CTA 2013 budget

[mkohut]

In general, a lot of stuff got rerouted to or cutoff at Jefferson Park when the station opened. There sure isn't any 19X bus between Edgebrook and Logan Square now, for instance. By the same token, the extension to Rosemont resulted in 90 and 90N being split, and presumably what became 209 being from Harlem.

I got confused in that it is now 86 that goes to Imlay, instead of 91.

The Lawrence and Central trolley buses also ended late 1969-early 1970, although there is some debate whether that was because the bus lines were to be rerouted into the Jefferson Park terminal.

This is what Bill has

81 Lawrence

Streetcar route introduced by Chicago Railways

1896 - electric streetcar service introduced from Broadway to Jefferson Park

4/1/51 - streetcar route converted to trolleybuses

12/13/69 - trolleybuses replaced with motor buses

85 Central

Bus route introduced by Chicago Motor Coach Co.

10/3/28 - introduced by CMC as bus route 38 Central

6/8/30 - CMC route 38 replaced by CSL trolleybus route 85

1/7/70 - trolleybuses replaced with motor buses

[Busjack]

I used Krambles's book.

The only point I had is that these two were converted immediately before the terminal opened, while most of the remaining trolley bus lines were abolished in 1973, with receipt of the 1000 series New Look buses and transfer of diesel buses from the closed Keeler garage to North and Cicero.

[mkohut]

I used Krambles's book.

The only point I had is that these two were converted immediately before the terminal opened, while most of the remaining trolley bus lines were abolished in 1973, with receipt of the 1000 series New Look buses and transfer of diesel buses from the closed Keeler garage to North and Cicero.

At lease back then it wasn't political.I'm sure Kramble would be turning over in his grave if he seen how political every thing is now with the CTA

[Busjack]

At lease back then it wasn't political.I'm sure Kramble would be turning over in his grave if he seen how political every thing is now with the CTA

It was political to the extent that he recognized in his book that the mayor's appointments to the board gave him the power to select the chairman, and that mayors were interested in transit expansions. However, in that he worked himself up from the ranks of CRT, he probably could not have contemplated the current situation where various appointing authorities are purely political and ignore qualifications, and the CT Board has pretty much abdicated its responsibilities.

He did gloss over why the RTA had to be restructured in 1983, other than that it resulted in the creation of Pace and Metra. He also had a chapter on how CTA was cooperating with other regional players, which probably would overstate the case today (other than Pace using CTA transit stations).

He also mentioned in his book that CTA was supposed to be metropolitan transit, and investigated taking over the west side suburban bus operations, but due to restrictions in the bond agreements used to finance the original takeover CSL and CRT (inconsistently described in the book), CTA couldn't afford to do so, and thus those systems lingered until being taken over by the RTA. I would assume that the politics would have been different if CTA had exercised its power in the late 1940s to serve anywhere in Cook County other than the panhandles west of 12000 W, instead of the current CTA-Pace fuzzy boundaries, and leaving the mayor with the deluded impression that CTA is a division of CDOT, instead of an independent municipal corporation.

[pudgym29]

Going back to ancient history (such as what I mentioned in connection with Park Ridge), that probably happened when Nortran abolished the 260 series of routes, according to Bill V, in the mid to late 1970s. That was replaced by the 209 to Schaumburg, which was cut back to DesPlaines when 208 was extended to Schaumburg in the 2005 North Shore restructuring. Essentially 209 remained as another "we have to serve this segment" route.

Bill doesn't indicate when 68 was extended to Park Ridge.

I believe it was done in the 70's

I slipped slightly on the recognition of the albino CTA buses on route #84 Peterson. Yes, they were 9000-series "New Look" coaches, not 7400s. But I am pretty certain that route #68 NW Highway was extended to Park Ridge in conjunction when thru-transferring from CTA to Pace | Nortran was begun. So I think that was spring 1979. I remember riding the #68 into Park Ridge and dining at the Yankee Doodle Dandy hamburger chain (the shop is now an Oberweis dairy store) there.

Re routes #81 Lawrence and #85 Central being converted to motor buses because of the extension of the “L” to Jefferson Park: Trolley wiring was constructed on #77 Belmont for westbound buses to turn into the Belmont | Kimball West-Northwest subway station. There was wiring on the west-facing leaf for a trolley bus to bypass another bus pulled up to the curb.

[mkohut]

68 start going to Park Ridge in 1975

[Busjack]

...

Re routes #81 Lawrence and #85 Central being converted to motor buses because of the extension of the “L” to Jefferson Park: Trolley wiring was constructed on #77 Belmont for westbound buses to turn into the Belmont | Kimball West-Northwest subway station. There was wiring on the west-facing leaf for a trolley bus to bypass another bus pulled up to the curb.

Something had to be done to accommodate 77, which wasn't converted from trolleybus until near the end (1/73).

More conjecture is involved with 81 and 85, given the opening of the Kennedy line in 2/70. Andre posted somewhere else that there was a plan to route 81 via Central into Jefferson Park using trolley wire, but obviously the trolley bus lines were converted before Jefferson Park opened, so nothing like that happened.

[Busjack]

.....That certainly seems to have accelerated under Claypool, such as for the 95th St. bus terminal project. See the CTA Press Release, on receiving a $20 million TIGER grant, and while it also mentions federal and state formula funds, also mentions a TIFIA loan* and CTA bonds, both of which CTA will have to repay.

....

*TIFIA is explained by the FTA here.

The Oct. Meeting Agenda indicates that CTA is going ahead with the 95th St. Bus Terminal project, including pledging "fare box revenues" to the TIFIA loan.