Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about CTA

The Garfield Green Line station after the Garfield Gateway rehab project. About a third of the labor was done by workers from low-income communities. Photo: CTA

CTA, peer transit agencies urge Biden administration to end local hiring ban

By Igor Studenkov | Mar 4, 2021 | No Comments

Reagan-era legislation prohibits transit agencies from favoring local firms and workers for infrastructure projects. Lifting the ban could provide new opportunities.

A CTA bus driver on Sheridan Road early in the pandemic. Photo: John Greenfield

How COVID-19 impacted has Chicagoland public transportation workers

By Igor Studenkov | Mar 2, 2021 | No Comments

During the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 1,874 Chicago area transit workers tested positive for the disease, at least 14 had to be hospitalized and at least 14 passed away.

A Metra train pulls into the Palatine station. Photo: Igor Studenkov

Metra is unhappy about the RTA focusing stimulus funds on transit-dependent areas

By Igor Studenkov | Feb 22, 2021 | No Comments

The CTA would get $361 million, while Metra would get only $83 million, and Pace would get $22 million for fixed-route bus service, plus $20 million for paratransit.

CTA: Actually our new batch of “clean-diesel” buses will improve air quality

By John Greenfield | Feb 12, 2021 | No Comments

The agency says the new buses will meet 2021 EPA emissions requirements and are more fuel efficient than older models.

CTA electrification won’t happen until 2040, but more “clean-diesel” buses are coming

By John Greenfield | Feb 10, 2021 | No Comments

The CTA doesn't plan to fully electrify its fleet until 2040. On the bright side, the new buses include new safety features and perks for passengers.

The current Argyle station design and the future one. Images: Google Maps, CTA

Thoughts on Uptown and Edgewater Red Line station designs

By Courtney Cobbs | Feb 4, 2021 | No Comments

In general the stops will have a sleek, minimalist appearance and a red-and-white color scheme, and eliminating the need for supporting pillars in the viaducts will create an airier feel.

Good mask compliance on a Red Line car in late December. Photo: John Greenfield

Local transit agencies: CDC mask mandate will give our existing rules more teeth

By John Greenfield | Feb 2, 2021 | No Comments

Hopefully now that the federal government is getting more serious about mask compliance, we'll see better behavior on this front from local transit riders.

Onboard a Union Pacific North line train today. Photo: John Greenfield

Is the Metra-Union Pacific feud impacting onboard safety and quality of life?

By John Greenfield | Jan 28, 2021 | No Comments

While's its way past time for Metra and Union Pacific to settle their differences, when it comes to safety and comfort on the UP-operated trains, things could be a lot worse.

Chicago's 95th/Dan Ryan terminal is in a Critical Service Area. Photo: John Greenfield

RTA plans to focus federal COVID stimulus funding to transit-dependent areas

By Igor Studenkov | Jan 25, 2021 | No Comments

The Regional Transportation Authority is planning to use federal stimulus funding to support transit services to "to the places and people across the region who most need transit" during the pandemic.

A women-only car in New Dehli, India. Photo: Jordan Worthington

Readers: Women-only transit would be awesome / impractical / sexist / transphobic

By Olivia Grenzebach and John Greenfield | Jan 19, 2021 | No Comments

One thing's for sure: If such a program is going to be implemented in Chicago, it needs to be explicitly inclusive of all women, including trans women, and nonbinary people.

Boarding platform for women-only train cars in Mexico City. Photo: Olivia Grenzebach

Should the CTA adopt women-only transit? Interviews with Chicago women suggest yes

By Olivia Grenzebach | Jan 15, 2021 | No Comments

Women-only transportation helps to dismantle one of the barriers that women face daily, so it should be seriously considered in the Chicago and other U.S. cities.

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