December 2018 Bus Changes

[Tcmetro]

I've looked through the new schedules. The changes are:

 

School trip changes on 3, 56, 84, 86 

9: All southbound trips on Saturdays extend to 95th

24: First three trips in both directions have been eliminated

53A: PM peak service reduced to ~ every 10-15 mins, but all trips operate between 31st and 115th

60: One AM run added between Harbor Point and Roosevelt Rd

62: Sunday AM service improved to every 17-19 mins from every 20 mins

67: Buses that start/end at 69th/Western run 69th, Damen, Marquette, Western, back EB on 69th

70: Peak hour service cut from every 5-10 mins to about every 15 mins; all weekday trips operate between Walton and Austin (except for traveling between garage and Austin)

86: One southbound trip added at 9:01 pm

94: Service span lengthened by about 10 mins on Weekday mornings and evenings and Sunday mornings

132: Eliminated

136: One PM peak trip removed

151: Service slightly reduced Sunday late afternoon

156: Peak service slightly changed

171: Starts 15 min earlier on weekdays

172: Starts 15 min earlier on weekdays

 

 

 

[artthouwill]

6 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

I've looked through the new schedules. The changes are:

 

School trip changes on 3, 56, 84, 86 

9: All southbound trips on Saturdays extend to 95th

24: First three trips in both directions have been eliminated

53A: PM peak service reduced to ~ every 10-15 mins, but all trips operate between 31st and 115th

60: One AM run added between Harbor Point and Roosevelt Rd

62: Sunday AM service improved to every 17-19 mins from every 20 mins

67: Buses that start/end at 69th/Western run 69th, Damen, Marquette, Western, back EB on 69th

70: Peak hour service cut from every 5-10 mins to about every 15 mins; all weekday trips operate between Walton and Austin (except for traveling between garage and Austin)

86: One southbound trip added at 9:01 pm

94: Service span lengthened by about 10 mins on Weekday mornings and evenings and Sunday mornings

132: Eliminated

136: One PM peak trip removed

151: Service slightly reduced Sunday late afternoon

156: Peak service slightly changed

171: Starts 15 min earlier on weekdays

172: Starts 15 min earlier on weekdays

 

 

 

What short trips did the 9 operate on the weekends?  I thought all trips went to 95th.

[Tcmetro]

2 hours ago, artthouwill said:

What short trips did the 9 operate on the weekends?  I thought all trips went to 95th.

Trips returning to the garage at 74th. 

[jajuan]

3 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

Trips returning to the garage at 74th. 

So basically they cleaned up the Saturday schedule a little bit so that the garage deadheads are not reflected on the schedule. Interesting that they reversed the direction of the loop for the short trips ending at Western on the #67 to be counterclockwise instead of the current clockwise direction still in effect today. I also took notice that there will still be a route 31 going into winter pick. So I guess CTA scrounge together the money to keep it running beyond the minimum 6 months they had announced after funding to subsidize it was abruptly going to be snatched back in September. 

[Busjack]

Another change (probably of little significance) is that the boarding areas at Midway are changing.

[NewFlyerMCI]

20 hours ago, Busjack said:

Another change (probably of little significance) is that the boarding areas at Midway are changing.

I may not have all the info here, but doesn't pace run frequently enough that Bus Bay D (and possibly G) can see 3+ buses waiting in a lane during rush hour at least?

[chgofan78]

20 hours ago, Busjack said:

Another change (probably of little significance) is that the boarding areas at Midway are changing.

I wonder if it's an error on the map, but I'm curious as to why the #63 63rd needs two bus bays (B and C).

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

I may not have all the info here, but doesn't pace run frequently enough that Bus Bay D (and possibly G) can see 3+ buses waiting in a lane during rush hour at least?

Most are, at best, once every half hour. According to the Pace alert, the  only change is that the Pace stops move one  or two bays, respectively. 

1 hour ago, chgofan78 said:

I wonder if it's an error on the map, but I'm curious as to why the #63 63rd needs two bus bays (B and C).

The table only says C, but nothing else is assigned  to B.  But to  get back to  @NewFlyerMCI's point, 63 is heavy enough to need 2  bays.

 

Getting back to my original point, I wonder  if this has anything to do with the contract to  install chargers, as both 54B stops are at the curb.

[busfan2847]

I was out at Grand/Halsted/Milwaukee this morning. Looks like the 132 has been replaced with a white minibus labelled Mars. It was heading north on Halsted about the same time a 132 journey would have been.

[BusHunter]

2 hours ago, busfan2847 said:

I was out at Grand/Halsted/Milwaukee this morning. Looks like the 132 has been replaced with a white minibus labelled Mars. It was heading north on Halsted about the same time a 132 journey would have been.

It's gone private? I know the mcdonalds gilligs are out there in the west loop for the corporate mcdonalds but I dont see that many riders 

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, BusHunter said:

It's gone private? I know the mcdonalds gilligs are out there in the west loop for the corporate mcdonalds but I dont see that many riders 

The alert said that Mars/Wrigley was no longer subsidizing the service, so that's the obvious conclusion.

[jajuan]

On 12/19/2018 at 1:41 PM, busfan2847 said:

I was out at Grand/Halsted/Milwaukee this morning. Looks like the 132 has been replaced with a white minibus labelled Mars. It was heading north on Halsted about the same time a 132 journey would have been.

 

On 12/19/2018 at 5:48 PM, Busjack said:

The alert said that Mars/Wrigley was no longer subsidizing the service, so that's the obvious conclusion.

It makes sense that they did privatize the service because by the time we got to the final weeks of the 132, it was a struggle to fill even half the seats on CTA's 40 foot buses that were on route. And given CTA up what they were charging organizations for subsidized transit service, it's not too difficult to see how Mars came to the conclusion it was no longer worth it to them to pay CTA to provide service. 

[renardo870]

Happy Holidays to all. Since the 95th Street North bus terminal is scheduled to open Jan 4, 2019, does anyone have a map of where and how the buses will operate through the terminal? Which buses will serve the North terminal, and which buses will serve the South terminal?

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, renardo870 said:

Happy Holidays to all. Since the 95th Street North bus terminal is scheduled to open Jan 4, 2019, does anyone have a map of where and how the buses will operate through the terminal? Which buses will serve the North terminal, and which buses will serve the South terminal?

You'll know when CTA posts an upcoming alert, although the alerts now all have to do with temporary moves.

[chgofan78]

I went past there yesterday and saw 112, 108 and 352 on the west side of the north terminal.  I also noticed 381, 34 and 119 on the east side  of the north terminal.  I didn't see what was boarding on the north bridge area.

[Busjack]

On 12/16/2018 at 4:52 PM, chgofan78 said:

I wonder if it's an error on the map, but I'm curious as to why the #63 63rd needs two bus bays (B and C).

On my personal inspection, both B and C are marked 63, and the bus I saw was in B.

[chgofan78]

14 hours ago, Busjack said:

On my personal inspection, both B and C are marked 63, and the bus I saw was in B.

Now it's starting to make sense to me.  If the #63 is becoming electric, then they can have 2 bus charging stations.  Usually, when I'm at Midway, there tends to be at least 2 to 3 buses there for their layover at a time.  Now I'm wondering how many charging stations are going to be installed there in total.

[Sam92]

24 minutes ago, chgofan78 said:

Now it's starting to make sense to me.  If the #63 is becoming electric, then they can have 2 bus charging stations.  Usually, when I'm at Midway, there tends to be at least 2 to 3 buses there for their layover at a time.  Now I'm wondering how many charging stations are going to be installed there in total.

I thought 54B was getting the electric

[Busjack]

6 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

I thought 54B was getting the electric

Have to go back to which headquarters gossip posted by Andre one believes. My point in the 700 thread is that there is not any construction evidence either way.

[Sam92]

15 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Have to go back to which headquarters gossip posted by Andre one believes. My point in the 700 thread is that there is not any construction evidence either way.

It's 2019 and people still doubt Andre? Lmao I honestly forgot at this point who said it but I honestly heard it so much I thought some proof was out already 

[Busjack]

5 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

It's 2019 and people still doubt Andre? Lmao I honestly forgot at this point who said it but I honestly heard it so much I thought some proof was out already 

You obviously didn't read Andre's posts. He first said that 567 said 63, then 54B or 63, then 63, something about the canopy supports.

And it is gossip, as Vero Beach is about 1250 miles from 567 W.Lake St., according to Google Maps.

And, in other matters (such as equipment leases) I have proved Andre wrong,

[BusHunter]

3 hours ago, chgofan78 said:

Now it's starting to make sense to me.  If the #63 is becoming electric, then they can have 2 bus charging stations.  Usually, when I'm at Midway, there tends to be at least 2 to 3 buses there for their layover at a time.  Now I'm wondering how many charging stations are going to be installed there in total.

Seems like it will just be the one bay b or c but I would have left one of those bays way out of the way or at least on an apron. Because it's a high traffic area and these buses sitting here could pose a risk if there was a fire or something. We also dont want the charging station to get struck by another bus or vehicle. If the buses can do 100 miles on a charge they wont need it too often anyway. It basically comes down to do they want to run them 24/7. 

[andrethebusman]

66 is also supposed to be electric. However, it is true that at this point it is all basically political discussions with no real concrete plans. In other words the final result might be quite different. All I can do is repeat what I hear from what I consider reliable sources, who in this case precede everything with "at this point this is what is being planned".

[BusHunter]

8 hours ago, andrethebusman said:

66 is also supposed to be electric. However, it is true that at this point it is all basically political discussions with no real concrete plans. In other words the final result might be quite different. All I can do is repeat what I hear from what I consider reliable sources, who in this case precede everything with "at this point this is what is being planned".

That was the plan. Surprised to hear it changed. Once you put a station though you will be locked into that route. Best case is put it at terminals that have many routes. Dont know what they are going to save as far as money. They will probably have to have an extra operator to help rotate the charging buses. So what do you save? Operators dont work for peanuts!!! It will be interesting though. If for instance you put a charging station at navy pier and you have 20 buses and a 29, 124 and 66 all pull up needing charges. Can you fulfill the demand. If your charger fails what do you tell everyone a shuttle bus will be coming in 5 min.??? Electric may be nice thought about it myself but it's not practical until there are a majority of those vehicles on the road. 

[andrethebusman]

Electric buses all have the ssme problem - they need a source of electricity. Trolley buses of old were route restricted,  actuslly to within about 20 feet of the wires.  These are a bit better, but still can't be too far from a charger. So if 55 needs a fill-in, pulling an electric off 63 might not be too good an idea. Also, I have heard the plan is to have "mixed service" with both electrics and diesels on the route. Kind of hedging your bets?