77th Street Buses Parked Downtown

[jajuan]

I pretty much already accepted the traffic explanation days ago. Security aspects just happened to pop in my head first with security being on a lot of people's minds because of the Boston marathon bombings and the news reports of recent threats made against the President and other elected officials due to some folks' misuse of their own stirred up high emotion stirred by the debate of how much regulation we're going to have for civilian gun use.

[geneking7320]

Outside the peak direction only routes and there being a difference in service levels and demand between directions of some others, I don't get CTA's over reliance on deadheading. 74th routes for example still flip that "TO ASHLAND" or "TO 74TH" sign for buses that have to pull in. So why can't some of these other garages?

This brings to mind that in the mylar curtain days most buses had a short turn sign like "9 ASHLAND - 71" for its routes in addition to a sign like ASHLAND - 71. We knew those buses were pulling in and could still ride them. Offhand it seems like the Kedzie and NP garage routes still use signs like 151 SHERIDAN (flip)

TO FOSTER for pull ins [and allow riders].

[Busjack]

This brings to mind that in the mylar curtain days most buses had a short turn sign like "9 ASHLAND - 71" for its routes in addition to a sign like ASHLAND - 71. We knew those buses were pulling in and could still ride them. Offhand it seems like the Kedzie and NP garage routes still use signs like 151 SHERIDAN (flip)

TO FOSTER for pull ins [and allow riders].

The rule used to be that a bus was in service until it reached the garage, although the signs with the route numbers implied that more.

But as the stink in the media indicated a while back, that's no longer the rule now with a pure garage deadhead, although it would be the case for 9 Ashland-74th.

[Sam92]

The rule used to be that a bus was in service until it reached the garage, although the signs with the route numbers implied that more.

But as the stink in the media indicated a while back, that's no longer the rule now with a pure garage deadhead, although it would be the case for 9 Ashland-74th.

Some operators still follow that rule. I've had 103rd operators let me ride with them to Woodlawn on the way to and from the garage if I were to miss the N5 or 95E. And I've known an operator on the 4 that offered people a ride to the Dan Ryan.

[jajuan]

Some operators still follow that rule. I've had 103rd operators let me ride with them to Woodlawn on the way to and from the garage if I were to miss the N5 or 95E. And I've known an operator on the 4 that offered people a ride to the Dan Ryan.

Some NP operators who are deadheading along Western after ending trips from one of the downtown routes at their north ends will do this especially during the evening when the 49B drops to every 20 minutes. They'll pick up riders waiting for or who miss the 49B and drop them off at the Berwyn terminal so they can grab the 49. Of course we also heard of how some 146 operators pulling in after ending northbound trips will transport some passengers along Foster up until just before the garage. There was a time some years ago during the years we still had Americanas and 4400s in big numbers that they even would put up a 92 Foster sign to Kedzie when they did this. Plus some 136 operators at one time after ending PM trips would transport passengers along Devon until Western. I'm not sure if operators on that route still do so even though the deadhead is still Devon to Western to Foster to the garage.

[Kimball401]

I'm trying to follow this sentence you posted, Kimball401.

If I understand correctly, you clean the buses at Kedzie Garage? And who was sitting up rushing you, the Bus Operators in the parked buses?

Also you mention sweeping out three buses from Kedzie earlier yesterday.

1770(NP)

1244(FG)

1236(FG)

1243(FG)

1879(NP)

1412(NP)

1862( C )

1076( C )

1927( C )

All the buses in the photos are from Forest Glen, North Park and Chicago Garage. None of these are from Kedzie Garage. Were there more somewhere else that weren't photographed?

1 the bus drivers did rush me lol

2 strange i find it was the three buses 1719,1102,and last one was 14? had no garage code stickers . I think they had to be on a reassingment type thing but i did sweep them out

[BusHunter]

Some NP operators who are deadheading along Western after ending trips from one of the downtown routes at their north ends will do this especially during the evening when the 49B drops to every 20 minutes. They'll pick up riders waiting for or who miss the 49B and drop them off at the Berwyn terminal so they can grab the 49. Of course we also heard of how some 146 operators pulling in after ending northbound trips will transport some passengers along Foster up until just before the garage. There was a time some years ago during the years we still had Americanas and 4400s in big numbers that they even would put up a 92 Foster sign to Kedzie when they did this. Plus some 136 operators at one time after ending PM trips would transport passengers along Devon until Western. I'm not sure if operators on that route still do so even though the deadhead is still Devon to Western to Foster to the garage.

One thing I could never understand was why did they have #290 CTA destination signs (they only went to McCormick) I remember seeing those on #4400's back in the day. Were they experimenting with ridership? Seems weird when you have the #96 Lunt a few blocks south of there. If Lunt had lower ridership, (They used to run Optimas on there) maybe perhaps the thinking was that they could get better ridership just running buses straight down Touhy versus Lunt?

[Busjack]

One thing I could never understand was why did they have #290 CTA destination signs (they only went to McCormick) I remember seeing those on #4400's back in the day. Were they experimenting with ridership? Seems weird when you have the #96 Lunt a few blocks south of there. If Lunt had lower ridership, (They used to run Optimas on there) maybe perhaps the thinking was that they could get better ridership just running buses straight down Touhy versus Lunt?

The Pace 290 schedule used to have a legend that additional late evening service was provided by CTA. I don't see that on the current schedule (dated Dec. 16, 2012).

Those were obviously garage trips. Not having been around at the time, I don't know if there were similar deals between CTA and Pace when 96 was taken off Touhy* as occurred in the Crowd Reduction Plan.

___________

*At least in the 70s, 96 had about the current route to Bell and Howell in Lincolnwood (at least during rush hour), but returned via Touhy and Rogers to Howard. It was bidirectional, so a bus leaving Howard would have a headsign 96 Lunt to Morse RT instead of something like 96 to Kedzie-Lunt. Nortran was running 290 and 291 (similar, but via Lutheran General) over the Touhy segment.

[jajuan]

One thing I could never understand was why did they have #290 CTA destination signs (they only went to McCormick) I remember seeing those on #4400's back in the day. Were they experimenting with ridership? Seems weird when you have the #96 Lunt a few blocks south of there. If Lunt had lower ridership, (They used to run Optimas on there) maybe perhaps the thinking was that they could get better ridership just running buses straight down Touhy versus Lunt?

To Busjack's point about the 290 schedule no longer having the footnote that additional westbound service to McCormick was provided by CTA 7PM-11PM, I believe the timeframe was, I think it has to do with the route a lot of the NP operators taking from their work on routes terminating at the Howard Red Line station these days being either Clark, Ashland and Foster or Howard, Western and Foster. That second route I mentioned is what facilitates some of those NP operators helping out the 49B by allowing some riders along Western to ride to the Western/Berwyn terminal.

The 146 schedule used to have a similar footnote next to trips that ended at Foster/Broadway instead of Berwyn Red Line that buses continued west to the garage as a way to let riders know those buses would transport riders along Foster up until reaching North Park Garage. Some of those buses even would use 92 Foster to Kedzie headsigns back in the early 1990s. That was always interesting to see a MAN Americana or 4400 series TMC among at what at the time was all FG 5300 series Flxibles on the 92.

[See Tea Eh]

Even though the Pace schedules may not have been updated to reflect it, the CTA supplemental service on the #290 went away some time in 2006 or 2007.

That it's only just now being noticed (apparently) shows how truly useful that service was.

[Busjack]

Even though the Pace schedules may not have been updated to reflect it, the CTA supplemental service on the #290 went away some time in 2006 or 2007.

That it's only just now being noticed (apparently) shows how truly useful that service was.

Thanks. I thought that the Dec. 2012 date had some significance (i.e. as part of the other turnovers to Pace), but apparently not. Maybe the schedule was reissued because some of the CTA service on cross streets (such as Harlem) was eliminated.

[cta_44499_FG]

Even though the Pace schedules may not have been updated to reflect it, the CTA supplemental service on the #290 went away some time in 2006 or 2007.

That it's only just now being noticed (apparently) shows how truly useful that service was.

useful indeed as some of the cta operators would needlessly wait on Pace to show up and then trail behind them to McCormick deliberately. The CTA operated trips were never published to the public anyway so no one that cared could even know.

[jajuan]

useful indeed as some of the cta operators would needlessly wait on Pace to show up and then trail behind them to McCormick deliberately. The CTA operated trips were never published to the public anyway so no one that cared could even know.

Yeah no specific details beyond 'additional westbound 290 service to McCormick provided by CTA from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. ( or 11:30?).

[artthouwill]

Enlighten me here. Isn't the addional 290 service provided by the CTA really the 96 Lunt?

[Busjack]

Enlighten me here. Isn't the addional 290 service provided by the CTA really the 96 Lunt?

No it was on the Pace 290 schedule. But as See indicated, it has been off it since 2006 or 2007, and it certainly isn't there now.

[jajuan]

Enlighten me here. Isn't the addional 290 service provided by the CTA really the 96 Lunt?

Not in this case as the 96 Lunt even before its weekend and weekday evening services got cut didn't operate past 9:30 if I remember correctly. These were actually CTA trips that followed the 290 route from Howard station to McCormick daily early evening through late evening and were signed as Route 290 buses. I still have memory of TMCs rolling down McCormick and Kimball toward North Park with 290 destination signs. I don't remember seeing artics having done this service though considering Rogers is as narrow as Lunt and makes up almost half the Chicago portion of the 290 route at the east end.