More Ideas for Improving Rail Service at O’Hare Right Now

Last week's Streetblog Chicago post about Mayor Rahm Emanuel's O'Hare express train proposal struck a chord with readers, with dozens of retweets and almost 100 comments. Lots of people agreed that the existing CTA Blue Line run between the Loop and "the world's busiest airport" is already a relatively fast, high-quality service. Many readers also concurred that an airport express would be costly to build and expensive to ride, which makes the project a bad use of taxpayer money that could be better spent improving neighborhood transit.

Few U.S. cities have a better rapid transit connection from its main airport to downtown in terms of capacity, speed, and frequency. Much of Americans' rail access to airports is in the form of light rail with 15-minute or longer headways, and service often shuts down before the last flights of the night. In contrast, the O'Hare Branch's headways are as short as every two to eight minutes during rush hours, and trains run 24/7. In the previous post, I listed several inexpensive, short-term strategies for improving Blue Line service for all kinds of users.

After riding the 'L' to and from O’Hare last week for a trip to Los Angeles – which, surprisingly, has a very useful transit system – I’ve got more ideas the CTA should immediately consider to improve rider experience and make the system more user-friendly for visitors.

Provide a staffed booth selling CTA passes

Long lines often form at the Ventra vending machines at the Blue Line's O'Hare station. This may be partly because the machines' user interface is confusing, or because people are aren't sure which type of fare card or transit pass they need. Last Thursday, when I returned home from my trip, seeing the crowd at the machines brought to mind how much simpler it used to be to buy CTA passes at retail stores like Walgreens. You simply asked the cashier for the type of pass you want, handed over the cash, and the cashier gave you an already-activated pass. With Ventra it's still simple, but there is an extra step of activating the card. 

A staffed booth advertising "1-Day Unlimited Ride Transit Passes, $10" could help reduce confusion and shorten the lines at the vending machines during peak hours. The employee would provide visitors with an unregistered Ventra card, preloaded with the 1-day pass, along with a brochure with info on the benefits of registering the card and instructions on reloading the in case the visitor decides to use transit on additional days. 

This would be in addition to any necessary software design changes that would improve the customer experience. Another tip to decrowd the vending area would be to scatter the machines into pods, like at London Heathrow.

Make it easier to board the train

After you’ve bought a ticket it’s time to enter the turnstiles and board. Here you may encounter an odd problem: some of the turnstiles are two-way, so that customers exiting the system may block you from entering. Red, "do not enter" symbols appear on these, with a similar sign above, to discourage exiting here. Sometimes the CTA sets up moveable barrier belts to direct exiting passengers to the exit-only turnstiles. The CTA could use these belts more often and experiment with floor designs that subconsciously guide exiting passengers to the right-side, exit-only turnstiles.

The CTA is planning to install Train Tracker displays at all stations in the system but, strangely, O’Hare doesn’t yet have them. In addition to letting customers know how long they'll have to wait for the next train to depart, the displays also provide an estimate of how much time is left to board, or walk down the platform to a less-crowded car. With that advance warning, visitors won't panic when they hear "[Ding dong] Doors are closing."

Newcomers to Chicago might not understand that the trains leaving O'Hare only go in one direction: towards downtown. They'll hold up a customer assistant who could be helping people buy tickets. Train Tracker screens would make that more obvious than it might be now. The displays would also make it clearer which of the two trains sitting at the station customers should board next. The existing "Do Not Board" and "Next Train" signs are easy to miss. With a few Train Tracker displays before and along the platforms, the display by one train could read  "Do not board" while the screen at the other platform lists departure times, making the choice a no-brainer.

Use airport ambassadors to help visitors get around

Emanuel mentioned London's Heathrow Express airport train as a best practice, and his new aviation commissioner Ginger Evans referred to Denver's airport as one that "steals traffic" from O’Hare. Much of the reason why flyers avoid O'Hare is that it has consistently poor ratings for flight delays, rather than its lack of an express train. However, O'Hare also lacks lacks the helpful airport ambassadors who make things easier for visitors to cities around the country and around the world.

When I visited London last year, there were airport guides hovering around the transit vending machines and other parts o the terminal. One worker helped me buy an Oyster fare card and find the right bus to my destination. Many, if not all of the guides, speak a second language.

Denver has volunteers in white cowboy hats in the terminals. Phoenix SkyHarbor airport, which bills itself as "America’s Friendliest Airport," features volunteers – often senior citizens – who assist passengers.

Helpful ambassadors like these folks in the baggage claim area and CTA station would go a long way towards making the airport more user-friendly, as well as making it easier for visitors to navigate the airport as they make their way underground and toward the station and eventually downtown.