Tcmetro

The public hearings are for the entire budget, in addition to the service cuts.

As shown above, CTA plans a new bus order to replace the 6400s and start replacing the 1000s. The 2020 budget should be out within the next month or so (Metra has already released theirs, and Pace's will be released next week), and might give some more insight as to any new bus orders. Here is some info about how the leasebacks work and why they are done: https://www.transitchicago.com/bus-leaseback-enhances-revenues/ https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/19960316/ISSUE01/10007706/leasebacks-good-option-for-cta https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-01-20-9801200071-story.html https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20081114/NEWS02/200031833/cta-says-leaseback-dispute-jeopardizes-green-line-service-fragile-budget

The 2019 CTA ride-hailing fee report (Fast Tracks funding source) was presented to City Council on July 24th: https://chicago.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4057979&GUID=34700423-998D-459F-A44B-3B08EB06B521&Options=Advanced&Search= Number of updates inside, including review of work conducted on a number of lines Upcoming Brown Line project between Western and Kimball Upcoming Blue Line power project Blue Line O'Hare slow zones (already underway) Upcoming Red and Blue Subway renewals Camera, WiFi, and lighting improvements One thing that stands out as being missing is anything more about the Congress branch. They note some improvements at the tunnel near Central and some other improvements between Kedzie and Pulaski, but not much more. I rode the Congress branch last week and it was in notably rough shape. I understand that the vision plan needs to be coordinated with the expressway project, but certainly the tracks should be upgraded in the meantime. The last I've heard of the expressway project was about two years ago, and even then the project focus was for reconstruction between Hillside and Oak Park with less intensive work in Chicago (mostly restriping a lane to become a toll lane).

It's along the roadway between the Hilton and the parking garage. The elevators from the CTA station at O'Hare go up to it.

Again, it goes back to the stops. Pulse means local service on Milwaukee is dropping to 60 mins. CTA originally cut the 56A because the 270 had decent service levels. Now in-city riders will have to contend with low service levels or 1-mile stop spacing. While I don't expect CTA to bring the 56A back, a coordinated schedule with the 270 (similar to the 63A/386 coordination) would at least allow for adequate local service. North of Touhy the impact is not as bad because Pulse stops are approximately every 1/2 mile.

Some of the stops are quite far from each other. I tend to believe that a 1/3-1/4 stop distance is reasonable. The problem here is that CTA needs to reintroduce the 56A for city riders.

The Rosemont stop on the 330 will help build connections between the west and northwest suburban lines. Airport workers are able to get regular fares on the Blue Line, so the fare increase amounts to a quarter for the L-bus transfer. I think Pace should look into running the 250 or the Dempster Pulse line to Rosemont Blue Line for a better connection to Desk Plaines.

Pulse is every 10 min peak, 15 min midday/weekend, and 20 min evening. Seems the big cut is those who ride the 270 north of Golf Mill, the peak service is going from 30 min to 60 min.

I used to see him post a lot on CTA Tattler back in the day. How time goes by... He made many contributions to the forum and was quite knowledgeable about the history of CTA operations.

My experience has been that foreign systems have much better service levels (although they generally lack the 24h service that we have here). In Paris, off-peak service seemed to be every 2-3 mins, with late night service every 4-5 mins. The trains are a lot smaller; however, and are much busier. Toronto also has good service, trains come every 3-4 mins most of the day, with later service operating every 5-6 mins. I'm also a fan of their open-gangway trains. Asian cities generally have giant, new networks. These have been built to the latest standards and have "learned from the mistakes of the past". Typically they have elaborate transfer schemes for convenience and incorporate the built environment into the system. Many neighborhoods are truly integrated into the transit system, so it is a natural first choice for use. Some North American systems do this (notably Toronto and Montreal), but these are the exceptions. The main difference between the European and Asian systems and the US systems is cultural. In the US, many people only ride at peak to go to work, while in Europe/Asia the systems are used heavily all day. There is more dependence on the system requiring higher investment and attentiveness to the riding public's needs.

There's a budgeted order for 50 units and an option for 50 more, with the purpose of replacing the last of the 6400s. No clue on when this purchase is supposed to be executed, but it is planned by CTA.

The Midway stop serves as a local bus connection and probably generates more traffic from that than from the airlines. The O'Hare stop basically only serves people who have some business at the airport (maybe there are a few people transferring to the 250/330), and employees get a special pass that gives them a regular fare.

I believe that initially the TSP equipment was only on Novas, but was also added to some Flyers.

Compounded issue because of visitors who barely understand where the train is going, let alone trying figure out the bus shuttle connection. Saw some airport/airline employees caught off guard as well. It's clearly something that needed to happen, CTA seems like they try to avoid closures as much as they can.

The Congress branch track improvements are listed as a project in the FastTracks program, which is supposed to be completed by 2021: https://www.transitchicago.com/fasttracks/