More Bus Moves

[Busjack]

Something on what someone said on the cost of a Proterra bus is wrong. According to The Motley Fool, 3/25./17:

Purchase prices are plunging for electric buses

The cost of an electric bus is still about $750,000, which is well over the $450,000 or so that it costs to buy a diesel bus. But when you look at the savings described above, the overall cost case can already be made for switching to electric. And more progress on that front is coming. 

Maybe even if CTA specs add $50,000 per bus, that's $800,000, not $1.25 million. The $800,000 is about the budget in the grant application.

Also, the analyst on New Flyer:

New Flyer is the biggest of these players, and it's trying to move into electric buses. But its development in that arena has been slower than Proterra's, and it's still developing hydrogen-fueled options, which could be a distraction in the long term.  

Reinforcing that is this article that King County is buying the buses for $750,000 each, although the charging stations are on top of that.

[Busjack]

Another hi def picture of a suspect on a CTA train (Sun-Times; robbery on Pink Line). Aside from it taking a couple of weeks to release the picture, what now makes the perps thinks they won't be identified?

[BusHunter]

Damn I'm currently on a blue line that is going express that never announced it was going express. The signs changed between rosemont and cumberland. So I wonder what the next stop is? Just passed harlem my stop. Rats!!.

It's run #116 if someone wants to review the camera. I swear I didn't hear an announcement though. Jeff Pk is next. Announced at foster 

[artthouwill]

58 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Damn I'm currently on a blue line that is going express that never announced it was going express. The signs changed between rosemont and cumberland. So I wonder what the next stop is? Just passed harlem my stop. Rats!!.

It's run #116 if someone wants to review the camera. I swear I didn't hear an announcement though. Jeff Pk is next. Announced at foster 

Reminds me of time  I was on an Englewood  A train.  It was crowded  and we stood at  Roosevelt  for a minute.   Then we left  Roosevelt  and proceeded  up the 13th St incline.  We were going a a good clip.  But I noticed  that as we approached  35th,  we weren't  allowing  down.  So we passed  35th which raised  a few eyebrows.  Then we passed  Indiana, then 43rd.  Now I am  hoping that  we are going to  stop  at 47th

  At this point  several people are  grumbling.  Since 47th was my intended  stop, you know that  we passed  it.  So I figured that we  wouldn't  stop  until Garfield  and I could catch a train back north.   We then passed  51st and the grumbling is at A maddening roar.  At Garfield,  we didn't  stop.  Now full panic set in,   Are we on a runaway  train?  I was standing up  by the  doors contemplating  an exit plan if we bypassed  58th and if the train  would be  going  too fast to turn at 59th.  But we did  stop at  58th  and the conductor,  who was mot in my car, got an earful from a platform  full of passengers.   He swore  that he made an announcement  at Roosevelt  that we  would  go express.  Apparently the  only  people  that  heard it wee himself  and whoever was  near him because nothing  came over the intercom, interior or exterior. 

So I had to wait for a northbound  trsin.  As fate  would have  it, the next train was a Howard B train.  That really  made  people  mad.  58th  st was an A station so we had to wait  for another 5 minutes  or so.

This train was a mixture of 2000s and 2600s, 6 cars including the lead car conductor  car were 2000s.  Cars 5 and 6 were  2600s.  I was on car 6.

 

[BusHunter]

Strange thing about it is the train usually flips it's signs to express at the last station stop, so people know not to board. This was done mid route. i don't believe the station stop at Rosemont was any longer than normal. Usually express trains make longer stops because people have to get on or off the train usually from a seated position because the info doesn't usually get announced until the station stop. I've been on alot of express trains at least 100 in my lifetime and this has never happened before that I can recall. That's why I mentioned it as it caught me completely by surprise.

[chgofan78]

Anyone catch on the new car maps that some of the maps don't extend color on the Red Line into 95th/Dan Ryan station and some do? 

[Juniorz]

11 minutes ago, chgofan78 said:

Anyone catch on the new car maps that some of the maps don't extend color on the Red Line into 95th/Dan Ryan station and some do? 

That could be a telling sign of things to come, i believe there is more to this "rush hour" reroute

[Sam92]

2 hours ago, Juniorz said:

That could be a telling sign of things to come, i believe there is more to this "rush hour" reroute

I mean if this were to be permanent i don't see a reason for them to expand this practice outside of rush hour seeing as the point is to do something with the lay ups that would delay the Dan Ryan branch do to there only being one lead into the yard.  

[chicagopcclcar]

3 hours ago, chgofan78 said:

Anyone catch on the new car maps that some of the maps don't extend color on the Red Line into 95th/Dan Ryan station and some do? 

Could you post some pictures? Thanks.

DH

[KedziePink]

[Juniorz]

Could be a sign that there is more to this reroute.....????

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Juniorz said:

Could be a sign that there is more to this reroute.....????

That and the sign @KedziePink captured indicate that it doesn't cost as much to print mylar signs or to reprogram the web map you captured. Note that what you captured said "to allow for work happening at the 95th/Dan Ryan terminal." At some point it will be done.

I can't conceive of any permanent scenario that the Green Line needs more service between Cermak and 63rd than the Red Line does. As @garmon757 pointed out, half the platform is out, and as others have pointed out, they don't have access to the 98th Yard mid weekday.

[chicagopcclcar]

On April 6, 2017 at 4:59 PM, KedziePink said:

My personal thanks to KedziePink for the picture....its true, a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, my sources at 567 W. Lake St. say it's nothing but a printing error, and it's already being corrected. The Red Line route card is a prime example for the correction being made. Sorry to splash water on all the speculation...... there's nothing to read into the red ending between 87th and 95th.

David H. 

[garmon757]

The map error situation posts have been moved to this topic due to it's irrelevancy on behalf of the Washington/Wabash topic.

[Mr.cta85]

Just saw 1563 at 69th and western heading northbound. Im not sure if it was a 74th or NP run cause I didn't catch the run number but maybe more bus transfers perhaps?

[MRChiCity]

25 years ago yesterday http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/2017/04/great-chicago-flood-anniversary/ I think the State and Dearborn Street Subways were shut down by this. 

[XE NewFlyer]

Kedzie looks to be running out of buses 

4014 on the 7

4005 & 4024 on the 52

4205 on the 82

The routes may just be getting more crowded

[garmon757]

14 hours ago, Mr.cta85 said:

Just saw 1563 at 69th and western heading northbound. Im not sure if it was a 74th or NP run cause I didn't catch the run number but maybe more bus transfers perhaps?

I thought #1563 was Forest Glen's. 

[sw4400]

11 hours ago, garmon757 said:

I thought #1563 was Forest Glen's. 

#1563 is still assigned to Forest Glen in the rosters. I either rode or saw #1562 on #152 yesterday and the individual bustracker of @byroncheng's showed #1563 on #49 Western yesterday. Looking today, #1563 is on #56, so probably a temporary loan to NP or 74th.

[Sam92]

15 hours ago, XE NewFlyer said:

Kedzie looks to be running out of buses 

4014 on the 7

4005 & 4024 on the 52

4205 on the 82

The routes may just be getting more crowded

Ive noticed 21 has seen an artic back to back the last few days as well.  Always on the same run.  

[KedziePink]

4 hours ago, Sam92 said:

Ive noticed 21 has seen an artic back to back the last few days as well.  Always on the same run.  

That makes me curious as to how often the #60 has artics. The only artic I've ever seen on there was over 2 years ago, and I ride that route often, but not during the rush.

[Sam92]

44 minutes ago, KedziePink said:

That makes me curious as to how often the #60 has artics. The only artic I've ever seen on there was over 2 years ago, and I ride that route often, but not during the rush.

None I've seen so far.  Outside of the usual weekday assignments they'll show up on #7, #52, #82 and most recently the run on #21. It always shows up on the run with block ID 21-211 or something

[jajuan]

On 4/14/2017 at 3:42 PM, MRChiCity said:

25 years ago yesterday http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/2017/04/great-chicago-flood-anniversary/ I think the State and Dearborn Street Subways were shut down by this. 

Yes I remember that. Both subways were flooded after a construction crew accidentally knock a whole in a tunnel under the Chicago river causing flooding in other tunnels including the State and Dearborn subways. As I recall the Dearborn subway got more extensive damage than State Street subway. So Howard-Englewood/Jackson Park service was disrupted for a relatively short period while what was then the Congress/Douglas-O'Hare service was out for a few weeks I think. I don't remember as much about the State Street disruption, but I do remember that what is now the Blue Line was running in two sections, between O'Hare and Division and between Racine and Forest Park or 54/Cermak (since as we all know much of what is now the Pink Line was still part of what became the Blue Line 25 years ago). The section between Division and Racine was covered by shuttle express buses from various garages. From Division/Milwaukee buses mirrored the #56 route up to State Street, ran along State to Harrison I believe, and ran on Harrison to Racine station. So if anyone remembers Americanas on a portion of Milwaukee as well as on Harrison in the early 90s after the #7 and #60 became accessible, this is the reason.

EDIT: I did a bit more digging and old Tribune articles state that Howard trains ran over the top on the Elevated tracks along the Ravenswood tracks south of Fullerton and along the Lake and Wabash portions of the Loop Elevated through downtown. Shuttle buses were in place between Fullerton and Clark/Division.

[jajuan]

On 4/14/2017 at 8:35 PM, XE NewFlyer said:

Kedzie looks to be running out of buses 

4014 on the 7

4005 & 4024 on the 52

4205 on the 82

The routes may just be getting more crowded

The spread of artics out on routes that don't usually see them much on a weekday may have been from folks looking to leave work early due to it being Good Friday. Traffic reporters had been saying there was going to be a lot of that Friday around the city. And as such Metra was also getting prepared by beefing up afternoon off peak service leading into the PM rush. Getting back to Kedzie though, the #12 also had a few extra artics on Friday, which I chalked it up to them wanting to help the 40 footers from being overwhelmed by any downtown workers going home early as well as UIC students doing the same. Also a lot of folks had the day off, so there's also the possible uptick for travel due to recreation events that may played a part in that too. 

[Sam92]

6 hours ago, jajuan said:

The spread of artics out on routes that don't usually see them much on a weekday may have been from folks looking to leave work early due to it being Good Friday. Traffic reporters had been saying there was going to be a lot of that Friday around the city. And as such Metra was also getting prepared by beefing up afternoon off peak service leading into the PM rush. Getting back to Kedzie though, the #12 also had a few extra artics on Friday, which I chalked it up to them wanting to help the 40 footers from being overwhelmed by any downtown workers going home early as well as UIC students doing the same. Also a lot of folks had the day off, so there's also the possible uptick for travel due to recreation events that may played a part in that too. 

Eh to be honest those artic sightings have been for like a week or two.  #52 has been seeing s random artic or two along with #21 has seen one pop out for some days.  Kinda like 103rd with #29 and #28 seeing a few in the week now.