AC systems are improved.

CTA has posted an RFP on their procurements page for an order of up to 600 diesel buses (100 base order and 5 100-bus options). The RFP was posted 2/19/2020 and responses are due 4/13/2020. https://www.transitchicago.com/solicitation/details/?cta=Bg2Kaov023rGcoKigj6lTp5YpDqyz4EiJ%2F8BalJfw4E%3D

I think a 44 extension is a great idea, I'd take it a few blocks north and turnaround at Randolph for all the Metra and bus connections. Alternatively, I'd send the 44 to Cermak-Chinatown Red Line as Bridgeport - Chinatown is a common trip and downtown riders can take the Red Line.

The DEIS for the Red Line South from 2015 lists the following changes: 9 Ashland extended to 103rd St Red Line 103 and 106 combined into a new route that operates along 103rd from Pulaski to Stony Island 108 Halsted/95th eliminated 111 and 112 combined into a new route that operates along 111th St from Pulaski to Corliss 115 would operate as a bi-directional loop line on 115th, Cottage Grove, 95th, and Vincennes 119 Michigan/119th would add a stop at the Michigan/116th Red Line station 348 would be extended to 130th St Red Line 353 would terminate at 130th St Red Line 30 would be extended to 130th St Red Line 352 would terminate at 111th St Red Line 359 would terminate at 111th St Red Line The bus plan developed for the DEIS was for modeling purposes, but probably gives some direction as to what may be considered in the future. One not mentioned on the list is the 34 being extended to 130th St Red Line, which seems like a no-brainer to me. I also think it would be useful for Pace to extend the 355, 358, and 364 from Hegewisch to 130th Red Line. Maybe even an extension of the new 103 further east to 112th and Ave B. The relevant document is at: https://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/6/CTA_RLE_DraftEIS_AppH.pdf , page 75

The IDOT plan is for a total reconstruction from Mannheim to Cicero, which would involve replacing all bridges. The left side exits will move to the right, but the ramps will fly over the expressway for the intersections to still be in the middle. The plan won't take any of the freight ROW, but might involve some takings of CTA ROW. The plan only includes space for a Blue Line extension to Mannheim. The plan doesn't assume any changes for the Blue Line, but I believe that the plans that showed the extension had the Forest Park terminal in the same place. There's a ton of documents on the Eisenhower reconstruction plan at eisenhowerexpressway.com

IDOT is doing some additional studies on the 290 reconstruction. Mostly because the construction costs were estimated at $3.2 billion for the Mannheim to Cicero segment. I could see these additional studies adding a couple years, then engineering, then finally construction. IDOT estimated the construction at 8 years, so this is a project that realistically will be completed in the 2030s. Hopefully the new studies better determine the relationship of the expressway project and the Blue Line. That could help make it easier for CTA to pursue improvements before IDOT does their work. For what it's worth, the Congress Blue Line is also included in the Fast Tracks program, so perhaps something is in the works already, at least for track improvements.

Pink line is very busy at rush to about Western Ave. The schedule is limited because of the loop, but six car trains would really ease the crowding. In the afternoon, the loop causes bunching so some trains are overcrowded and others are undervrowded at times.

Some other big fleets running Gilligs are Pittsburgh, Seattle, Portland, Oakland, San Diego, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Miami. Milwaukee's most recent order was also for Gilligs.