Wednesday, September 12, 2012

CTA To Uptown: You Don't Need No Stinkin' Buses

Well, it looks like the fix was in. Despite letters, 70 people giving testimony, and the pleas of aldermen, the CTA cut its bus routes, including the 144 and 145.

Fewer bus lines and more trains added -- which doesn't really help anyone who can't walk up 50 steps, or can't walk to the L.

Not one single L stop is handicapped-accessible between Addison and Granville.  The CTA Board says:  "Too bad!  Let them eat cake!"
Uptown resident Martin Tangora told the board that the discontinuation of the No. 145 Wilson/Michigan Express bus will affect large numbers of poor and disabled people. "I don't take the Red Line downtown because it is 50 steps up to the platform," said Tangora, a retired UIC professor. "But the Wilson bus is door to door to downtown." 
Ald. Cappleman tweeted: "Despite my objections, CTA cut the 145 and others - CTA cuts 12 bus routes, adds more L train runs."

Read about it in the Tribune and Sun-Times. It's a sad day for Uptown.

7 comments:

  1. Is there any way to actually find out what 12 routes were cut? Every article talks about the 145 and that 12 were cut, but nowhere have I seen the list.

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  2. These slides from a CTA presentation should help answer some questions. Especially slide 11 which says the following buses are being discontiuned:
    X28
    64
    69
    122
    123
    129
    144
    145

    And then these buses that are serviced by Pace are being discontinued:
    17
    49A
    56A
    90N

    http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/miscellaneous_documents/Public_hearing_presentation_FINAL_090412s.pdf

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  3. The CTA shows its disdain for us daily with their filthy, dangerous busses and El compartments.
    They let scumbags cross from train to train, scam riders with shell games, stolen goods for sale, etc.

    Just today I was assaulted by a intoxicated man near an El stop, I wasn't injured too badly but the so-called "Security" on premises doesn't chase away anybody who is hanging around for nefarious reasons.
    Is this such a shock?

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  4. This is one of the disadvantages of having an alderman who has no pull downtown.

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  5. DP, if you read the papers, the CTA went with every single one of their proposed changes. No alderman had any sway with changing CTA's plans for service cuts in their perspective wards.

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  6. The 144 is completely redundant. It follows the same route as the 146, except it gets on/off the Drive at Irving Park instead of Belmont. You could also take the 136, which has the same route and also goes up to Loyola.

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