Flu Season!

OK, Sound-Off has sat here lifeless for awhile. We sincerely apologize to anyone who reads and actually likes us. Flu season has kept this blog inactive....oh, the wonderful flu!!!

However, we have a new look that we said was coming soon.

More articles are pending such as the CTA Budget mess. When the word "mess" is used, we mean a REAL MESS! We want to get it right, so lots of research is happening to bring out the true facts.

In the meantime, use this as an open place to post anything you want to see and so on.
We're back and we're better!

Red Line Disruptions

Back in October of 2006, a fire started at 630 Wabash, forcing the Red Line to be disrupted for up to three days. The Chicago Fire Department thought the fire would be controlled in a short time, but quickly found that the fire was not going to give up easily.

Before everyone knew it, the fire was designated as a 511. Special alarms were called beyond this per expert reports. Riders on the Red Line found themselves in a situation that was confusing , unorganized, and frustrating. These riders were forced to take shuttle buses, or call friends & family for rides home. Those who did not opt for either of the latter chose to walk.

Everyone who walked, walked to other bus stops or just hoofed it period. One would suspect however, that something is funny here. Something just isn't right.....

Call this a paranoid observation without merit, or call it something to think about, but the day before the big 511 at 630 Wabash, there was another fire that affected the Red Line tracks.
Rumor has it that the day before that....there was yet another fire near the Red Line tracks.
Get what is being suggested yet? Is it? Was it? Please say it wasn't arson!

Overall, it has to be admitted that the CTA did a half decent job in assissting all the riders on the Red Line!

More Abuse on The CTA

Yet one more CTA bus driver is said to be accused of being verbally abusive, even threatening to riders.

About three or four weeks ago, riders on bus# 6850 (81W) Lawrence state that they boarded at the Cumberland Blue Line station, and were shocked when the driver passed up two stops when a rightly irate rider made it known in little more than a firm voice that he and his companion wanted off because the driver passed up their stop.

The driver pulled over to let them off, and while the riders were exiting the bus....at least seven riders witnessed the driver with arm# 2540 swear at and verbally threaten the riders with bodily harm while using racial slurs.

One passenger says, "I avoid taking this bus after work because the driver scares me. I think he has a mental problem or something because i've watched him burp out loud like a pig, and have seen him swing like a banshee through the bus on the overhead handrails. " "He's really weird".

Other riders stated that they also have heard and seen "very worrying behavior" from this driver many times. One rider stated that among the last people to exit the bus well into Harwood Heights was someone who the driver told "People just like to start trouble with me" and the rider stated while exiting "Maybe it has something to do with your behavior" the driver replied "Ya think so?".

Maybe this driver will be investigated and terminated....it appears that he should seek serious, intensive, help!

Time Well Wasted (Or, how CTA contributes to you losing money on your paycheck)

From the comments section posted by a very like - minded reader who is also very intelligent......


leomemorial didn't know it, and neither did anyone else, but this story has been brewing here for a LONG TIME!

My commute time from the Midway Airport area to Belmont/Elston is 4 hours per day. I'm aware of bad weather, break downs, etc that effect public transportation and allot time for that. Why do I have to go into the downtown area to get to this side of the city? It makes no sense. Not to mention the LAZY CTA workers at these train stations.

At the upper platform @ Clark/Lake, I have to fight door blockers on a daily basis, then fight my way to the door yet again.I have seen Chicago Cops @ the Midway Terminal constantly having to help travelers with the ticket machine because CTA does not. If that's the case, the CPD cops need to get paid double duty.

These trains/buses never run on time. At night, I have to get off the Blue Line and run up 3 flights under 30 seconds to catch the Orange Line. I think I broke Michael Johnson's sprint record. Daley needs to get RID of the CTA President Frank K and replace him with Carole Brown!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry for the long rant...


TOTAL miles to get to work from Midway to Belmont/Elston: 16.67

TOTAL time to take the CTA to get there: almost 2 hours

TOTAL miles to get from Union Station to Fox Lake: 54.60

TOTAL time to take the METRA to get there: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Because, having to use the Chicago CTA is just PRICELESS muwahahahaaaa!

leomemorial....your contribution itself is PRICELESS!!!

CTA simply does not care about the time it riders spend on their transit system.
Ever see "Money Train"? That's Frank K! It's true!

Just as long as the herds keep pumping dollars and coins into Frank's fare machines, and Daley gets to use it for his never ending beautification projects all over the city, instead of beautifying the city from the inside.....the time we spend and the money we lose from our wages for being late / tardy is of no concern or consequence to them.

Wouldn't it be nice if the media knew the unending reasons for the slow service, the inability to adhere to any schedule whatsoever, the reasons for lack of improvement in routing / connections between bus and train, and the silent refusal of the CTA to allow the public a way to use real - time tracking of the entire CTA system or even implement it? Sure, CTA Bus Tracker is here for a couple of routes....but we all know that it won't ever be used system wide.

Sound - Off will now give the major reasons for all of this ugly non-sense:

*Supervisors doing anything but what they are supposed to be out on the system doing.
Example: Socializing, Drinking, Shopping, Hanging out at restaurants, using CTA Supervisor vehicles for personal errands and other personal travel (visiting family, friends,
picking the kids up from school, meeting one's husband/wife/domestic partner at
pre-arranged locations, and the list goes on.

*Due to any combination of the above, supervisor's paperwork is falsified. We have to state here
that not all supervisors participate in this horse manure, but the one's who do, outnumber the
working supervisors who play it straight.

*Money given to the CTA by the Regional Transportation Authority, the feds, the collection of
fares, and other sources of revenue which are MANDATED to be used for improvement in this
area have gone unaccounted for. On paper it's accounted for, but it's actually just reasonably
believable yet dishonest accounting double speak and manipulative mathematics.
Hey, Frank! How many posh vacations have you gone on? How many expensive personal
expenditures have you made that just would not be explained by your salary?

For those that don't know yet....the CTA has "full-time" rail car repairer positions open, Bus
Mechanic positions slated as part time, and many more waiting to be posted to the public.

The CTA just spent untold amounts of money on art, and have enough proublems for decades to come with paying their employees, and they can afford all this?

Going In Circles

September 26, 27, and 28, open and informal meetings were held for anyone who wished to attend in regards to the planning of what is dubbed the "Circle Line". Under the proposal and plan for this project, the CTA would construct a new rail line to connect riders to Metra service and many other points of heavy travel.

We are suspicious of where this may lead to because of all the drama CTA has initiated to gain federal funds that were denied. Suspicion also rests on CTA's internal promise unbeknown to you, the public, to raise fares even more. Further suspicion goes to the CTA being tight lipped about how funding for the Circle Line is being obtained and where it's coming from.

Are they going to use this as a chance to bump full - time employees to part time status? Is it going to be used as a hiring blitz when they can't even pay the employees they have now?
Sweetheart deals with aldercreatures and the ATU? The possibilities of numerous deceptive practices abound in one's imagination.

See the links to the right for all the information you can stand about plans for this new and improved service. New and Improved? We're laughing so hard that a favorite drink just sprayed across the room!

Update: October 07, 2006

On Friday, October 06, Sound-Off spoke with a CTA employee and then spoke to others at the CTA. What we found was not surprising! Facts being what they are, it was discovered that NO ONE knows anything about the "Circle Line". No one has even heard of it or heard about plans for the "Circle Line".

Light Posting, Open Comments, Coming Soon.....

Sound-Off has been away due to events beyond our control.

Use this as a place to post CTA related comments while new posts are being developed, and they ARE developing!

While Sound-Off has been away, we have been looking at new possibilities for site design and updates of various kinds to enhance your experience.

Coming soon.....

A new page design, new links, new topics, and much more as implementation works out.

Allegations Of Verbal Abuse Shock The CTA

Passengers in transit on the Streeterville bus on Monday evening state that they witnessed the driver make highly threatening and abusive remarks to an elderly woman who wasn't fast enough at producing her RTA Reduced Fare Permit. Story Link Here

Witnesses state that the woman was unable to produce her permit while standing as the bus was in motion. According to the allegations, the driver "launched into a tirade of expletives" at the elderly passenger and called her derogatory names. The CTA was informed via an e-mail from a witness.

A representative from the Amalgamated Transit Union said "The union does not condone the behavior". The CTA has a policy that strongly encourages drivers to obtain a fare but stay out of fare disputes.

Sound - Off will follow the investigation closely.

Physical Space Issues, Infant Strollers, and Related Safety Problems

Here is another form of unfairness to the traveling public on CTA:

Individuals taking up space with big items!

Just a few examples:

• Shopping carts (loaded to overflowing)
  
• Huge boxes
• Oversized suitcases (we're talking more than what's appropriate)
  
• All other forms of oversized or bulky things

CTA and Pace drivers are instructed to tell riders with these kinds of items to assure that they are stowed properly. Some enforce it, some don't. There are occaisions when people with such items in excess quantity are not to even be allowed on the bus. Too many times these persons are allowed to travel anyway!

Is there nowhere to draw the line? Does this imply laziness, or just simple weariness on part of the drivers who are sick and tired of being abused by passengers when challenged in this respect? We think it's both!

Elderly ladies with loaded shopping carts who are also using a walker while traveling alone, yuppies who decide it's a good idea to bring their huge boxes on from one of the many expensive retail stores they frequent, Parents with loads of kids who don't bother to keep their kids seated, high schoolers that can't stay in their seats while screaming and fighting, homeless people who's endless piles of belongings take up half the front of the bus along with their foul body odor....the list is endless!

All of these people have the unfettered right to use the CTA, it's a truth that can't be interfered with. Afterall, it is public transit.

Moving right on to another disaster waiting to happen: Strollers with infants or other small children. CTA policy says strollers are supposed to be folded up upon the parent(s) boarding.
We see this issue from two perspectives....CTA has a concern with strollers being an issue because they can block aisles and contribute to passengers tripping and such.

We see it this way too: Anyone under the age of five riding as a vehicle passenger is mandated by Illinois law to be restrained for their own safety in a car seat, booster seat, et al.
Our point is multi-fold in regards to this. If parents take the kid(s) out of the stroller and fold the darned thing up and there is an accident....the kid(s) can fly out of the parent's arms resulting in nasty or fatal injuries!

If the kid or kids remain in the stroller and an accident occurs, they are in the stroller safely strapped in, which lessens the likelihood of serious or fatal injuries. We can easily conceive of an accident where people could be injured regardless. Let's at least provide protection for the kids!
Illinois law also says kids are supposed to be in seatbelts while a passenger in a vehicle....would it kill the CTA to install seatbelts and enforce it for the young ones?

Chicago Police As CTA Customer Service Agents

It has been brought to our attention that CTA Customer service agents have been slacking so much at the Orange line Midway station, that CPD Officers are left to do what the CTA agents are supposed to get paid for.

The Police are there to protect and serve, but not in that context. We know that Officers don't mind giving directions and interacting with those in transit, but to do someone else's job without benefit for their services is ridiculous!

Should there be a terrorist attack at this location....there would be hell to pay!

If anyone has any insight into this, speak loudly!

Living Like Sardines

For years, the CTA has received tons of complaints about unsafe transit conditions which will eventually contribute to many serious injuries or mass loss of life during a train or bus accident, should one occur while overcrowded conditions are present.

At the least in the current day, it contributes to people being involuntarily groped, exposed to foul breath, body odor, and the criminal minded who know just how to take advantage of the situation.
This situation causes more than just unwanted physical friction: passengers become irate and verbal hostilities take place, fights even break out.

Another problem this causes: passengers miss their stops because they can't get off, and CTA personnell are instructed to just ignore the overcrowding because the CTA wants their money!

For $2.00 a ride, this is NOT worth it!

Welcome To Our Visitors / Open Comments

We've seen some visitors who have left comments, and want to extend a welcome to them as well as anyone else who reads, and has yet to comment.

We don't want this to be a one way conduit. We want everyone to know that this is also their place to spew venom over any CTA issues they have. It is in that spirit that we are leaving this open to hear what matters to everyone....give it everything you've got!

Your CTA?

Most of us who reside in Chicago know the customer service telephone numbers for the CTA.
Is it really customer service, or just another excuse for the CTA to spend your hard earned money? Why do take that position?

The answer is this:

• Only a small number of those at the customer service lines actually have good training which means that the CTA RIDERSHIP is MISDIRECTED at least 90% of the time.....on a daily basis!
• Most of the customer service employees and their supervisors openly state quite proudly that they are just there for a paycheck, a way to pay the rent, and have no interest in learning the city so as to properly direct callers who are planning trips or who are already in transit. Most of them have said they would rather quit than have to actually have acceptable and adequate knowledge of Chicago.
  
• So, where do your complaints go? Do they go to CTA management? NO! The customer service supervisors are so friendly with their subordinates that your complaints never make it anywhere other than the trash basket!
• There are many customer service employees who are so disgruntled with the CTA and the public that callers are often misdirected purposely.
  
• CTA drivers, train operators, and field supervisors are good for consistently misdirecting Chicago's traveling public for the same reasons stated above, plus they think the traveling public is a spectacle for which they don't have the time of day.
  

1-888-YOUR-CTA.....excuse us? Your CTA? We could only dream that this is our CTA, the traveling public's CTA even! Truth is that it's uncle frank's and king richie's CTA. Until these two retire, nothing is going to change unless everyone raises their voices without mercy!

Thanks To Our Friends In The Blogosphere

Our friends at Second City Cop and Chicago Dispatchers have been so kind as to help promote CTA SOUND-OFF by mentioning us and providing links to our place in cyberspace.

These blog authors are great men and women who have tough jobs which require tons of bravery, valor, and thick skin. CTA-SOUND-OFF is happy to say we support you!

Thanks SCC and CPDDISPATCH!