Bye Bye Money

[Guest bohica]

I have noticed since the Authority has received the funding all that is being done is spending. The best was the new gum removing machine and they plan on buying a total of 7 of them. They say it will take 5 seconds to remove a wad of gum compared to an employee taking 20 minutes. As hard as it was to get the funding it is being spent quicker than water from a leaking pipe. It seems as if the authority is trying to be back in the same situation all over again as fast as they can. We can list the items that have been bought or the things being done with the money and it would be a long list. How much of this is actually needed? New management comes in and works at controlling what is being done and I understand this. Is all this spending going to pay off before they are broke again?

[Busjack]

Look at the Nasty People thread. Do you want to ride a bus with all that gum on the seats, or do you have a cheaper way of removing it? I'm sure the machine is a lot cheaper than the labor time involved.

I'm sure that CTA will spend through the money, but not as fast as the County. At least Huberman is trying some efficiency ideas.

[Guest bohica]

Look at the Nasty People thread. Do you want to ride a bus with all that gum on the seats, or do you have a cheaper way of removing it? I'm sure the machine is a lot cheaper than the labor time involved.

I'm sure that CTA will spend through the money, but not as fast as the County. At least Huberman is trying some efficiency ideas.

You say "bus" you are not looking at the company as a whole and the other areas of the authority in where money is being spent. You always have a reply and some are very good but you need not look only at one part of the transportation. We have trains, various mantenance groups and trades in Authority too. Are you aware of the money being spent in those orginizations and for what? What is being spent on construction and where it is being spent? The president is looking for efficient ways to cut labor costs and to be more productive. But the cost at what is being purchased is overwhelming. You bring up the county when this site is Chicagobus.org where is has buses, trains, and general discussion I seen nothing about Cook County on this site. Stay focused on the the Authority and the matter at hand.

[Busjack]

Except that you started with the gum buster. I acknowledged that CTA will probably spend through the tax money, but you don't seem to have proposed a more efficient way of taking care of the problem, but just complain about expenditures in general. I have no problem with investments that will eventually pay off, but do have problems with duplication of service and the like. Is that a distinction you recognize?

Huberman appears to have shown that there is a third way other than the prior either give us more money or have a filthy, poorly maintained system with numerous slow zones.

[Guest bohica]

Except that you started with the gum buster. I acknowledged that CTA will probably spend through the tax money, but you don't seem to have proposed a more efficient way of taking care of the problem, but just complain about expenditures in general. I have no problem with investments that will eventually pay off, but do have problems with duplication of service and the like. Is that a distinction you recognize?

I did start with the "Gum Buster' as an example but went on to say that moeny is being spent very quickly. I don't know how much you get around the entire system and see the entire operation and see where money is be spent and on what? If you did maybe you would understand what I am passing on. the people who commute on CTA are wondering where all this money is coming from. They see crews out every weekend on overtime but all they heard of is how broke the Authority was. Capital funding is falling close to an end and there were people just laid off last week. The Authority is working at turning things around for the better but is all the spending necessary at this time? Out of each check 9% of earnings is being put into the pension for the next 5 years. The pension is trying to be rebuilt, the company is watching where money is being spent closely and doing graphs. But was nextel phones necessary for each employee in certain areas of the company? These phones were not for management but workers. They can monitor where every employee is at anytime which is not a problem you should be on?in your job location. Radios worked just as good. We are in a time of new technology and some updates are needed. Instead of the nextel phones swipe cards would be just as good. This is just a bad time to do all this spending when we should be focused at building up the bank to ensure that we don't have this happen again. The future of the company depends on it not only to employees but to the riders.

[Busjack]

... and there were people just laid off last week. ... Out of each check 9% of earnings is being put into the pension for the next 5 years. The pension is trying to be rebuilt, the company is watching where money is being spent closely and doing graphs. ... This is just a bad time to do all this spending when we should be focused at building up the bank to ensure that we don't have this happen again. The future of the company depends on it not only to employees but to the riders.

Now you have a problem with consistency. Increasing the pension contribution is to build up the bank. Tracking of employees became necessary, because employees, like the Blue Line track inspectors, were not doing their job. Tell us what specifically is too expensive, and how much money would be saved with the substitutes. You sort of headed that way with the Nextel phones, but what real difference would it make if it were Nextel walkie-talkies or radio ones? I don't know, maybe you can enlighten us. Tell us what construction projects are unnecessary, and how travel times or safety will be affected by foregoing them. (I'm talking about existing ones, like the Blue Line, not the new starts, some of which may be questionable, but none of which has been approved, and will acknowledge that Block 37 is questionable.)

Again, it isn't a question of the amount of money--it is whether it is being spent wisely. CTA could have "built up the bank" by closing the 3 garages and taking 738 buses off the street, but that apparently wasn't a politically viable solution. It is not building up the bank to pay all those cleaners to scrape gum, if the machine can help do it in 5/1200ths of the time. You still haven't told us what expenditures are not aiding efficiency or safety.

[Guest bohica]

Now you have a problem with consistency. Increasing the pension contribution is to build up the bank. Tracking of employees became necessary, because employees, like the Blue Line track inspectors, were not doing their job. Tell us what specifically is too expensive, and how much money would be saved with the substitutes. You sort of headed that way with the Nextel phones, but what real difference would it make if it were Nextel walkie-talkies or radio ones? I don't know, maybe you can enlighten us. Tell us what construction projects are unnecessary, and how travel times or safety will be affected by foregoing them. (I'm talking about existing ones, like the Blue Line, not the new starts, some of which may be questionable, but none of which has been approved.)

Again, it isn't a question of the amount of money--it is whether it is being spent wisely. CTA could have "built up the bank" by closing the 3 garages and taking 738 buses off the street, but that apparently wasn't a politically viable solution. You still haven't told us what expenditures are not aiding efficiency or safety.

Blue line track inspectors were not doing there job. That is why before the incident in the subway people heard a noise before the derailment and the past president even said this publicly. Have you ever inspected the tracks? Do you know the job duties of a track inspector? Have you ever been a trackman and worked at rebuilding the tracks? Two Trackmen, one Roadmaster III, one manager (who fell off walk and and seriously injured getting down to site) and another Roadmaster lost there jobs on this incident. Question: why was it annoucnced ont he tv that before the train derailed there was noises heard before the spot of the derailment. We can sit here and banter all day on these subjects and it will just keep going. Obivously you keep posting what you think is correct. You want all your information to be itemized and numbered. You keep doing that you addd some excitement to this site. You need everything to policitcally correct and that is your right. But to me it is like talking to a mirror. Read what is written and please quit pulling disecting it. If we can"t express how we feel and shat is happening without this what is the use of this site. I all respect to you , you do have very good information but kepp an open mind. Busjack have yourself a great day.

[Busjack]

Since you weren't willing to answer the basic question, good day to you, too.

[trainman8119]

I would like to say that I think that some of the spending at this time is a little bit questionable. To spend $6000 on what is nothing more than a power washer might be a little bit unnecessary. It will take the person 1/20th the time...but you will still be paying that guy to do work anyway. If the CTA wants to spend $84,000 to supply each garage with 2 of these gizmos doesn't bother me as much at the constant bus shuffling. Personally, I hate looking at window etchings and graffiti more than gum and garbage (which I see a ton of every day on the train). My biggest fear after seeing the Red Eye article today is what happened to Forest Glen after it was publicized as the cleanest garage in the 1980's or so. Within 2 months, buses there were trashed worse than any other garage ever was. Buses on the street as well as the yard were etched and graffitied. It was as if someone said, "we'll show them". Forest Glen at the time never had that serious a problem with that kind of thing, until it became public....and it continued to get worse for about 2 years, up until the time cameras found their way onto the 5500's there (before the Kedzie swap). That is part of the reason those buses look like hell. I'd be willing to bet the gum problem will suddenly become worse in the near future, and probably not just at 74th street.

On a slightly different front, there were public notices for bids in the Red Eye today, notably a request for 225 drive trains on the 6400 series Novas. Sounds like some overhauls are in the works.

[jajuan]

After reading through this thread, this is one of those times that I have to agree with Busjack. It's nothing wrong with wanting to know what the money is being spent on, but at the same time you yourself have to be open-minded like you're asking Busjack and put these different expenditures in perspective. The Gumbuster is a good investment over time if it cuts down the total cleanup time and gets a bus back in service faster. And some of those current construction projects are for service improvements, which are valid expenditures to keep the system working for its customers, reducing the system's slow zones and rehabbing the Brown line for example. The Brown line was being paid for with money already had by the way. So again as Busjack trying to make the point, where are these wasteful expenditures that you're referring to? You can't really tell us that the CTA is wasting money flat out with telling us where it's wasting money.

[Guest bohica]

After reading through this thread, this is one of those times that I have to agree with Busjack. It's nothing wrong with wanting to know what the money is being spent on, but at the same time you yourself have to be open-minded like you're asking Busjack and put these different expenditures in perspective. The Gumbuster is a good investment over time if it cuts down the total cleanup time and gets a bus back in service faster. And some of those current construction projects are for service improvements, which are valid expenditures to keep the system working for its customers, reducing the system's slow zones and rehabbing the Brown line for example. The Brown line was being paid for with money already had by the way. So again as Busjack trying to make the point, where are these wasteful expenditures that you're referring to? You can't really tell us that the CTA is wasting money flat out with telling us where it's wasting money.

Please understand that the gum buster was an example. I stated an issue but certain things I feel are not appropriate to be posted on a site that anyone can open and look at. Certain things are better left unposted on an open web site. I tip toed around answering a question due to this factor. I look at a whole and think is the same problem we were in going to happen again. Busjack does reply with good comments and is very percise. I have respect for that in him. Again this is an open web site I I don't feel it is appropriate to say certain things where anyone can read. I made a statement, looked to keep it brief not to get into a debate. We can agree and disagree if we think spending is necessary or unnecessary.

Feedback is is good and we can all learn just as others thad good reason why they seen spending good. I agree that money needs to be spent but look back where we were and it can happen again. I respect everyones thoughts. Whether you be an employee or a rider we are all in this together.