Southside proposal

[Busjack]

Why not expand CTA service into needed suburbian areas. PACE has service in the city?

You sure you aren't Carole Brown (who was the last one to blog this suggestion and phrased it in this manner)? Again, as frequently mentioned, doomsday is not yet over and already the infinite spenders are at the taxpayers' wallets.

Instead of my addressing this repeatedly, why don't you read the Auditor General's report.

[rmadisonwi]

Busjack a Sims City transit game has potential. Maybe a game like this could help fund mass transit. Anyone of us in a municipal job is living on a dream. Everyday we come in and it is like another night of dreaming wondering what happened.

There's a game out there called Traffic Giant, for anyone really interested in such an idea. Not particularly realistic (then again, what game out there is?).

Sim City 4, with the Rush Hour expansion pack, has some transit-related stuff, but not what I'd consider an actual transit system simulator.

[MetroShadow]

Traffic Giant, I think, is as close as it gets. Sim City 4 has its transit integrated into its Local Government's budget and really have no control over the system.

A-Train is an old game for the Original PS1 system, and you would have control over the system, its routes, budgets, etc.

There are driving simulators out there such as Bus driver Link here but the demo is only an hour long. There is also a Bus Simulator game that was released in Germany, and is slowly making its way here soon. Check the website for the exact date

[Danielsmusic]

Traffic Giant, I think, is as close as it gets. Sim City 4 has its transit integrated into its Local Government's budget and really have no control over the system.

A-Train is an old game for the Original PS1 system, and you would have control over the system, its routes, budgets, etc.

There are driving simulators out there such as Bus driver Link here but the demo is only an hour long. There is also a Bus Simulator game that was released in Germany, and is slowly making its way here soon. Check the website for the exact date

I got the demo for Traffic Giant. I can build lines, place stops and buy buses, but I cannot build a depot or assign a bus to a route. How do I do that?

[Tcmetro]

I have Traffic Giant. It is a good game for a bus/train simulator, but the new Bus Simulator game looks interesting.

[trainman8119]

I have Traffic Giant. It is a good game for a bus/train simulator, but the new Bus Simulator game looks interesting.

I downloaded it. It is a gas. But don't be fooled in it being a simulator, because it is really not. It is more of an arcade game, but well worth the 30 bucks. :P

[jajuan]

I downloaded it. It is a gas. But don't be fooled in it being a simulator, because it is really not. It is more of an arcade game, but well worth the 30 bucks.

Cool. I couldn't get the demo to work on my computer and was hoping to get a few reactions to the full version before considering investing in it.

[Zol87]

Why is it that everyone wants to put the CTA into the suburbs. If you want to make the CTA more efficient, eliminate all CTA train and bus service that crosses the city limits. Let the suburbs pick up the tab for their service. Remember, Pace is the Suburban division of the RTA, not the CTA. Keep the CTA in the city and go from there. Some of these proposals are so ridiculous it is mind boggling.

I don't think that CTA bus service entering the suburbs is a problem. Many people come into the suburbs from the city to work at areas with a high need for employment. These include Downtown Evanston/Northwestern University (201, 205, 93, 206, 97) , Old Orchard (97,54A, 201 205) Downtown Park Ridge (68) Downtown Oak Park (90). some of these destinations aren't yet covered by rail service and it isn't too far from the specific stations to each one of these destinations. Also the bus service doesn't stretch that far in to the burbs. I would rather have a CTA bus that runs every 15-20 mins than a Pace bus that runs once every 1/2 hour. But the CTA also runs several express services such as 168, 169, X98 during shift changes as far out as UPS in Hodgekins or Avon in Morton Grove. How is that better than local routes in suburbs bordering the city that feature CTA rail service. But In terms of rail service you have to draw the line at a certain point in the burbs or else Rapid transit will turn into another commuter rail like Metra.

[Busjack]

I don't think that CTA bus service entering the suburbs is a problem.

Did you read the Auditor General's report cited above?

The allocation of the service provider in the first two cases you mention (Evanston and Skokie) is more of a matter of historical accident than plan. Evanston was a result of the Evanston Bus Co. going under without Nortran being ready to pick up the slack. 97 is because the old Niles Center L was shut in the 1940s (now it is the Skokie Swift). And what do you mean that Oak Park and Park Ridge don't have rail service?

Also, why do you assume that CTA has 20 minute service and Pace 30? Pace 270 runs every 10 minutes in the rush hour, for instance. Maybe Pace, with a lower cost structure, and obtaining smaller new buses, could provide better service.

However, I rest on the political argument. What is the point of having CTA serve Evanston, when, every time a Doomsday Plan is announced, that is the first place to get NO SERVICE?

As I mentioned in response to jajuan, I wanted to see in the transit bill a provision that the RTA conduct a study to determine which service board should be the provider in these areas. That didn't happen, but should have. As trainman indicated, maybe an actual Doomsday would have forced reform (maybe even that one).

Finally, as I previously mentioned, whether UPS or Avon is willing to pay for a bus has little to do with transit planning policy. I'm sure that the reason the 425 became the X98 had nothing to do with transit planning, but because Avon, Workforce Development, or whoever, changed their mind on with whom to contract. No different than if the U of C decided to kick CTA out and go back to the school bus company it previously had.