CTA

The Chicago Transit Authority said that it's working to address some of the new burdens that the switch to Ventra has created for social service providers, as described in a study from the Chicago Jobs Council, which I reported about on Monday.

Ever since the Chicago Transit Authority and Pace switched from magnetic stripe fare cards to the Ventra smart card system in 2013, social service providers across Chicago have been spending more money on paying for their clients' transit rides, and giving out fewer rides. A new report from the Chicago Jobs Council details the burdens that Ventra fare policies and ticket ordering delays place on social service organization staff members and money dedicated to helping clients. The jobs council works to change laws and policies to increase access to jobs for marginalized workers.

New ridership numbers for the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' stations show some interesting changes over the past 17 years. The increases in ridership at some stations have been obvious, but the decreases at other stations are a little surprising.

This week, rapid transit headaches in Washington, D.C. and the Bay Area highlighted the need for better maintenance of U.S. public transportation infrastructure. However, a new report from Chicagoland's Regional Transportation Authority suggests that the CTA is in a little better shape than its peers.

People catching the Chicago Transit Authority's 94-South California bus in East Garfield Park no longer have to wait for their ride in the dirt.

Private bus lines in the Loop Link bus rapid transit lanes is definitely a thing.

Metra, the regional commuter train operator, is seeking a consultant to develop "creative recommendations" on how to change its fare structure. The consultant would be in charge of finding the pros and cons of the current fare structure, comparing it to Metra's commuter rail peers around the country, and building a model that allows Metra to test how different fare policies would affect ridership and revenue. The Request for Proposals is due at the end of the month.

[The Chicago Reader recently launched a new weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership will allow Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We’ll be syndicating a portion of the column on the day it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in print. The paper hits the streets on Thursdays.]

Since Chicago's Loop Link bus rapid transit corridor launched last Sunday, there's been little or no improvement in bus travel times along the route. It turns out that a big part of the problem is that the CTA currently requires bus operators to drive at walking speed while passing by the long, raised station platforms. Hopefully, as operators and CTA customers get used to the new infrastructure, bus speeds will get much faster.