Random CTA

[Sam92]

3 hours ago, artthouwill said:

That could be done, but to me, it would require the 50 to operate out of  K for it to make sense.  Of course it would work out of NP, but would require even later NB service to get back close to the garage.  I don't know if there is enough  passenger traffic to justify service hours extension,  especially since the 50 is sandwiched between two 24 hrs routes, 3 if you include the 22 Clark 

I get why you’d run it out of K logistically but since he’s looking to capture the bar crowd, why not let those return trips to NP tap in to some NB bar demand as well? Up to Irving Park on Damen is pretty active into the late hours

[Anthony Devera]

I'm curious about ridership patterns (pre-COVID) on certain route segments, and sometimes I wonder why certain routes are the way they are:

44 on Wallace: Halsted isn't particularly far from Wallace, so I wonder if people could just walk to the 8 instead. Some time ago I proposed combining the Racine segment of the 44 with the 43 to reduce duplication.

7 and 126: Jackson is only about 1/4 mile from Madison, while Harrison is 1/2 mile from both Roosevelt and Madison. I wonder why the 126 runs on weekends instead of the 7, and why there isn't just an ultra-frequent 7.

37: This seems to be the only route between Lincoln Park and Downtown that doesn't have high ridership. Is there any particular reason people don't take the 37 instead of the 156?

151 north of Belmont: This route segment is very close to routes like the 36 and 146. How heavy is ridership on this segment, and do people who board on this segment usually ride all the way to Downtown, or do they get off before?

Any route on Clarendon: Clarendon is close to both Sheridan and Marine, so I wonder why these routes don't just use Marine instead. I was surprised when the 144 was discontinued in favor of a modified 148, which has to do a weird maneuver around Lawrence. I also wonder why the 135 doesn't just end at Irving Park; riders north of there could take the 136.

[NewFlyerMCI]

2 hours ago, Anthony Devera said:

I'm curious about ridership patterns (pre-COVID) on certain route segments, and sometimes I wonder why certain routes are the way they are:

44 on Wallace: Halsted isn't particularly far from Wallace, so I wonder if people could just walk to the 8 instead. Some time ago I proposed combining the Racine segment of the 44 with the 43 to reduce duplication.

7 and 126: Jackson is only about 1/4 mile from Madison, while Harrison is 1/2 mile from both Roosevelt and Madison. I wonder why the 126 runs on weekends instead of the 7, and why there isn't just an ultra-frequent 7.

37: This seems to be the only route between Lincoln Park and Downtown that doesn't have high ridership. Is there any particular reason people don't take the 37 instead of the 156?

151 north of Belmont: This route segment is very close to routes like the 36 and 146. How heavy is ridership on this segment, and do people who board on this segment usually ride all the way to Downtown, or do they get off before?

Any route on Clarendon: Clarendon is close to both Sheridan and Marine, so I wonder why these routes don't just use Marine instead. I was surprised when the 144 was discontinued in favor of a modified 148, which has to do a weird maneuver around Lawrence. I also wonder why the 135 doesn't just end at Irving Park; riders north of there could take the 136.

• To be clear on the 43/44, you want a route running from Racine/87th to 43rd/Oakenwald? I would definitely support that
• This answer will be oxymoronic, but I believe it's because of two reasons: people don't like to walk and the 7 & 126 serve slightly different purposes. The 7 doesn't do anything the 12 or 126 (or even the Blue Line for that matter) already do, except directly serve both IMD and UIC, which only the Blue Line does as well. Because of 290, Jackson is both close and far at the same time. What the 7 does is prevent people from having to walk. Seriously, if you go up to a person at Harrison/Homan, and they need to get to Harrison/Morgan and time isn't a factor, you ask them how they'd like to get their, I'm willing to bet they'll choose the 7 over the Blue Line. That's why I believe it only runs doing the weekday, IMD & UIC are primarily weekday institutions and there's a bevy of other services to compensate for when the 7 isn't running. I'm also actually willing to bet if the 126 wasn't a route, the 7 would have at least Saturday service as well. The 7 is supplemental service to IMD/UIC/Loop that prevents people (probably a good amount of elderly as well) from having to walk.
• 37 & 156 serve different markets. By the point the routes get close enough to walk between each other, everyone headed downtown is going the same place and everyone returning home is going to an area that one of those routes doesn't serve. For people in that lucky stretch between North & Chicago, they get two routes to choose from (which probably helps alleviate pressure on the 156)
• For the 151, it can't be as heavy as the segment before Belmont/Halsted, since about half the trips during the day end there. I suspect most of these riders are riding between destinations on the north side, since anyone north of Foster is taking the 147, which can get crowded heading SB even on weekends. Also reinforces my point that people don't like to walk.
• I've always assumed the routings here were to alleviate crowding and also give people on that section of Inner Dr (on the 135) access to LaSalle. I've always thought the 135 and 148 needed to switch routings, the 148 should exit at Belmont/Marine and end at Clarendon/Wilson and the 135 should exit at Irving Park and run to Marine/Foster until I realized that's why the 135 ran the way it did. The current routing & terminus of the 148 leads me to believe that it's interlined with the 146? I can't think of anything eles

[strictures]

1 hour ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

• For the 151, it can't be as heavy as the segment before Belmont/Halsted, since about half the trips during the day end there. I suspect most of these riders are riding between destinations on the north side, since anyone north of Foster is taking the 147, which can get crowded heading SB even on weekends. Also reinforces my point that people don't like to walk.
•  

I ride the 151 north of Belmont all the time & there are large numbers of riders.  Many go to Mariano's at Foster/Sheridan.  Others ride to Devon Market on Devon/Greenview.  There are also a lot of people boarding between Foster/Sheridan & Lake Shore Sheridan [3900 North] in both directions. 

I wish they would end all midday & weekend 151s to Belmont Halsted & run all to Clark/Devon, as 25-30 minute waits are not uncommon.  Especially annoying is the shift change at Foster for NB runs.  So far in the last year, I personally have had to wait for the next one or take a 147 & walk a good ways, due to the relief driver never showing up & instead of having the driver whose shift is ending, go all the way to Clark/Devon & then go to NP, CTA just cancels the new run & has the current driver take the now empty bus back to NP! 

[Anthony Devera]

7 hours ago, strictures said:

I ride the 151 north of Belmont all the time & there are large numbers of riders.  Many go to Mariano's at Foster/Sheridan.  Others ride to Devon Market on Devon/Greenview.  There are also a lot of people boarding between Foster/Sheridan & Lake Shore Sheridan [3900 North] in both directions. 

I wish they would end all midday & weekend 151s to Belmont Halsted & run all to Clark/Devon, as 25-30 minute waits are not uncommon.  Especially annoying is the shift change at Foster for NB runs.  So far in the last year, I personally have had to wait for the next one or take a 147 & walk a good ways, due to the relief driver never showing up & instead of having the driver whose shift is ending, go all the way to Clark/Devon & then go to NP, CTA just cancels the new run & has the current driver take the now empty bus back to NP! 

Extending all 151s to Clark/Devon is an interesting idea, though I wonder if that may cause crowding problems, as the heaviest segment is south of Belmont. I've come up with a few restructure ideas for the 151, and I'm interested to see what people think:

1. Discontinue the 151 north of Belmont, and increase service on the 36 and 146. Add a peak-only 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it runs express on Lake Shore Drive between Belmont and Oak (like the 146). All 146 trips to/from Wilson/Marine or Montrose/Marine will be extended to either Berwyn Red Line or Devon/Clark. Artics will be used on the 36.
2. Split the 151 into two routes at Belmont. The new 151 Stockton/Michigan will run like the current 151 Belmont/Halsted trips, and the new 153 Sheridan will run like the current 151 between Devon/Clark and Diversey, but south of Diversey it will take Cannon and terminate at the Nature Museum. The 153 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.
3. Add an all-day 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it will have an express segment on Lake Shore Drive. The express zone could start at either Belmont or Irving Park. All 151 trips will end at Belmont/Halsted. The 149 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.

[Anthony Devera]

9 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

• To be clear on the 43/44, you want a route running from Racine/87th to 43rd/Oakenwald? I would definitely support that

Yes, I was thinking of such a route, which I would call the 43 43rd/Racine. The only change is that it would run via 43rd instead of Root (less deviation).

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

8 minutes ago, Anthony Devera said:

Extending all 151s to Clark/Devon is an interesting idea, though I wonder if that may cause crowding problems, as the heaviest segment is south of Belmont. I've come up with a few restructure ideas for the 151, and I'm interested to see what people think:

1. Discontinue the 151 north of Belmont, and increase service on the 36 and 146. Add a peak-only 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it runs express on Lake Shore Drive between Belmont and Oak (like the 146). All 146 trips to/from Wilson/Marine or Montrose/Marine will be extended to either Berwyn Red Line or Devon/Clark. Artics will be used on the 36.
2. Split the 151 into two routes at Belmont. The new 151 Stockton/Michigan will run like the current 151 Belmont/Halsted trips, and the new 153 Sheridan will run like the current 151 between Devon/Clark and Diversey, but south of Diversey it will take Cannon and terminate at the Nature Museum. The 153 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.
3. Add an all-day 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it will have an express segment on Lake Shore Drive. The express zone could start at either Belmont or Irving Park. All 151 trips will end at Belmont/Halsted. The 149 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.

I like your ideas, but if I had to choose it’d be the first one. I love hearing the “151 Sheridan” on the D60LFR’s especially at downtown and all three of these ideas will make the “Route 151: Sheridan to Devon and Clark” disappear from downtown which I’ll miss if it goes away.

[Nova's at 103rd]

1 hour ago, Anthony Devera said:

Extending all 151s to Clark/Devon is an interesting idea, though I wonder if that may cause crowding problems, as the heaviest segment is south of Belmont. I've come up with a few restructure ideas for the 151, and I'm interested to see what people think:

1. Discontinue the 151 north of Belmont, and increase service on the 36 and 146. Add a peak-only 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it runs express on Lake Shore Drive between Belmont and Oak (like the 146). All 146 trips to/from Wilson/Marine or Montrose/Marine will be extended to either Berwyn Red Line or Devon/Clark. Artics will be used on the 36.
2. Split the 151 into two routes at Belmont. The new 151 Stockton/Michigan will run like the current 151 Belmont/Halsted trips, and the new 153 Sheridan will run like the current 151 between Devon/Clark and Diversey, but south of Diversey it will take Cannon and terminate at the Nature Museum. The 153 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.
3. Add an all-day 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it will have an express segment on Lake Shore Drive. The express zone could start at either Belmont or Irving Park. All 151 trips will end at Belmont/Halsted. The 149 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.

Service on the 36 seems to run between 7 mins to 20 mins, 7 mins being Saturday service and 20 being Sunday service so an increase would only be needed on Sunday to about 12 or 13 mins. Artics on the 36 would be a struggle to work with between Addison and Diversey but it works on Marine Drive and Clarendon so it's possible. The 146 operating to Devon & Clark would be fine but I think service would duplicate the service of the 149 you proposed but with a few different areas served between 3900 N Sheridan and Foster & Sheridan. The idea of the 151 Stockton/Michigan would result in the discontinuation of the 143. I like the idea of the 153 but would you now be giving Sheridan north of Belmont to much service with the 147 at Foster and the idea of the 149 and 153 and 146 at Belmont? I hope that made some sense but overall it's makes sense and I wouldn't mind a restructure of the 151.

[NewFlyerMCI]

14 minutes ago, Nova's at 103rd said:

Service on the 36 seems to run between 7 mins to 20 mins, 7 mins being Saturday service and 20 being Sunday service so an increase would only be needed on Sunday to about 12 or 13 mins. Artics on the 36 would be a struggle to work with between Addison and Diversey but it works on Marine Drive and Clarendon so it's possible. The 146 operating to Devon & Clark would be fine but I think service would duplicate the service of the 149 you proposed but with a few different areas served between 3900 N Sheridan and Foster & Sheridan. The idea of the 151 Stockton/Michigan would result in the discontinuation of the 143. I like the idea of the 153 but would you now be giving Sheridan north of Belmont to much service with the 147 at Foster and the idea of the 149 and 153 and 146 at Belmont? I hope that made some sense but overall it's makes sense and I wouldn't mind a restructure of the 151.

The way this reads, it seems like you believe all these option would be running in tandem and they wouldn't be.

1 hour ago, Anthony Devera said:

Extending all 151s to Clark/Devon is an interesting idea, though I wonder if that may cause crowding problems, as the heaviest segment is south of Belmont. I've come up with a few restructure ideas for the 151, and I'm interested to see what people think:

1. Discontinue the 151 north of Belmont, and increase service on the 36 and 146. Add a peak-only 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it runs express on Lake Shore Drive between Belmont and Oak (like the 146). All 146 trips to/from Wilson/Marine or Montrose/Marine will be extended to either Berwyn Red Line or Devon/Clark. Artics will be used on the 36.
2. Split the 151 into two routes at Belmont. The new 151 Stockton/Michigan will run like the current 151 Belmont/Halsted trips, and the new 153 Sheridan will run like the current 151 between Devon/Clark and Diversey, but south of Diversey it will take Cannon and terminate at the Nature Museum. The 153 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.
3. Add an all-day 149 Sheridan/Michigan Express, which runs like the 151, except it will have an express segment on Lake Shore Drive. The express zone could start at either Belmont or Irving Park. All 151 trips will end at Belmont/Halsted. The 149 will run every 15-20 minutes during midday and weekends.

#3 would be the best option. The original 151 runs Union Station to Belmont/Halsted full time and can probably interline with the 156. This proposed 149 could probably end at LaSalle St Station or Congress Plaza instead of following the original 151 routing in the Loop. It could use LSD until Irving Park, and then follow the original 151 routing via Irving Park, Sheridan, Devon, Clark/Arthur terminal. This way, people along Sheridan can still get to their destinations along Sheridan, this breaks up crowding on the 151, there's no additional service on Sheridan north of Foster than what was already there and people on Sheridan btwn Foster and Irving Park now get another, faster option downtown (while also providing off-peak relief for the 146 when the 135/148, and I guess 136? aren't running)

[YoungBusLover]

1 hour ago, Anthony Devera said:

Yes, I was thinking of such a route, which I would call the 43 43rd/Racine. The only change is that it would run via 43rd instead of Root (less deviation).

Call me crazy but I'd rather see the 44 extended to the Clinton Blue Line station and have the 43 interline with the 44 to the Halsted Orange Line station because doing 43 as currently constructed is just an irritating racetrack of a short route.

[NewFlyerMCI]

4 minutes ago, YoungBusLover said:

Call me crazy but I'd rather see the 44 extended to the Clinton Blue Line station and have the 43 interline with the 44 to the Halsted Orange Line station because doing 43 as currently constructed is just an irritating racetrack of a short route.

That was my original suggestion for the 44 as well (although now that Union Station Transit Center is here, that's obviously the better choice, especially since Clinton Blue Line is one of the worst places in the city to wait for a bus imo). The better solution for the 43 might actually be to operate the 39 as a loop btwn King Dr & the lake on Pershing & 43rd, or combine the 51 & 43, since that's a short route as well. Between Wallace & Wentworth, there should be enough existing service on the 24 & 44 to supplant the section of 43rd that would be losing service through either of those proposals

[TaylorTank1229]

53 minutes ago, YoungBusLover said:

Call me crazy but I'd rather see the 44 extended to the Clinton Blue Line station and have the 43 interline with the 44 to the Halsted Orange Line station because doing 43 as currently constructed is just an irritating racetrack of a short route.

I can agree that the 44 could be extended to have it north terminus point at the Blue Line, unfortunately I would not advise Clinton to be the best area to do so. Perhaps it could instead terminate at Racine Blue Line, while still serving its route to the Halsted Orange Line in both directions. Operating north of the Orange Line via Halsted, Cermak, Racine up the Blue Line at Congress then have the buses clockwise turn via Racine, Jackson, Aberdeen, Van Buren, & back on Racine to layover in front of the Blue Line station. There are points of interest along the way such as the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC), as well as the Target up on Jackson/Aberdeen.

[YoungBusLover]

36 minutes ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

I can agree that the 44 could be extended to have it north terminus point at the Blue Line, unfortunately I would not advise Clinton to be the best area to do so. Perhaps it could instead terminate at Racine Blue Line, while still serving its route to the Halsted Orange Line in both directions. Operating north of the Orange Line via Halsted, Cermak, Racine up the Blue Line at Congress then have the buses clockwise turn via Racine, Jackson, Aberdeen, Van Buren, & back on Racine to layover in front of the Blue Line station. There are points of interest along the way such as the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC), as well as the Target up on Jackson/Aberdeen.

Which area is more attractive though, the south loop commercial district or the UIC campus? There's layover space in that general area near and around Clinton. Now if you'd like I'd still have the 44 travel north on Canal to Harrison then laying over at the  Racine station but the general foot traffic in the southloop is far greater than UIC, to add on to that the 60 covers that area of Racine through the UIC campus.

[Sam92]

56 minutes ago, YoungBusLover said:

Which area is more attractive though, the south loop commercial district or the UIC campus? There's layover space in that general area near and around Clinton. Now if you'd like I'd still have the 44 travel north on Canal to Harrison then laying over at the  Racine station but the general foot traffic in the southloop is far greater than UIC, to add on to that the 60 covers that area of Racine through the UIC campus.

I’m more for combining 43/44. A 44 extension to the west loop area attracts rush hour only demand at best while combining with 43 would at least provide more connections to all day generators. Maybe even a deviation to marianos 

[NewFlyerMCI]

1 hour ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

I can agree that the 44 could be extended to have it north terminus point at the Blue Line, unfortunately I would not advise Clinton to be the best area to do so. Perhaps it could instead terminate at Racine Blue Line, while still serving its route to the Halsted Orange Line in both directions. Operating north of the Orange Line via Halsted, Cermak, Racine up the Blue Line at Congress then have the buses clockwise turn via Racine, Jackson, Aberdeen, Van Buren, & back on Racine to layover in front of the Blue Line station. There are points of interest along the way such as the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC), as well as the Target up on Jackson/Aberdeen.

 

1 hour ago, YoungBusLover said:

Which area is more attractive though, the south loop commercial district or the UIC campus? There's layover space in that general area near and around Clinton. Now if you'd like I'd still have the 44 travel north on Canal to Harrison then laying over at the  Racine station but the general foot traffic in the southloop is far greater than UIC, to add on to that the 60 covers that area of Racine through the UIC campus.

 

21 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

I’m more for combining 43/44. A 44 extension to the west loop area attracts rush hour only demand at best while combining with 43 would at least provide more connections to all day generators. Maybe even a deviation to marianos 

I agree that the 44 going to Racine Blue is duplicative of the 60. Anyone coming from area the 44 serves that needs to go to UIC can take the 8. The 44 going to Union Station provides easier, direct access to an entire commercial corridor and two shopping centers than you would get just taking the 8, and also provides better transit connections (the 44 going up Racine or Canal effectively still has the same bus and blue line transfers, so going to Union Station effectively breaks that tie).

I also support a 43/44 connection, although since both routes serve a slightly different purpose, I'd argue combining the 51 & 43 and sending the 44 to Union Station provides the best benefit to everyone involved. To @Sam92's point about serving Mariano's, the 39 solution I proposed earlier (operating in a counter-clockwise loop on King, 43rd, Lake Park, Pershing) could effectively accomplish that. If the people losing bus service on 43rd btwn State & King Dr truly need service, the 1 could be extended SB to compensate

Side question: What does the EB headsign display for the 39 & 43? Lakefront? Lake Park?

[Sam92]

1 hour ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

 

 

I agree that the 44 going to Racine Blue is duplicative of the 60. Anyone coming from area the 44 serves that needs to go to UIC can take the 8. The 44 going to Union Station provides easier, direct access to an entire commercial corridor and two shopping centers than you would get just taking the 8, and also provides better transit connections (the 44 going up Racine or Canal effectively still has the same bus and blue line transfers, so going to Union Station effectively breaks that tie).

I also support a 43/44 connection, although since both routes serve a slightly different purpose, I'd argue combining the 51 & 43 and sending the 44 to Union Station provides the best benefit to everyone involved. To @Sam92's point about serving Mariano's, the 39 solution I proposed earlier (operating in a counter-clockwise loop on King, 43rd, Lake Park, Pershing) could effectively accomplish that. If the people losing bus service on 43rd btwn State & King Dr truly need service, the 1 could be extended SB to compensate

Side question: What does the EB headsign display for the 39 & 43? Lakefront? Lake Park?

Here’s a wild one. If you wanna bring the 44 further north over combining with 43 combine it with the old 23 Morgan Racine. North of root the bus would continue on halsted via halsted, 31st, lookin, Cermak, Racine, Washington, to halsted and grand 

[YoungBusLover]

1 hour ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

 

 

I agree that the 44 going to Racine Blue is duplicative of the 60. Anyone coming from area the 44 serves that needs to go to UIC can take the 8. The 44 going to Union Station provides easier, direct access to an entire commercial corridor and two shopping centers than you would get just taking the 8, and also provides better transit connections (the 44 going up Racine or Canal effectively still has the same bus and blue line transfers, so going to Union Station effectively breaks that tie).

I also support a 43/44 connection, although since both routes serve a slightly different purpose, I'd argue combining the 51 & 43 and sending the 44 to Union Station provides the best benefit to everyone involved. To @Sam92's point about serving Mariano's, the 39 solution I proposed earlier (operating in a counter-clockwise loop on King, 43rd, Lake Park, Pershing) could effectively accomplish that. If the people losing bus service on 43rd btwn State & King Dr truly need service, the 1 could be extended SB to compensate

Side question: What does the EB headsign display for the 39 & 43? Lakefront? Lake Park?

Your idea about the counter clockwise  loop in regards to Pershing and 43rd looks good on paper but the intervals would be concerning for me. Correct me if I'm wrong but east of the orange line on Pershing what is the ridership looking like to create a loop without messing up intervals? Both the 39 and 43 have the same destination sign for Lake Park so adding in another line for the 39 would help ading people on where the bus is going. Now as far as combining the 51/43 I have concerns about the seniors that live west of Wentworth unless the 39 takes over that western edge of 43rd via Halsted to accommodate them then I'm all for it. I'd also have the 51/43 turn NB at 51 & Halsted and head EB on 47th to make it easier for transfers to the Red line and 15 then continuing EB on 47th to State then head NB back to 43rd to complete the eastern section of the route the route would reverse in the same way as well. Now to your idea about 44 to the Racine Blue Line station or even Union Station would be a big plus for everyone looking to get to the general downtown area. The options currently in service on the southern portion of the route make it less attractive then say Halsted or Ashland but if it were to head to Union Station then you have a new market of people ready for perhaps the 2nd quickest trip to downtown other than the 8. I could imagine a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo via the 44 and 151 taking about an hour and thirty minutes at best if passengers are willing to wait that long just to give an example.

[Shannoncvpi]

19 hours ago, Anthony Devera said:

I'm curious about ridership patterns (pre-COVID) on certain route segments, and sometimes I wonder why certain routes are the way they are:

44 on Wallace: Halsted isn't particularly far from Wallace, so I wonder if people could just walk to the 8 instead. Some time ago I proposed combining the Racine segment of the 44 with the 43 to reduce duplication.

7 and 126: Jackson is only about 1/4 mile from Madison, while Harrison is 1/2 mile from both Roosevelt and Madison. I wonder why the 126 runs on weekends instead of the 7, and why there isn't just an ultra-frequent 7.

37: This seems to be the only route between Lincoln Park and Downtown that doesn't have high ridership. Is there any particular reason people don't take the 37 instead of the 156?

151 north of Belmont: This route segment is very close to routes like the 36 and 146. How heavy is ridership on this segment, and do people who board on this segment usually ride all the way to Downtown, or do they get off before?

Any route on Clarendon: Clarendon is close to both Sheridan and Marine, so I wonder why these routes don't just use Marine instead. I was surprised when the 144 was discontinued in favor of a modified 148, which has to do a weird maneuver around Lawrence. I also wonder why the 135 doesn't just end at Irving Park; riders north of there could take the 136.

The 7 is 1 of the slowest routes big gaps in between buses but the 7 is mostly for seinors going to the county or rush thats its big part of it but if you see 2 7 buses back to back who knows when the next 1 will be coming 

[Nova's at 103rd]

49 minutes ago, YoungBusLover said:

Now as far as combining the 51/43 I have concerns about the seniors that live west of Wentworth unless the 39 takes over that western edge of 43rd via Halsted to accommodate them then I'm all for it. I'd also have the 51/43 turn NB at 51 & Halsted and head EB on 47th to make it easier for transfers to the Red line and 15 then continuing EB on 47th to State then head NB back to 43rd to complete the eastern section of the route the route would reverse in the same way as well. Now to your idea about 44 to the Racine Blue Line station or even Union Station would be a big plus for everyone looking to get to the general downtown area.

 

I had the same thought as well since seniors transfer from the 15, 47, and Red Line at 47th. The routing I would pick would be State, Root, Princeton, 43rd, then Wentworth for SB trips and LaSalle on NB trips or 43rd to State then down to 47th to Halsted continuing to 51st.  I don't think it would be necessary for a direct station stop but again I did say seniors used that as a transfer point. The 39 already has a lot of connections to make so the next best option would be to reroute the 24 to Princeton between Root and 43rd.

If there was a 44 extension I would just extend all the way to Clinton Green Line. That gives connections to Ogilvie Transportation Center and the Green Line as well as Union Station and the Blue Line with the various shopping centers around Roosevelt. I also feels Wallace would play a bigger role in an extension as that portion would utilize the extension more instead of picking between the 8 and 24 which now would have a route filling a gap for service downtown.

[NewFlyerMCI]

1 hour ago, YoungBusLover said:

Your idea about the counter clockwise  loop in regards to Pershing and 43rd looks good on paper but the intervals would be concerning for me. Correct me if I'm wrong but east of the orange line on Pershing what is the ridership looking like to create a loop without messing up intervals? Both the 39 and 43 have the same destination sign for Lake Park so adding in another line for the 39 would help ading people on where the bus is going. Now as far as combining the 51/43 I have concerns about the seniors that live west of Wentworth unless the 39 takes over that western edge of 43rd via Halsted to accommodate them then I'm all for it. I'd also have the 51/43 turn NB at 51 & Halsted and head EB on 47th to make it easier for transfers to the Red line and 15 then continuing EB on 47th to State then head NB back to 43rd to complete the eastern section of the route the route would reverse in the same way as well. Now to your idea about 44 to the Racine Blue Line station or even Union Station would be a big plus for everyone looking to get to the general downtown area. The options currently in service on the southern portion of the route make it less attractive then say Halsted or Ashland but if it were to head to Union Station then you have a new market of people ready for perhaps the 2nd quickest trip to downtown other than the 8. I could imagine a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo via the 44 and 151 taking about an hour and thirty minutes at best if passengers are willing to wait that long just to give an example.

• I'm sure the intervals would have to be adjusted, but the 39 & 43 run near the same frequency so I can't imagine it would be any big logistical change
• For the seniors west of Wentworth on the 51/43, the 39 could detour via Halsted or Wallace, Root, Wentworth/Wells, Pershing, returning to normal routing
• For the 51, I read that as 51st, Halsted, 47th, State, 43rd, which sounds good to me. I don't understand the routing change (both where exactly it's going and why) for the 15 though.
• The 44 going to Union Station effectively provides a one-seat ride downtown, w/o having to transfer to an EW route, and CTA definitely likes its one-seat rides

[TGP01]

I saw bus #1909 earlier on the 22 clark, the bus had some serious PSI issues. I don't know if the operator can be blamed for this or if it is the bus. If it is the bus, seeing how low to the ground that thing was I wouldn't be surprised to find it in the boneyard.

[Shannoncvpi]

2010 on the 20 riding with its hood up

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

13 hours ago, Shannoncvpi said:

2010 on the 20 riding with its hood up

Wow someone was so distracted they forgot to close it. Imagine if someone actually closed it looool??

[artthouwill]

14 hours ago, TGP01 said:

I saw bus #1909 earlier on the 22 clark, the bus had some serious PSI issues. I don't know if the operator can be blamed for this or if it is the bus. If it is the bus, seeing how low to the ground that thing was I wouldn't be surprised to find it in the boneyard.

Most likely an aur leak somewhere,  maybe the airbags or a leak in the air lines. Bus should be taken out of service  

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

26 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Most likely an aur leak somewhere,  maybe the airbags or a leak in the air lines. Bus should be taken out of service  

Hopefully it was fixed overnight, since it was on the 50 block 501 today.