Return of the 11 & 31 Bus

[Sam92]

1 hour ago, jajuan said:

It also occurs to me that they will have to make room in the bus terminal again at the Ashland Orange Line station  for the 31 again when they gave its bus bay to NB Ashland buses after the NB buses began entering the terminal just like the SB buses had been since day one of the Orange Line. It's not impossible to do, but it will still be interesting to see how CTA works it out given the overall layout of the bus terminal. 

Is there room for the bus to layover on the side In the little turnaround path and just pull up to the SB 9 bus stop when departure time comes? 

[jajuan]

2 hours ago, Sam92 said:

Is there room for the bus to layover on the side In the little turnaround path and just pull up to the SB 9 bus stop when departure time comes? 

I was wondering about that too. I looked at pics of it from Google Maps and it looks like it would block all the Ashland buses if it did its layover in the turnaround path because that part is kind of narrow and looks only wide enough for buses to roll through one behind the other. It looks like the way it could do it is to come all the way through the turnaround path and pull up to the left of where the SB 9/X9 bus stop is since that particular bay area looks long and wide enough for two buses to pull up side by side.

[TaylorTank1229]

Westbound at 31st/King Dr.

[garmon757]

9 hours ago, jajuan said:

It also occurs to me that they will have to make room in the bus terminal again at the Ashland Orange Line station  for the 31 again when they gave its bus bay to NB Ashland buses after the NB buses began entering the terminal just like the SB buses had been since day one of the Orange Line. It's not impossible to do, but it will still be interesting to see how CTA works it out given the overall layout of the bus terminal. 

Hell, how about place #31 bus stop about 50 feet behind NB #9/X9 stop. That can give operators enough space to depart from the left side of the terminal.

[jajuan]

3 minutes ago, garmon757 said:

Hell, how about place #31 bus stop about 50 feet behind NB #9/X9 stop. That can give operators enough space to depart from the left side of the terminal.

Maybe, but it doesn't address the issue of where #31 buses can have layovers in the terminal because of most of the turnaround path leading up to the bus stop area only being wide enough for one bus at a time driving through to that point.

[garmon757]

5 minutes ago, jajuan said:

Maybe, but it doesn't address the issue of where #31 buses can have layovers in the terminal because of most of the turnaround path leading up to the bus stop area only being wide enough for one bus at a time driving through to that point.

Looks spacious to me. 

[artthouwill]

I could be wrong,  but I think the space Garmon is referring to is the pickup and drop for paratransit vehicles.   To me,  the wiser thing would be to put the NB 9 drop off back on Ashland,  move the SB 9 stop to the inner bay and the 31 operate from the outside bay.  Otherwise put all Ashland buses in the inner bay.  

Because of the infrequent 31 service,  I suppose a case could be made for the SB 9/X9 to share the outside bay.  There's enough room for a n Ashland bus to pull up  beside a sitting 31.  

Then again,  the 31 and the paratransits can share that spot under the expressway and there is room for passing buses thrre.

[jajuan]

14 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

I could be wrong,  but I think the space Garmon is referring to is the pickup and drop for paratransit vehicles.   To me,  the wiser thing would be to put the NB 9 drop off back on Ashland,  move the SB 9 stop to the inner bay and the 31 operate from the outside bay.  Otherwise put all Ashland buses in the inner bay.  

Because of the infrequent 31 service,  I suppose a case could be made for the SB 9/X9 to share the outside bay.  There's enough room for a n Ashland bus to pull up  beside a sitting 31.  

Then again,  the 31 and the paratransits can share that spot under the expressway and there is room for passing buses thrre.

My main problem with the paratransit area is that buses may be too long in length to sit there for an extended period for a layover without blocking other buses that are simply passing through. My thought was let SB 9/X9 continue to use the outer bay with the 31st street buses pulling along side it for its layover. That way as you noted, it's less chance of it blocking any Ashland buses coming through the terminal. It also negates the need to pull NB 9/X9 from the terminal. 

[TaylorTank1229]

Well, this looks like where the #31 will layover at Ashland Orange Line.

[Busjack]

1 minute ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

Well, this looks like where the #31 will layover at Ashland Orange Line.

I think, as predicted, but it took a lot of zoom to see the bus stop sign, which you did capture.

[jajuan]

17 hours ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

Well, this looks like where the #31 will layover at Ashland Orange Line.

In that case, they'll possibly need to change things so that cars can no longer to park along that path as shown in the photo so as not to block 9/X9 from passing along 31st street buses as they make their way to their own bus stops.

[garmon757]

4 hours ago, jajuan said:

In that case, they'll possibly need to change things so that cars can no longer to park along that path as shown in the photo so as not to block 9/X9 from passing along 31st street buses as they make their way to their own bus stops.

(In a playful manner) I told you so!!! 

[jajuan]

2 hours ago, garmon757 said:

(In a playful manner) I told you so!!! 

Yeah yeah. You showed a pic without the cars there though and without the cars to give perspective, the path looked too narrow for two buses side by side to fit through there.

[andrethebusman]

On ‎8‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 6:19 PM, jajuan said:

Yeah yeah. You showed a pic without the cars there though and without the cars to give perspective, the path looked too narrow for two buses side by side to fit through there.

Cars will have to find another spot, that's all.

[artthouwill]

I don't know how this will work out.  Most people along 31st between the Orange Line and the Dan Ryan have access to the Orange Line or Archer already.   Unless one is going to IIT orDeLaSalle there is no place that they are going east of the Ryan.  Perhaps Dunbar students have a ride from King Drive to the Green Line and the Red line,  but I don't think that there's much of a traffic generator to justify the 31st street route becoming permanent. 

[Busjack]

37 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

I don't know how this will work out.  Most people along 31st between the Orange Line and the Dan Ryan have access to the Orange Line or Archer already.   Unless one is going to IIT orDeLaSalle there is no place that they are going east of the Ryan.  Perhaps Dunbar students have a ride from King Drive to the Green Line and the Red line,  but I don't think that there's much of a traffic generator to justify the 31st street route becoming permanent. 

The issue comes down to that Bridgeport and Chinatown (I guess south extension of the latter) requested it. That part of the route has to support it. Maybe the route could have ended a the Green Line, but no reason to tee off the 4th Ward over a couple of blocks. Note that there aren't any stops on the Lake Meadows loop portion on the map (other than 33rd and Rhodes).

[geneking7320]

I don't know when it began but when Mr. CTA calls 31st street the forthcoming #31 service is mentioned. I noticed this while on the #3 today (approaching 31st from north and south on King Dr). 

[jajuan]

On 8/22/2016 at 11:07 AM, artthouwill said:

I don't know how this will work out.  Most people along 31st between the Orange Line and the Dan Ryan have access to the Orange Line or Archer already.   Unless one is going to IIT orDeLaSalle there is no place that they are going east of the Ryan.  Perhaps Dunbar students have a ride from King Drive to the Green Line and the Red line,  but I don't think that there's much of a traffic generator to justify the 31st street route becoming permanent. 

Well I guess CTA saw in the number of requests being made through the relevant aldermen* that there are possibly enough people outside of downtown who didn't want to ride all the way to 35th to get Orange Line access from the 1, 3, 4, 24, and 29 buses to still give the route a try Art. Busjack already mentioned that Bridgeport and Chinatown in large part asked for it. And even further, a large number were senior citizens. Remember the service hours and days are weekdays only 10a-7p. So they didn't really the route this time too far beyond the seniors in that area. And they fit the hours to what they felt they could do with the limited amount of money they had available based on the seniors' mention of better access to doctor's appointments among their important destinations. All of us might not agree about the 31's viability, but at least current CTA management is showing a willingness to give some service restorations a try instead of taking on Claypool's inflexible and in some ways foolish stance that demographics in the city are virtually static to a point that conditions from upwards of two decades ago that justified a cut are still the same today. So let's let the experiment actually begin and transpire first to see what kinds of numbers are drawn, and if it turns out the demographics along 31st still haven't changed enough to sustain a bus route these almost 20 years after the initial cut, then at least it will be on record instead of the folks along that stretch having 20 year old transit numbers thrown at them. I mean sometimes people want CTA to just try things out to get a more up to date answer one way or the other rather than patronize them with decades old numbers that may not necessarily match area conditions today. 

*Our prior discussions of the Reader article discussing North Lawndale's efforts to get bus service enhanced revealed that CTA monitors the number of bus change requests coming through the various alderman neighborhood offices. 

[Busjack]

6 minutes ago, jajuan said:

and if it turns out the demographics along 31st still haven't changed enough to sustain a bus route these almost 20 years after the initial cut,

My reference to expansion of Chinatown south indicates that demographics have changed to that extent. The area between 21st and 27th ran out of land,so Chinatown moved into Bridgeport (as well as north of Archer). I'll also bet that Bridgeport has become more Hispanic from when Sis Daley lived there (and PDT is still in that house).

As you say, let's see if the experiment works.

[TaylorTank1229]

Looks like CTA got 31st in their systems. No info yet, but soon enough.

http://www.transitchicago.com/bus/31/

[pudgym29]

Being familiar with Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar (which got significant attention on Esquire Channel's "Best Bars In America" Chicago episode) and the Co-Prosperity Sphere @ 3219 S. Morgan St. (which is also where the studio for WLPN-FM 105.5 ~ yes, an actual broadcasting radio station shall be); I would say these are definitely traffic generators for that portion of 31st St.

[Busjack]

6 hours ago, pudgym29 said:

Being familiar with Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar (which got significant attention on Esquire Channel's "Best Bars In America" Chicago episode) and the Co-Prosperity Sphere @ 3219 S. Morgan St. (which is also where the studio for WLPN-FM 105.5 ~ yes, an actual broadcasting radio station shall be); I would say these are definitely traffic generators for that portion of 31st St.

As long as you get out before 7 p.m.

At least it's better than having to get out of the Burrito House by 4 p.m. to catch the last 410.

[TaylorTank1229]

Attention!!! Approximately 10 hours until the 31st Street bus resurrection! 

[Busjack]

12 hours ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

Attention!!! Approximately 10 hours until the 31st Street bus resurrection! 

In fact, the first 2 virtual ones are out there now.

7990's BusTracker predictions are working:

[Fails the Turing Test]

Wow, the schedule brochure for the 31 bus has an awful lot of errors in it.

• The map has arrows in the wrong direction on Wentworth and LaSalle.
• The map does not indicate the direction of north.
• Lock should be 1400 W.
• The schedule has the route starting/ending at "Ashland Orangle Line".