Destination Signs

[Busjack]

Must be a messup with the programming of some of the Clever Devices devices. I have seen some that said 86 NARRGANSETT/86 TO DEVON-NAGLE. Those were on 6000s with the orange signs.

[rmadisonwi]

Why do the #86 buses continue to say : 86 NARRGANSETT (flip) 86 WRIGHT COLLEGE, why doesen't say Millwaukee/Imlay?

Have you noticed whether this is on the Novas, the Flxibles, all buses, or just a few of them?

[trainman8119]

All of the buses I have seen have had the Devon-Nagle destination on them since the change. All of the buses I have seen have been Nova's near Nagle and Northwest Hwy. Any chance something was short turning at Wright College ???

[jesi2282]

All of the buses I've seen (Nova/Flxible) all said Wright College.

[jesi2282]

All the buses I've seen (Nova/Flxible) all said Wright College.

[MetroShadow]

All the buses I've seen (Nova/Flxible) all said Wright College.

Keep in mind, NB buses went into Wright, SB buses board/alight at Narragansett. They changed the signs about 1 1/2 weeks into the route adjustment.

[rmadisonwi]

So, all buses are showing Devon-Nagle, and all buses are showing Wright College?

The fact that northbound buses enter the Wright College campus shouldn't have any impact on what the destination sign says.

[Busjack]

When I dealt with Pace with a similar problem, I had to have the run numbers, times, etc. Obviously, any complaint won't be credible if "all" have either sign.

[Busjack]

Another philosophical quandry. The sign on X9 is X9 ASHLAND EXP/X9 TO IRVING PARK/X9 RED LINE STATION. Does this indicate that the Sheridan station should be renamed (cf. Tribune story on mistakes on L maps), or it goes to Irving Park and the Red Line station, or just a lazy adaptation of 9 ASHLAND/9 TO IRVING PARK?

P.S. It appears that the newer signs are a bit more descriptive, such as X54 CICERO EXPRESS/MIDWAY AIRPORT ORANGE LINE STATION.

[busfan4022]

Number 6058 had a werid destination sign, it said: CTA Program :flip: 08/27/06

Which was sometime ago.

[MetroShadow]

Another philosophical quandry. The sign on X9 is X9 ASHLAND EXP/X9 TO IRVING PARK/X9 RED LINE STATION. Does this indicate that the Sheridan station should be renamed (cf. Tribune story on mistakes on L maps), or it goes to Irving Park and the Red Line station, or just a lazy adaptation of 9 ASHLAND/9 TO IRVING PARK?

P.S. It appears that the newer signs are a bit more descriptive, such as X54 CICERO EXPRESS/MIDWAY AIRPORT ORANGE LINE STATION.

It goes to Irving Park, and the Red Line Station. That's to remind passengers that the bus follows 9Local, and turns off into the red line station (although Irving Park and Sheridan should be the correct signage)

[trainman8119]

I have found another route where the destination sign does not tell you where the bus is going:

84 Peterson (flip) to Caldwell

If that was true, the bus wouldn't get much past Cicero.

The correct sign should read:

84 Peterson (flip) to Central

or

84 Peterson (flip) to Caldwell (flip) Central

[cta_44499_NP]

a very interesting one is on the TMC programming"

22 Clark/ 22Howa/Red Line

151 Sheridan/ 151Howa/Red Line

aparently if HOWARD didn't fit CTA didn't think to put something like 22 Howard/Red L

where exactly is this "Howa"??

[rmadisonwi]

What bugs me more is some of the programming that was apparently imported by some computer to convert the programs from the older signs to the new Luminator software. If you have an artic, the sign shows

"22 Clark Howard/" (tiny letters)

"22 RED LINE" (large letters)

That's similar to the Sheridan-Belmont route and the LaSalle-Belmont signs that were changed earlier this year to show proper readings.

There are a few more that need fixing, and I'll try to bring them up to the appropriate personnel as I see them.

[ArcherRider]

I think# 97 Skokie have the same sign like #22 and #151 to Howard/Red Line. Before #147 Outer DRV Express Have The "Howa/Red Line" sign on the TMC and they change it.

[chgofan78]

When it comes to the programming of destination signs, have people noticed it seem like signs on routes out of 103rd, 74th, and 77th are done better than some of the other garages?    It gets even worse when the two-liners are programmed.

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, chgofan78 said:

When it comes to the programming of destination signs, have people noticed it seem like signs on routes out of 103rd, 74th, and 77th are done better than some of the other garages?    It gets even worse when the two-liners are programmed.

CTA only uses one program. What might be different is that some routes use 2 line signs, while you cited garages which have numbered streets, and obviously not 2 line signs and probably don't even need 2 signs, although CTA is pretty consistent with [street] flip [destination].

On the south side, the only ones that need condensed letters or abbreviations are long names like Cottage Grove.

CTA at least used to have some inconsistencies in font size, like 145 having MICH EXP in the small font with a blank second line.

Ir you want to talk ugly signs, Pace still seems to assume the 15 character sign, even though all buses with those signs have been retired. There are some closer pitch signs in North division, but that's about it.

 

[jajuan]

I guess it's more appropriate to put this observation here since it's in large part about destination signs. I rode the 157 through the Loop Link Corridor heading to UIC last Thursday, and one thing I noticed is the bus displayed "157 STREETERVILLE/TAYLOR" (2 lines) flip "157 to OGDEN/CALIFORNIA" (2 lines) flip "157 VIA LOOP LINK" up while downtown up to about Clinton/Madison with Mr CTA announcing the requisite announcement. From that point the sign then reverts to the usual oddity since the 38 got merged with 157,  "157 STREETERVILLE/TAYLOR TO OGDEN" (2 lines) flip "157 STREETERVILLE/TAYLOR CALIFORNIA" (no Loop Link reference). Before it wasn't clear that buses that leave downtown WB also displayed "VIA LOOP LINK" since buses entering EB display it their entire route. If the other routes 20, 56, and the 60 that leave downtown from the west do similar, this would explain why. 

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, jajuan said:

I guess it's more appropriate to put this observation here since it's in large part about destination signs. I rode the 157 through the Loop Link Corridor heading to UIC last Thursday, and one thing I noticed is the bus displayed "157 STREETERVILLE/TAYLOR" (2 lines) flip "157 to OGDEN/CALIFORNIA" (2 lines) flip "157 VIA LOOP LINK" up while downtown up to about Clinton/Madison with Mr CTA announcing the requisite announcement. From that point the sign then reverts to the usual oddity since the 38 got merged with 157,  "157 STREETERVILLE/TAYLOR TO OGDEN" (2 lines) flip "157 STREETERVILLE/TAYLOR CALIFORNIA" (no Loop Link reference). Before it wasn't clear that buses that leave downtown WB also displayed "VIA LOOP LINK" since buses entering EB display it their entire route. If the other routes 20, 56, and the 60 that leave downtown from the west do similar, this would explain why. 

Two oddities:

• The sign changed mid route. As you noted, you'll have to check if other ones do. But this seems to debunk what was said (especially about circulator routes like the short lived 127) that they could only change at terminals, something which I thought at the time was bunk.
  • This would also indicate that Pace does not need to flash something like 423.Glenview/423 The Glen/423 Linden CTA once it is past The Glen.
• In effect, you noted an inconsistency from the CTA pattern of [route]flip[destination]. The first conformed, but if I understand the second example clearly (and I think I remember seeing it), the first line stayed consistent, and they only flipped the parts of the destination on the second.

[jajuan]

20 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Two oddities:

• The sign changed mid route. As you noted, you'll have to check if other ones do. But this seems to debunk what was said (especially about circulator routes like the short lived 127) that they could only change at terminals, something which I thought at the time was bunk.
  • This would also indicate that Pace does not need to flash something like 423.Glenview/423 The Glen/423 Linden CTA once it is past The Glen.
• In effect, you noted an inconsistency from the CTA pattern of [route]flip[destination]. The first conformed, but if I understand the second example clearly (and I think I remember seeing it), the first line stayed consistent, and they only flipped the parts of the destination on the second.

I was actually surprised myself that the signs changed mid route. The only reason I noticed was because I was sitting in a window seat and could see the bus's reflection through a ground level window of the Presidential Towers after it made the turn from Madison on to Clinton. That second oddity that it reverted to, as I noted, was what the sign programmers originally programmed 157 buses with signs of that font to do since 157 first got merged with what used to be the Ogden/Taylor iteration of #38. Your remembrance of what you saw is correct. A similar oddity is destination signs for the N62. I recently saw a SB bus destination display flip between "N62 ARCHER TO HARLEM VIA ROOSEVELT" (2 lines) and "N62 ARCHER TO HARLEM VIA HALSTED" (2 lines). In that case route and destination are both on the top line and stays consistent, and the "VIA XXX" route variation message is the second line and part that flips.

[MTRSP1900-CTA3200]

Does anyone know why some buses on the 8 are saying "8 Halsted To Root"? I thought they went to 79th.

[Pace831]

24 minutes ago, MTRSP1900-CTA3200 said:

Does anyone know why some buses on the 8 are saying "8 Halsted To Root"? I thought they went to 79th.

According to the schedule, there are short turns at Root during rush hours.

[MTRSP1900-CTA3200]

12 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

According to the schedule, there are short turns at Root during rush hours.

Oh, you weren't kidding! I studied computer science for a little bit, so I actually thought it was a glitch in the system, like the destination sign accessed the wrong entry for the destination.

[ajm522]

53 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

According to the schedule, there are short turns at Root during rush hours.

 

35 minutes ago, MTRSP1900-CTA3200 said:

Oh, you weren't kidding! I studied computer science for a little bit, so I actually thought it was a glitch in the system, like the destination sign accessed the wrong entry for the destination.

 

They have been doing Broadway - Root/Root to Chicago AM rush trips for about two years now. In the PM they usually go Chicago - Root/Root - Waveland to 79th (some go Chicago - 79th).