More Bus Moves

[MetroShadow]

Something that short (a nine-day period) won't need a pick. It will all be done as extras.

Depending on coverage and fleet availability (to run the shuttles), I'd be more elected to say the Extra Board would/will/might get a workout.

[See Tea Eh]

Definitely will be all extra board/part time/overtime.

[jajuan]

Definitely will be all extra board/part time/overtime.

What about doing school runs on 77 and 80with artics See? Those members that floated that one acknowledged that that would have to be NP for their desired purposes of making use of the extra artics NP got in recent weeks from 103rd and Kedzie due to those two having some 4000s displaced by 4300s. Would those have to be put out under the next pick if NP wasn't already doing school runs on those two routes?

[See Tea Eh]

Generally, school trippers are done with the pick, except for special dismissals that do not coincide with the schedule already implemented.

If there were some urgent need to add service, it could be done as an extra, but it's not too often that such happens with school service.

[sw4400]

Generally, school trippers are done with the pick, except for special dismissals that do not coincide with the schedule already implemented.

If there were some urgent need to add service, it could be done as an extra, but it's not too often that such happens with school service.

You could probably do 'circular service' with a few school tripper artics between #80 and #152. Have a few artics start as Irving Park buses until Cicero(last stop Kilpatrick), turn south on Cicero until Addison, turn east and run as a #152 to Lake Shore(repeat until dismissal is done). This should help with overcrowding on both routes. Other artics could run on #152 to whatever destination they end at(Kedzie, Cicero, Central, Harlem or Cumberland)

[See Tea Eh]

You could probably do 'circular service' with a few school tripper artics between #80 and #152. Have a few artics start as Irving Park buses until Cicero(last stop Kilpatrick), turn south on Cicero until Addison, turn east and run as a #152 to Lake Shore(repeat until dismissal is done). This should help with overcrowding on both routes. Other artics could run on #152 to whatever destination they end at(Kedzie, Cicero, Central, Harlem or Cumberland)

While I don't know the school schedules right now, typically the schools dismiss close enough to each other, time-wise, that by the time you completed service for one school, you'd be far too late to be of any use for another school.

[jajuan]

Generally, school trippers are done with the pick, except for special dismissals that do not coincide with the schedule already implemented.

If there were some urgent need to add service, it could be done as an extra, but it's not too often that such happens with school service.

So as I suspected, this is more a wishlist to be filled by some now that it's seen that NP has a heck of a lot more artics with Kedzie and 103rd currently getting 4300s assigned to their rosters. And those wishlists can't be answered until the spring pick at earliest since there is no indication or source, like garage section of this forum, that NP is doing any runs on any routes that are operated primarily by FG outside of the 152 school trippers that were already being done for years now and the decrowd plan additions of 56 and 92 to that very short list.

[See Tea Eh]

My prediction is that you'll have to wait until after the Red Line shutdown work is complete to see any real change in artic assignments. It's really only a couple months away.

[jajuan]

My prediction is that you'll have to wait until after the Red Line shutdown work is complete to see any real change in artic assignments. It's really only a couple months away.

True but I was speaking along the lines of if CTA actually was realistically going to make a move that resembled any of these guys' wishlists.

[Sam92]

True but I was speaking along the lines of if CTA actually was realistically going to make a move that resembled any of these guys' wishlists.

At least we boiled the list down to two sensible things: Either North park uses its extra 30 artics to take pressure off of the FG routes mention or send them to 77th who actually NEEDS them. I think NP wouldn't need so many artics if they could manage their routes better and keep them on time. I honestly see no difference whenever they add artics to their fleet as the routes they run almost never come on time. 85 artics should do them good.

[jajuan]

At least we boiled the list down to two sensible things: Either North park uses its extra 30 artics to take pressure off of the FG routes mention or send them to 77th who actually NEEDS them. I think NP wouldn't need so many artics if they could manage their routes better and keep them on time. I honestly see no difference whenever they add artics to their fleet as the routes they run almost never come on time. 85 artics should do them good.

And North Park should do fine with 85 artics based on what? They ramped up service on what express routes remain after the elimination of 144 and 145 so how do you really figure that? And they do make heavy use of artics on more than just their express routes so dropping down to less artics than what they started with before December and the decrowd plan implementation isn't a smart move. And your premise that none of the North Park routes ever run on time is a gross exaggeration as I'd never get to work on time if that were the case. Now do they need 130 plus and rising so far based on recent trends? Likely not. I've been saying that myself for at least a month. But this Brown Line project replacing the track over the Wells Street Bridge, replacing that on the curve to the north of Merchandise Mart and redoing the Wells and Lake junction over two nine-day periods split between March and April spurred another possible reason for why NP has been getting so stacked with artics. It's quite possible that after that, some of them will then get shifted to the south side in time for the Red Line project on the Dan Ryan between May and October. As for the mention that they need to manage their routes better, do you actually propose that they have control over the rush hour traffic on Lake Shore Drive, Clark, Sheridan, Broadway and the Mag Mile? Because to be fair, if a bus is late from that garage that's what the source is a lot of the time. I should know since I have to ride one of those corridors between work and home every week. Find a way to cut the north side population density compared to other parts of the city and then we can talk about how well any bus route from NP (and FG for that matter since it has the same issue when it comes to its east-west routes that serve those same areas served by NP bus routes) gets managed.

[sw4400]

The latest Channel 7.1 newscast on the prisoner who was supposed to be returned to Indiana to serve a 60 year sentence, but was released by the Cook County Sheriff's office included that the prisoner "was given a CTA pass with one fare and two transfers on it."

So, detectives, where did he go next? On the 60 or 94 bus, and then where?

Reported that he was picked up in Kankakee.

So, did he take the 60 bus to Union Station and bum a ride on Amtrak? Or did George Ryan's driver pick him up? Or do we care?

??? Were you continuing your prior post??? I had to do a double take on this one, because it looked like you asked a question, answered it and criticized yourself for asking it.

[Busjack]

??? Were you continuing your prior post??? I had to do a double take on this one, because it looked like you asked a question, answered it and criticized yourself for asking it.

By now, ancient history.

[Busjack]

ABC7 had a promo for "captured video on the CTA, and what the city is going to do about it" for the 10 p.m. news tonight.

[CircleSeven]

ABC7 had a promo for "captured video on the CTA, and what the city is going to do about it" for the 10 p.m. news tonight.

I think they are airing that report tomorrow night. Not tonight.

[Busjack]

I think they are airing that report tomorrow night. Not tonight.

It was just on.

Other than the raw number crunching, the one obvious thing was that the more egregious videos were from YouTube. While they showed the cameras on a 5100, the assault action was on a 3200.

Also, Kevin from the CTA Tattler got a cameo.

Update: Story now on web.

[pete6125]

1004 is operating on route 155 tonight.

[cta5658]

1004 is operating on route 155 tonight.

is this a fill in or is 103rd sending their early 1000's to NP?

[RJL6000]

is this a fill in or is 103rd sending their early 1000's to NP?

Most likely a fill-in.

On another note, either 74th or North Park must be short on operable 40-footers and/or available drivers: 103rd's 1252 is on the #49 Western this midday.

[artthouwill]

Most likely a fill-in.

On another note, either 74th or North Park must be short on operable 40-footers and/or available drivers: 103rd's 1252 is on the #49 Western this midday.

Lets say 74th lacked manpower to operate a particular rour, in this case, Western. Would they just blow the run, or woyld another garage really send a bus and driver to operate that route? If the latter, would that bus use a generic run number from its own garage or use the 74th garage run number assigned to that run? Has any CTA driver on this forum had to operate a fill in route assigned to a garage other than his home garage?

[jajuan]

Most likely a fill-in.

On another note, either 74th or North Park must be short on operable 40-footers and/or available drivers: 103rd's 1252 is on the #49 Western this midday.

I also happened to see 1252 during this morning's rush going eastbound on Foster heading toward Sheridan. It was signed as a 136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express.

[jajuan]

Lets say 74th lacked manpower to operate a particular rour, in this case, Western. Would they just blow the run, or woyld another garage really send a bus and driver to operate that route? If the latter, would that bus use a generic run number from its own garage or use the 74th garage run number assigned to that run? Has any CTA driver on this forum had to operate a fill in route assigned to a garage other than his home garage?

If they follow the same procedure as I witnessed some years back, the run number assigned to that driver is used. At that time an operator on the 76 Diversey apparently didn't show or something and that route was short a bus for that rush period. A supervisor sitting at Diversey/Sheridan/Cannon pulled a Kedzie operator who had finished a 151 short trip at that time and told him to do the scheduled 76 run that was missing instead of deadheading back downtown and doing another northbound 151 short trip. That driver used his same run number that he operated with 151 trips under. (I think the resident 6000 series fans would have found it interesting to see one on the 76 many years ahead of that period that Chicago garage would get its own in the final years of that bus model.)

[BusHunter]

I also happened to see 1252 during this morning's rush going eastbound on Foster heading toward Sheridan. It was signed as a 136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express.

They may be starting to transfer some 40 footers out of 103rd, now that there at a 13 bus surplus in artics and counting. I know cta5658 said he saw #1004 on a NP route.

[jajuan]

They may be starting to transfer some 40 footers out of 103rd, now that there at a 13 bus surplus in artics and counting. I know cta5658 said he saw #1004 on a NP route.

That's not enough to say there's a transfer. If it were ten buses or more suddenly up at North Park then a transfer would be more likely an explanation. As RL6000 pointed out, it's most likely just loans to fill in for a couple of their own buses that were unavailable for possible maintenance reasons since we're only talking about two buses. Folks wanted to rush and say that the 800s and 900s were getting swapped out because a couple of 900s were at North Park for a few days and those turned out to be loans.

[BusHunter]

That's not enough to say there's a transfer. If it were ten buses or more suddenly up at North Park then a transfer would be more likely an explanation. As RL6000 pointed out, it's most likely just loans to fill in for a couple of their own buses that were unavailable for possible maintenance reasons since we're only talking about two buses. Folks wanted to rush and say that the 800s and 900s were getting swapped out because a couple of 900s were at North Park for a few days and those turned out to be loans.

Seems funny NP would be short buses. They only sent out the 20 Novas and have gained about 30 artics recently. The only thing I can figure is maybe their short 40 footers, but I don't see why they can't send artics down the #49 or #50. Didn't seem to stop Kedzie when they did the #50.