Tammy Chase

While the system hasn't dramatically sped up bus service, it should get faster in the future, and it has also improved conditions for walking and biking.

Early this month the city announced upgrades the Blue Line’s Belmont stop that will cost up to $15 million. The improvements to the station, which opened in 1970 and was originally designed by Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill, include several cosmetic changes, including a space-age-looking weather canopy. However, many residents are scratching their heads about why the rehab won’t include the addition of elevators to make the stations compliant with the Americans With Disabilities act.

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.

If you ride Chicago Transit Authority buses, you've probably had the infuriating experience of waiting an eternity at a stop, only to have two or more buses show up at the same time. This phenomenon, known as bus bunching, is the bane of most big-city transit systems in the U.S.