These things really rub me the wrong way. I'm glad the latest round of CTA preaching/begging has ended, though.

january 20, roughly the same cuts that were proposed for January 4 will be implemented (half of bus routes, fares increase about 30-60%). Seriously, though, I've read the 650-page audit and, well, study urban policy for a living -- CTA is indeed seriously underfunded.

Posts like OP's are exactly what the CTA fears will happen with all this. People start thinking the CTA is crying wolf, when it's not, it's getting bailed out by the governor at the last minute each time. Love how the 7-10 days seems to have worked out

Problem is that the politicians can't agree what to do about it, the only thing they agree upon is that such cuts can't happen. Which they're right on. If the politicians allowed those cuts to happen, they'd find themselves out of jobs in short order.

Without commenting on whether the CTA is underfunded or spending the money on the wrong things....

As a relatively new daily user of the CTA (buses and trains, both) it is immediately apparent to me that pretty much the entire infrastructure needs to be ripped out and replaced from the get go. The differences in the CTA experience and those of the DC Metro, the London Tube, BART, even the NYC system and on and on are just plain shocking. The rail stations are old, the tracks are falling apart, everything is filthy.....but I'm not saying anything you all don't already know. I've actually been pleased and surprised at how well the Chicago Card Plus system seems to work - the CTA can get some things right. Now, why does the CTA lack basic things (like signs that tell you when the next train is expected or signs in the cars that tell you the next stop and on which side of the train the doors will open) that are just taken for granted on every other system I regularly ride.

I'm not sure how many of the really bad buses are still in out there, but there was certainly a period of time where the CTA was buying used buses from other cities that had declared them unfit for future service.

The current great hope is that we'll see a huge infusion of money in connection with the Olympics, but it is just as likely that the dismal circumstances of the CTA will actually turn out to be one reason that we don't get them.

There are actually two needs, an infusion of infrastructure money combined with adequate money to fund the daily operations. I doubt we'll see either out of Springfield.

Yes, you're completely correct. These are just more symptoms of underfunding, though.

The "L" is ~70 years older than DC Metrorail or BART (which we federal taxpayers paid for); NYC Transit spent nearly $40B (in current dollars) on system renewal during the 1980s; a Tube ride will cost you $8.20 -- and yet TfL is no less dependent on public subsidies than CTA. France provides four times as much public subsidy to RATP (i.e., Metro) as Illinois does to RTA.

The "next train 3 min." and "doors open right" signs would require new train signaling systems and new rail cars. Both are multi-billion dollar investments. You'll notice that "next train" announcements are available where the tracks are new/rebuilt, namely the Orange and Green lines. Compare the situation to NYC, whose subway is nearly as old as our "L": $288 million was spent to upgrade the L line's signals, so now it's the one line in the system with "next train" signage. Their new subway cars have automated announcements; that cost nearly $2 billion. This stuff makes the system much more usable, but ain't cheap.

I remember the used Seattle buses well. They're all gone now, but it was pretty shocking to see how quickly they got beat up here, much of it due to vandalism and road salt.

I'm really concerned about the governor's plan, which sounds like it will buy off the CTA with just enough operating funding for another year -- while milking the new city casino for $10 billion to gold-plate new roads for a few thousand drivers downstate.

Why would that require new signals and cars? They're doing it without new busses on the 20 bus right now. Do it with GPS. Now, why that trial hasn't completed and expanded system-wide is mind-boggling.

Many stations on the red line have been renovated in the last several years. They are currently renovating all of the stations on the Brown Line. They did the Green Line a few years ago. They're replacing track on the Blue and Red lines. It's BILLIONS of dollars and county and city taxes are already outrageous. Your post suggests that the infrastructure is being ignored.

The main problem is operating expenses and the General Assembly. Nothing passes the legislature unless the downstate legislators get their share of pork as compensation for voting for things that the city needs. The good news is that they finally have somebody running the CTA that has a brain. We'll see what he does with the money he does get.

The bus system is being expanded systemwide.
http://www.chicagobus.org/news/bus-t...nds-systemwide

Trains, on the other hand, go underground where GPS doesn't work. Replacing the signals will also allow higher speeds, greater train frequency, and better reliability. (Ever have the train stop for "signal clearance" when there's obviously no train in sight, then see the operator drive through?)

Hmm, wonder how that's going. If the whole fleet is supposed to be done by early next year, I would think you'd see the ones out of North Park pretty soon.

Oh... uh... duh...

Wasn't thinking about the underground part (at least for Red/Blue). And yeah, I've read plenty on how antiquated the signals are.

Like paytonc, I earn my living in this area (although my personal specialty is more in the software for regulatory compliance and investment analysis areas), and in fact we work for sometimes competing and sometimes collaborating firms.

You might be interested to read the following, especially the transit portions, to understand how infrastructure condition and performance makes its way into the Federal process:
http://wwwcf.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2006cpr/index.htm

Jan 20th = next "Doomsday"

http://www.transitchicago.com/news/w...ticleid=129074

These guys crack me up!

here we go again

What part of this cracks you up? The CTA people, the legislature, or the governor? And why the sarcasm after "Doomsday".

Every single bus I take on a daily basis is on the new list of cuts. This is serious stuff for real people who depend on the CTA every day. My daily commute will be a living nightmare, and all because the idiots on Springfield can't do a blasted thing.

Now, I could mention that it took four people in a fancy CTA car to hang those elaborately laminated signs at every bus stop - direct observation on my part, and on a Sunday, probably earning triple time - but that's another story.

What part of this cracks you up? The CTA people, the legislature, or the governor? And why the sarcasm after "Doomsday".

Every single bus I take on a daily basis is on the new list of cuts. This is serious stuff for real people who depend on the CTA every day. My daily commute will be a living nightmare, and all because the idiots on Springfield can't do a blasted thing.

Now, I could mention that it took four people in a fancy CTA car to hang those elaborately laminated signs at every bus stop - direct observation on my part, and on a Sunday, probably earning triple time - but that's another story.

Not surprised.

One time getting off a Metra train in Flossmoor, I saw SEVEN guys standing around on a remortaring project for about 10-15 bricks that were coming loose in one spot. I guess it takes one mason, one assistant, and five $80,000 supervisors for a job like that.

I should always carry a tiny video camera to document stuff like this to roll out when they whine about not having enough resources.