Supervisors/Bus radios

[MRChiCity]

'Good evening,

I would like to know if CTA bus field supervisors work out of garages? I would assume they do, I would also like to know when they "ID" on the radio why exactly do they have a K in the call sign? Finally how do bus drivers communicate with control? Do they still have radios on the buses? I tried to program the 453 bus channels and got nothing but data bursts from what I think are the MDT's on board. Thank you in advanced

[Busjack]

'Good evening,

I would like to know if CTA bus field supervisors work out of garages? I would assume they do, I would also like to know when they "ID" on the radio why exactly do they have a K in the call sign? Finally how do bus drivers communicate with control? Do they still have radios on the buses? I tried to program the 453 bus channels and got nothing but data bursts from what I think are the MDT's on board. Thank you in advanced

Since about 1997(?) they have used the Orbital system, which essentially is a text data system for emergency calls. The controller is the little box on the left side of the windshield. Most communications are with the "highly secret" control center location at 120 N. Racine. About the only reference is here, and the controller is depicted.

In that stuff like BusTracker uses cell phone links, I doubt that anything is still analog.

When BusTracker came out, they said that the supervisors had access to it, and it was documented somewhere on this forum that there was a url (since suppressed) that showed the run and badge numbers.

BTW, Pace switched over to the state StarCom21 system last year (discussion).

[andrethebusman]

Supervisors are indeed based at garages. The far north side ones are out of Forest Glen, for instance. The K-numbers have been like that since the supervisor cars got radios back in the 1950's. As for "Bus Tracker", there is a separate system that is used in-house that not only shows bus numbers, run numbers, and badge numbers, but can be queried by bus number, run number, or badge number. It can also show how late a bus is relative to schedule. Each supervisor car has a computer terminal (actually a permanently-mounted laptop) that accesses the CTA's intranet.

There are still radios on buses, but that system is dead for all practical intents and purposes, and has not been used in at least five years. All communication is basically by MDT, and via cell phone (which almost all drivers have).

[MRChiCity]

Supervisors are indeed based at garages. The far north side ones are out of Forest Glen, for instance. The K-numbers have been like that since the supervisor cars got radios back in the 1950's. As for "Bus Tracker", there is a separate system that is used in-house that not only shows bus numbers, run numbers, and badge numbers, but can be queried by bus number, run number, or badge number. It can also show how late a bus is relative to schedule. Each supervisor car has a computer terminal (actually a permanently-mounted laptop) that accesses the CTA's intranet.

There are still radios on buses, but that system is dead for all practical intents and purposes, and has not been used in at least five years. All communication is basically by MDT, and via cell phone (which almost all drivers have).

Thanks, no wounder when I put the 453Mhz bus channels in my scanner all I got were data bursts. Plus I was on a bus with a defective front door the driver used his cell phone to report the defect. By the way why do drivers report cell phones to report defects instead using the radio/MDT?

[andrethebusman]

Thanks, no wounder when I put the 453Mhz bus channels in my scanner all I got were data bursts. Plus I was on a bus with a defective front door the driver used his cell phone to report the defect. By the way why do drivers report cell phones to report defects instead using the radio/MDT?

Because the radios don't work. MDT is fine for sending a message, but not if you need somebody to answer.

[MRChiCity]

How come PACE upgraded there bus radios to STARCOM 21 and make use of them, where as the CTA won't fix the bus radios and almost exclusively relays on cellphones and the MDT for communications between the operator and control?  

[Busjack]

6 hours ago, MRChiCity said:

How come PACE upgraded there bus radios to STARCOM 21 and make use of them, where as the CTA won't fix the bus radios and almost exclusively relays on cellphones and the MDT for communications between the operator and control?  

Because CTA paid for the Clever Devices cellphone system. Pace had to go to something else because it was essentially on taxi radio frequency and some garages (such as Heritage) had no communications at all, and ghost buses were rampant (especially in the rain).

[MRChiCity]

PACE had a 800 MHZ analog trunked system which supposedly had bad coverage hence why the changed to STARCOM, my question is how come CTA buses still have radios on them if they won't fix them? 

[Busjack]

16 hours ago, MRChiCity said:

PACE had a 800 MHZ analog trunked system which supposedly had bad coverage hence why the changed to STARCOM, my question is how come CTA buses still have radios on them if they won't fix them? 

The only communication system CTA has in the buses is the MDT. You acknowledged that. Even before that, the Orbital system was exclusively text based. Go back to Radio Shack and ask them about it.

[andrethebusman]

The radio system does work, sort of. In my last year at CTA, actually was called on it once (1st time in 7 years).