Stranded Passengers

[New Flyer]

CTA needs to come up with an alternative holiday schedule especially when a Sunday schedule is being run on a weekday. Where I live in Evergreen Park there is no early morning service between Western/Pulaski and 81st/111th.

There were people on corners waiting for buses that weren't running esp. on Pulaski where school kids had to go to school on 111th/Pulaski. I called CTA control Center and talked to a manager Saffron who was very nasty. I tried to explain to her in this area there is no alternative service for people who have to leave early in the morning.

Buses out here don't starty running until after 7 or out farther south don't arrive to go north until almost nine. While running errands on Kedzie and Pulaski I saw about 100 people total between 95th/63rd on Kedzie and from 63rd to 95th on Pulaski. I explained to folks on PUlaski who had to walk to 81st to get a bus, and also dropped off a couple of women at 79th Kedzie in my car.

[jacksone44]

CTA needs to come up with an alternative holiday schedule especially when a Sunday schedule is being run on a weekday. Where I live in Evergreen Park there is no early morning service between Western/Pulaski and 81st/111th.

There were people on corners waiting for buses that weren't running esp. on Pulaski where school kids had to go to school on 111th/Pulaski. I called CTA control Center and talked to a manager Saffron who was very nasty. I tried to explain to her in this area there is no alternative service for people who have to leave early in the morning.

Buses out here don't starty running until after 7 or out farther south don't arrive to go north until almost nine. While running errands on Kedzie and Pulaski I saw about 100 people total between 95th/63rd on Kedzie and from 63rd to 95th on Pulaski. I explained to folks on PUlaski who had to walk to 81st to get a bus, and also dropped off a couple of women at 79th Kedzie in my car.

Agreed.... I wasnt affected, but I have a co-worker that waited 45 min for the 14 to only find people packed like sardines in 40 footers....

[Busjack]

I can't say anything about the specifics noted by you two, but, notwithstanding that July 3 may be the holiday for some, especially those under union contracts, it doesn't make sense to run a Sunday schedule today when today isn't the holiday, and run a Saturday schedule on the real holiday tomorrow.

Also, it doesn't seem to me that this was well publicized (i.e. alerts in the newspapers and on their web sites).

BTW, it appears that the post office is working today, so CTA and Pace also should be, even if frequency might be cut back somewhat.

[chgofan78]

I don't get how CTA and Pace are running on Sunday schedules, but Metra is running a normal weekday schedule with extra trains and some minor tweaks two or three rush hour trains. I know in the past when July 3rd landed on a weekday, the CTA ran normal AM rush service, but cancelled some PM rush runs on downtown routes (i.e 120-123, 125, 157, 6, 14, 143-148, 151, 134-136, etc.) so the buses could be staged for after the fireworks and the accordion-styled buses could be loaned to other garage for the extra service.

[jacksone44]

I don't get how CTA and Pace are running on Sunday schedules, but Metra is running a normal weekday schedule with extra trains and some minor tweaks two or three rush hour trains. I know in the past when July 3rd landed on a weekday, the CTA ran normal AM rush service, but cancelled some PM rush runs on downtown routes (i.e 120-123, 125, 157, 6, 14, 143-148, 151, 134-136, etc.) so the buses could be staged for after the fireworks and the accordion-styled buses could be loaned to other garage for the extra service.

That would would have been a better solution.

[jajuan]

I reported in the Arctic routes thread in relation to making a point of how the artics might be used today that CTA posted signs inside the buses that only routes having Sunday service would be running today with extra service on downtown and South Loop area routes to accomodate the Taste and the Fireworks show, in effect Sunday/holiday schedules with extra service for the above mentioned events tonight. Plus for this past week, starting around last Friday or Saturday, Mr. CTA on all the buses has been announcing that Sunday schedules would operate today with the extra service mentioned along with where to board after the Fireworks Show is over. As for why a Sunday schedule is in effect while tomorrow is the actual holiday, that has been the case since the first year of Pres. George W Bush's first term. It became federal law that when a national holiday falls on a weekend day the holiday would be oberved on either the preceding Friday or following Monday depending upon which day the holiday falls so that people working Mon-Fri schedules who take paid holidays would still receive them. If the holiday is on a Saturday as this one is, the holiday is observed on Friday. If the holiday falls on Sunday, it gets observed on Monday. CTA is following this law. I remember a few years ago, when the Fourth fell on a Sunday and CTA operated Sunday schedules on July 5th so it's nothing new. So basically the ones to really gripe at about this one is the federal government.

[Busjack]

Federal would only affect federal offices. In fact the statute, 5 USC 6103, is classified to GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES (i.e. Federal),* and the Friday instead of Saturday only applies to those working Monday to Friday. As I mentioned, the Post Office did not have a day off.**

Since CTA and Pace are state, not local agencies, and theoretically their employees work seven days a week, any argument that this was compelled by Federal law is just not the case. The nonsense is especially typified by CTA not running artics in the morning, as jacksone noted.

Now, if someone wants to post that the union contracts compelled Friday off or double time, I would accept it, but again that wouldn't justify not running the artics.

_____________

* It is not classified to Title 36, Patriotic Observances.

** I also remember when Illinois observed Feb. 12 as Lincoln's Birthday and May 30 as Memorial Day, notwithstanding any Federal President's Day and Monday holiday law.

[artthouwill]

Federal would only affect federal offices. In fact the statute, 5 USC 6103, is classified to GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES (i.e. Federal),* and the Friday instead of Saturday only applies to those working Monday to Friday. As I mentioned, the Post Office did not have a day off.**

Since CTA and Pace are state, not local agencies, and theoretically their employees work seven days a week, any argument that this was compelled by Federal law is just not the case. The nonsense is especially typified by CTA not running artics in the morning, as jacksone noted.

Now, if someone wants to post that the union contracts compelled Friday off or double time, I would accept it, but again that wouldn't justify not running the artics.

_____________

* It is not classified to Title 36, Patriotic Observances.

** I also remember when Illinois observed Feb. 12 as Lincoln's Birthday and May 30 as Memorial Day, notwithstanding any Federal President's Day and Monday holiday law.

Isn't there a Federal law pertaining to banks not being closed for more than 2 successive days? Thus banks could not be closed all three days this weekend. Were some open yesterday? Basically a lot of offices were closed on Friday which would justify not running regular schedules (also consider the extra getaway rush hour service Metra ran on July 2).

This quirk only happens when Saturday is the Holiday. It is better when the holiday falls on Sunday, however the way the law is we get four years in a row of three day weekends in this particular instance.

Running artics for the sake of running them does not make any sense either. They were used when they were most needed, which was after the fireworks show downtown.

[jajuan]

Federal would only affect federal offices. In fact the statute, 5 USC 6103, is classified to GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES (i.e. Federal),* and the Friday instead of Saturday only applies to those working Monday to Friday. As I mentioned, the Post Office did not have a day off.**

Since CTA and Pace are state, not local agencies, and theoretically their employees work seven days a week, any argument that this was compelled by Federal law is just not the case. The nonsense is especially typified by CTA not running artics in the morning, as jacksone noted.

Now, if someone wants to post that the union contracts compelled Friday off or double time, I would accept it, but again that wouldn't justify not running the artics.

_____________

* It is not classified to Title 36, Patriotic Observances.

** I also remember when Illinois observed Feb. 12 as Lincoln's Birthday and May 30 as Memorial Day, notwithstanding any Federal President's Day and Monday holiday law.

Well apparently CTA didn't get the memo because it's been the case of them operating Sunday/holiday schedules on the weekday close to the actual holiday when said holiday fell on a weekend day since the law was passed. Whether they're compelled to do it or not, the practice is still related to the law. I do remember seeing in one of the city papers shortly after the law went into effect that Mon-Fri workers who get paid holidays off received that extra through the law and that CTA now institutes its Sunday/holiday schedules on the said weekday under those guidelines. So if you want to nitpick the legalese of it, spread the word to the companies and businesses that aren't federal agencies and give their Mon-Fri workers that extra weekday, that the law doesn't compel their bosses pass that extra weekday on to them. And I do think I referenced people who work Mon-Fri schedules in my post. As for the artics, as I stated before since Sunday schedules were to be in effect, the reference was related to artic routes that don't have a Sunday schedule and the fact that those artics that would otherwise be used free to be used elsewhere as was observed being the case as far as 12, 29 and some routes that don't generally get them was concerned.

[jajuan]

Isn't there a Federal law pertaining to banks not being closed for more than 2 successive days? Thus banks could not be closed all three days this weekend. Were some open yesterday? Basically a lot of offices were closed on Friday which would justify not running regular schedules (also consider the extra getaway rush hour service Metra ran on July 2).

This quirk only happens when Saturday is the Holiday. It is better when the holiday falls on Sunday, however the way the law is we get four years in a row of three day weekends in this particular instance.

Running artics for the sake of running them does not make any sense either. They were used when they were most needed, which was after the fireworks show downtown.

The quirk also pops up when Sunday is the holiday as well. In that case it's the following Monday added to create the three day weekend. Many of the banks were open yesterday. Today July 4 is the federal bank holiday. Since it was brought up that postal workers didn't get the day off, most worked a half day. Mailbox pickup stopped at noon and most post offices closed at noon as well with the main Post office closing at 5pm. City Hall and the courts were closed, as well as the libraries, which will also be closed today too. Holiday court was in effect. Financial markets closed. Metra runs it's holiday schedule today while CTA will run Saturday schedules. I got this info from p 14 of Friday's SunTimes. The paper stated within the holiday reference that since July 4th is on Saturday this year, July 3rd was the federal holiday. CTA runs Sunday/holiday schedules on July 4th federal holiday and other federally observed holidays that incur the Sunday/holiday schedule (noticed I reference the federal holidays that incur use of the Sunday schedule since Sunday schedule aren't used on MLK Day or President's Day for example), so running holiday schedules fell within their stated policy.

[Busjack]

Well apparently CTA didn't get the memo because it's been the case of them operating Sunday/holiday schedules on the weekday close to the actual holiday when said holiday fell on a weekend day since the law was passed.

I challenge anyone to look at the link to the statute I posted and find any amendment to subsection b anytime in the recent past. The Monday holiday one was in 1968.

Not directly relevant, but I got a check in the mail at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday (and deposited in a bank by 4:30 p.m.). So, so much for the postal workers supposedly quitting at noon.

So, while it may have been CTA policy, it certainly wasn't an intelligent one.

[Archon]

MCTS Operated a Weekday Schedule on Friday July 3rd and operated a Sunday schedule on Sat July 4th So we had Saturday crows on a Sunday schedule.

[santran]

Due to union rules and the likes, the company can not cancel a run from one driver and let another work there run, so to make the extra buses avaliable they just operate a Sunday sched and all the equipment normaly on 130's,140's, etc. are avaliable. And holiday rules are also in effect due to union contracts. CTA does not have much controll over this situation.

[jajuan]

I challenge anyone to look at the link to the statute I posted and find any amendment to subsection b anytime in the recent past. The Monday holiday one was in 1968.

Not directly relevant, but I got a check in the mail at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday (and deposited in a bank by 4:30 p.m.). So, so much for the postal workers supposedly quitting at noon.

So, while it may have been CTA policy, it certainly wasn't an intelligent one.

On the post office front I reported what can be found on p. 14 of Friday's SunTimes. They stated most post offices close at noon on Friday. Maybe yours wasn't one of them, it really doesn't matter to me. Take it up further with the SunTimes if you still have issue with it. As for whether running a Sunday schedule on Friday was a smart one, I'm inclined to say with so many people being off work or class on this particular federal holiday I would say it was prudent. With regard to those reported on the southwest side who couldn't get to where they needed, that sounds more like the issue is service in that part of town on Sunday/holiday mornings is lacking period than a holiday schedule shouldn't have been done on what was the federal holiday.