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Return of the X, Rapid, BRT-Lite, Limited Stop Routes (was X9, X49) Thread


david vartanoff

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There was an X9 Ashland Express that was discontinued in the "X" route purge. The X9 ran from Ashland/95th to Irving Park, which really was the Sheridan Red Line (Sheridan/Dakin) and was created to provide better north-south connections from UIC. CTA no longer lists the schedule, but that's why we have the Wayback Machine, a free internet archive. 

http://web.archive.org/web/20090317200305/http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/bus_schedules/x9.pdf

Screen_shot_2015-07-12_at_4.32.05_PM.thuScreen_shot_2015-07-12_at_4.32.20_PM.thuScreen_shot_2015-07-12_at_4.32.30_PM.thuScreen_shot_2015-07-12_at_4.32.52_PM.thuScreen_shot_2015-07-12_at_4.32.58_PM.thu

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Thanks.    So the X9 mostly stopped every 1/2 mile which is about what the mega bucks bogus rapid transit is supposed to do.   Of course, getting FTA money to restore service cuts doesn't guarantee better service but it does generate non operating jobs and ribbon cutting opportunities.

A lot of interim things could have been done, such as the CMAQ application now pending for traffic signal priority devices (see around here).However it was clear when the BRT grant was first granted that it was a way to get consultant money (for a "Western Corridor" project) for something that had just been canceled. To the extent that the consultants got something like $5 million, and Durbin got a press release, it was successful. To the extent anything gets constructed, the remarks by Rebekah Scheinfeld (CDOT head) and Dorval Carter backing down from the original plan show that it won't.

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  • 1 month later...

Yes, & now they're bringing them back.

I didn't quite make my point. My take on the about $5 million in consultant grants for the "Western Corridor" leading to the Ashland BRT proposal was that some consultants were trying to cash in after CTA had canceled a previous adequate service. Maybe this is a concession by Rahm (and derivatively Dorval) that they have to do something now, as the Ashland BRT plan isn't going anywhere.

One should also note my comments that the proposal for traffic signal preemption on Ashland was not a precursor for the Ashland BRT. Maybe it is a precursor for this.

An Express Google search indicates that the Sun-Times may be taking my take, while both it and DNAInfo quote Ron Burke that this should be a first step to BRT, but DNAInfo doesn't critically examine that.

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 ..

An Express Google search indicates that the Sun-Times may be taking my take, while both it and DNAInfo quote Ron Burke that this should be a first step to BRT, but DNAInfo doesn't critically examine that.

Sun-Times changed its article at 9:54. It says "transportation commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said the Ashland BRT project is proceeding but “is still in the planning stages,” while the return of express buses is a way to offer immediate benefits to commuters." It also mentions, this time around, that TSP is part of this project.

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IIRC, they stopped every 1/4 before. If that's correct, some stops are getting cut.

In an ideal situation, the 9 is moved or shared with NP and a few artics can be put on both routes, especially since 134, 136, 146 and 147 can all afford to spare about 1-3 artics.

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IIRC, they stopped every 1/4 before. If that's correct, some stops are getting cut.

In an ideal situation, the 9 is moved or shared with NP and a few artics can be put on both routes, especially since 134, 136, 146 and 147 can all afford to spare about 1-3 artics.

It is hard to tell, in that it was basically 1/2, but given that it had to stop at L stations, you still had stuff like X49 starting at Berwyn, Foster, Lawrence, and then Brown Line.

Normal stopping pattern is 1/8, but IIRC, these basically stopped only at main cross streets.

Anybody have an archive source for the schedule pamphlets,as irm-cta stops at about 1997?

On moving the routes, I assume that there is a reason that Emanuel again held the press conference at 74th, other than he likes the lunch room.

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Oh, so now they are reinstating X service? While I'm happy to hear this, I just can't stop thinking, "Well there just went the extra NF's for FG." So what will this require 40-50 buses? Seems kind of counter productive to select two routes so close when they should have went for one n-s and one e-w. They might have even been able to do 3 because those 2 routes are so long, I'd go with the 3 that started it all, #X49, #X55 and #X80.  

On the school release times, I was looking up Lane Tech and they say something rather confusing on their site. They have two exit times one is normal 3:20PM departure and one for the LTAC students will be 4:15PM. Who is is LTAC students, incoming freshman?

http://lanetechhs.blogspot.com/2015/07/lane-tech-start-time.html

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Oh, so now they are reinstating X service? While I'm happy to hear this, I just can't stop thinking, "Well there just went the extra NF's for FG." So what will this require 40-50 buses? Seems kind of counter productive to select two routes so close when they should have went for one n-s and one e-w....

Those are the two that obviously need them the most.

But as far as it needing additional buses, this might end up like 2009, when "the resources were taken out of the locals." In that case, they don't need that many buses. Your implication seems to be that they would have to find room for 40-50 buses at 74th. Also, different from last time, this is only rush hour.

Also, the Tribune indicates that this discussion may be mislocated, as "The new buses are expected to start operating later this year, although the CTA did not offer a specific date."

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Those are the two that obviously need them the most.

But as far as it needing additional buses, this might end up like 2009, when "the resources were taken out of the locals." In that case, they don't need that many buses. Your implication seems to be that they would have to find room for 40-50 buses at 74th. Also, different from last time, this is only rush hour.

Also, the Tribune indicates that this discussion may be mislocated, as "The new buses are expected to start operating later this year, although the CTA did not offer a specific date."

Yes but rush hour or not they will still need the buses. I don't know, from a planning perspective this is really out of left field. Where Fg was short before, I had said 425 buses will not replace 450, now they will be shorter. I see 100 buses remaining now that are #6400's. Why on earth did they not take the 450 Novas when they knew they would need more buses for this upcoming project? They almost need another bus order. 74th should have the space for 50 buses. Now that i'm thinking about it buses will need tsp transponders in them. Maybe the incentive to do two routes out of the same garage has to do with a possible installation on all 74th buses. Notice the press conference was there. If they did use NP, they would have to restrict certain buses for it or do the whole garage and they probably don't want to do two garages.

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Yes but rush hour or not they will still need the buses. I don't know, from a planning perspective this is really out of left field. Where Fg was short before, I had said 425 buses will not replace 450, now they will be shorter. I see 100 buses remaining now that are #6400's. Why on earth did they not take the 450 Novas when they knew they would need more buses for this upcoming project? They almost need another bus order. 74th should have the space for 50 buses. Now that i'm thinking about it buses will need tsp transponders in them. Maybe the incentive to do two routes out of the same garage has to do with a possible installation on all 74th buses. Notice the press conference was there. If they did use NP, they would have to restrict certain buses for it or do the whole garage and they probably don't want to do two garages.

I still don't buy your estimates of how many buses would be needed.

TSP was tried on Western before (while it was at Archer until immediately after it was shifted to 74th and NP, and NP got some Novas for a short time for that reason), and there is the grant application for Ashland. The question then becomes whether they have to put it on all 74th buses, or as in the Western experiment (and when Pace had SP on 322 Cermak buses) only on certain ones, or even (such as now on Pace), it is an integral part of the new Clever Device.

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I still don't buy your estimates of how many buses would be needed.

TSP was tried on Western before (while it was at Archer until immediately after it was shifted to 74th and NP, and NP got some Novas for a short time for that reason), and there is the grant application for Ashland. The question then becomes whether they have to put it on all 74th buses, or as in the Western experiment (and when Pace had SP on 322 Cermak buses) only on certain ones, or even (such as now on Pace), it is an integral part of the new Clever Device.

They didn't say they would cut the local service down did they? Actually if you figure estimates of 40-50 buses needed, it gives you 10 buses per direction and then one is probably at each terminal so that would be 8. An Ashland round trip is 4 hrs in the rush, I think, so if it were 10-12 minute intervals, which I believe was the schedule before, you would need 6 buses per hour per direction. If the service saves 15 minutes on a hour, based on #X80 times, then it should take it 90 minutes end to end.  So 10 minute service would need 20 buses. #49 would not be much different. As far as TSP, it probably would be better to select 40 buses for this pilot, probably 20 #8000's and 20 #1000's.

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They didn't say they would cut the local service down did they?...

They didn't say that they would not, nor much of anything else. You can take, for instance, the Dec. 2009 Ridership Report, which said that 9 had average weekly ridership of  18,600 and X9 9,800. The March 2015 report has 9 with 28,852. One can make assumptions about bus ridership falling in the past 7 or so years, but these numbers seem to demonstrate that reinstating X9 isn't going to affect the passenger load so much as to require all the additional buses you think, as the sum of the old 9 and X9 (28,400) pretty much equals the current 9.

Similar numbers for 2009 were 49 13,900, X49 14,000 and for 2015 24,300. That might indicate a little more room for growth, but I think one can assume (and I bet CTA projects) that in either case, someone who rode the local is either going to ride the local or express.

 

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Don't really understand this move.... you got the returns of the X9 to 95th(which makes sense because it's a long trip for the local 9 to travel from Irving Park to 95th, probably 1 hour plus) and the X49(this I understand the least as it terminated at 95th/Evergreen Plaza, which as I understand it is pretty much gone now). Why not bring back the X80 and run it from Lake Shore to Harlem(HIP Mall in Norridge, IL). Saves time by running arterials only like before. This or make a X78.... both run to the HIP and both have just cause for Express service(Irving has the lanes for it with most sections being two lanes)

Of course, for the 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000th time, there is that little fact of returning the #11 service between Fullerton and Western. ¬¬

Story

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Don't really understand this move.... you got the returns of the X9 to 95th(which makes sense because it's a long trip for the local 9 to travel from Irving Park to 95th, probably 1 hour plus) and the X49(this I understand the least as it terminated at 95th/Evergreen Plaza, which as I understand it is pretty much gone now). Why not bring back the X80 and run it from Lake Shore to Harlem(HIP Mall in Norridge, IL). Saves time by running arterials only like before. This or make a X78.... both run to the HIP and both have just cause for Express service(Irving has the lanes for it with most sections being two lanes)

Of course, for the 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000th time, there is that little fact of returning the #11 service between Fullerton and Western. ¬¬

Story

  • Only said that TSP would be  Western from 79th to Howard, which leaves unclear whether that affects the 49B. As you indicate, clearly CTA doesn't have any reason to go south of 79th.
  • Justification for X80 was that people needed a quicker way to get from Lakeview to O'Hare, via la Linea Azul (according to the signs I saw). From the belated press release, CTA got RTA money to be able to do what it is going to do.

The new thing there is that they will also be changing local stops. It also explains why Scheinfeld was there other than to answer questions about BRT. Redden's appearance indicates that these are the two routes, because that's what the RTA is funding.

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About Time They Started Bringing Back Few Of The Express Routes. Seems Like No Midday Service & That's Fine. But Is The Routing Going To Be Different This Time Too?

The CTA Press Release didn't say anything about the routing, but where TSP would be installed, As sw pointed out, apparently not south of 79th, so the now useless portion of X49 to nonexistent Evergreen Plaza isn't coming back. The Press Release left the ambiguity whether the Western Express would overlap 49B, as it said TSP to Howard.

I suppose one will have to await the meaningless community meetings to get the final word.

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I'll have to wait to reinstate X9 and X49 on Chicagobus.org until I get details on garage assignments.

You should wait until they actually are reinstated.

I was thinking that maybe it was worthy for a News Brief on the home page, except that feature isn't there any more.

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