I have been an avid and grateful public transport Chicagoan since 2015. I used to be able to get efficiently and expediently to my destination with a success rate of 95%. Since 2020, that success rate has plummeted dramatically.
First, the city shut down some transportation for days during the pandemic. ‘L’ stations were closed. That was followed by the appropriately described “ghost” buses and trains that never arrived.
Fasten your seat belts because I am just warming up.
On every form of public transportation, signs say “No smoking, eating, gambling.” Well, anyone who uses public transit daily knows that many buses have smelly, messy foods; food littering the floors and seats; and, on occasion, the smoker. Yes. The smoker. Gambling should be encouraged at this point.
Another sign reads, “Did your bag pay its fare too?” Bag? Really? I have seen shopping carts, large black garbage bags, coupled with suitcases all belonging to a single individual, daily. This often congests the bus not only for passengers who may need an extra seat for a disability, but also for mothers with young children in strollers. And, when did the ‘L’ trains become sleeper cars?
SEND LETTERS TO: letters@suntimes.com. To be considered for publication, letters must include your full name, your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should be a maximum of approximately 375 words.
This is what happened one day: I live very close to the Chicago/Western bus stop. I left my house at 10:06 a.m. to head north for an 11 a.m. meeting. Plenty of time, right? Not exactly. I waited for 15 minutes while following the app to see the bus status, after the predicted bus status got repeatedly crossed out. Finally, once the time changed from 4 minutes to 16 minutes to 28 minutes, I bailed and attempted to take a different northbound route to my destination. I never made it. It’s OK. Don’t sweat the small stuff, especially when you know that you made every effort to arrive at your appointment without spending for a surge-priced Uber, which was also canceled.
Angry and frustrated, I spoke with Erica at the CTA help number. She could not tell me what happened with the northbound 49 bus. She told me that apparently there was a bus at 10:06 a.m. and not a single bus again until 10:59 a.m.
Sadly, it’s no wonder statistics show that longtime residents are leaving the city. Including me.
Lauren J. Senoff, Ukrainian Village
How Metra serves Chicago
Thank you to Neil Steinberg for his insightful column “A journey on public transit in Boston shows just how good Chicago has it” (May 21) and your editorial “New Metra station in Edgewater is a good sign for public transit’s future” (May 22).
As a regular rider of Metra since I was a high school student, I can attest that sometimes it is viewed as a suburban operation. But as the RTA chairman, I know things are changing and improving at Metra, and that it is equally critical to the city of Chicago. Metra is a job creator. For example, it rehabilitates its rail cars and locomotives in-house using union labor, creating 139 high-skilled jobs, and saving taxpayers more than $172 million. This keeps jobs and dollars right here in Chicago at its 49th Street rail yard facility.
Chicago benefits from Metra in other ways:
- In addition to new stations in Edgewater and Auburn Park, Metra is rehabbing more than a dozen stations on the Metra Electric Line, including eight within the city.
- Under its new fare structure, Chicago is now part of Metra’s lowest fare zone. Metra monthly pass holders within this zone can purchase a $30 Regional Connect Pass, paying a total $105 per month for unlimited rides on CTA, Metra and Pace.
- With Cook County and the RTA, Metra launched the Access Pilot Program in February, providing reduced rate fares to SNAP recipients across the region.
- Metra will soon become the first commuter rail operator to have battery-powered zero-emission train sets, set to operate on the Beverly Branch on the Rock Island Line in Chicago.
- Metra now allows bikes on every train.
- New train-tracker system provides riders with the most up-to-date arrival and schedule information.
- Starting this fall, Metra will offer University of Illinois Chicago students reduced fare rates as part of a pilot program.
Finally, Metra’s headquarters is steps from Chicago’s Union Station, which is undergoing extensive improvements to improve riders’ experience at this essential travel and commerce hub.
Kirk Dillard, chair, Regional Transportation Authority
Trump’s supporters will be held accountable
For the first couple of years of his presidency, I was gullible, making the mistake in many op-eds by claiming that Donald Trump’s sins were in large part due to his policies and political ideology. How wrong I was! Watching the recent New York criminal trial and Trump’s untruthful—and incessant—daily discourse in response, we now know that his sins are about his indecency, inhumanity, selfishness and lack of morality.
I never thought I would say this, and some no doubt will attack me for saying it, but for those who still support Trump no matter what he does, says, or how many felony convictions he receives, your soul is on the line. This includes nearly all Republican congressional leaders who, despite the ongoing criminal cases against two Democratic politicians and President Joe Biden’s son, erroneously assert that the New York legal case against Trump was purely political, having been orchestrated by Biden and his Justice Department.
Make no mistake. You can pray all you want. You can spread propaganda acquired from news networks beholden to Trump rather than reporting the truth. However, doing so will not make you less accountable. Like Trump, we all are accountable and will be judged by our words and deeds.
Richard Cherwitz, Ph.D., Ernest A. Sharpe Centennial Professor Emeritus, Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin
Looking for more reporting on migrants
Sunday’s cover story about the Venezuelan immigrants was one of the best articles ever. It was very thorough, informative and covered multiple aspects of the whole situation. I hope you will have more from that group of journalists in the future.
Mike Ragano, Schaumburg
