And Now, For the Rest of the Story...

On the same ride to work yesterday (see previous post, "It's My Equipment But I Can't Help You Use It"), the same bus driver started to pull through an intersection but got stuck in the middle. While we're waiting for the traffic to pull forward, a guy in a truck going the opposite direction is shouting something out his window that no one can understand. He keeps shouting this over and over. At one point, I see a woman in a car in front of us getting back in her car, although I hadn't seen why she was walking around, but figured it had something to do with what the guy was yelling. Eventually the cars in front of us moved, and we were able to clear the intersection and proceed to the next bus stop. Where I realized that the shouting guy and the woman walking around had to do with the bus - the bus driver had apparently pulled so far forward that he had rammed the bike rack into the back of the car in front of us. The guy in the truck had been yelling that he'd seen the bus hit the car, and the woman getting back in her car had been the driver of the hit car checking on the damage. When we got to the bus stop, the bus driver and the car driver both got out and were yelling at each other about if there was damage or not. As it was only a few stops before I get off, I decided I'd had enough of the CTA for one morning, so got off the bus and walked the rest of the way to work. Sometimes I think I should invest in a car and start driving to work.

It's My Equipment but I Can't Help You Use It

On the bus yesterday on the way to work, we sat for 5 minutes while a woman tried to put her bike on the carrier mounted on the front of the bus. The poor woman twice came to the door and apologized that she was taking so long, but made it clear she had never taken her bike on the bus and didn't know how to work the bike rack. The driver at one point told her explicitly that he was not able to get off and show her how it works. Eventually another passenger got off and helped her.

I can understand the CTA not allowing drivers to help lift a bike - insurance issues if the bike was damaged or if the driver was hurt lifting a heavy object - but to not be able to get off and show the woman how to lower the rack and make sure the bike was secure after she'd placed the bike is ridiculous! I wonder how long the driver was going to have waited, watching her struggle? I'd probably still be sitting there waiting for her to figure it out. Great customer service, CTA.

My Day Off From The Commute

My commute today consisted of walking from the bedroom to the kitchen table.  I guess technically it is still a commute but man was it nice to not have to go in to work today.  I avoided the crowds and had time to go vote.  I have to say though, I do miss the routine of going into work.  It helps me get going in the morning and helps me get into work mode.  It kinda serves as my way to balance work and personal life (even though they tend to overlap a lot).  On my way in, I use the time (if I'm not catching up on sleep) to think about the day's tasks.  On my way out, I use the time to unwind and think about dinner and any meetings  I have with friends.   

More thrills from the CTA

My bus home last night stopped on Michigan Ave. and sat for about 5 minutes. The driver finally stood up and announced that he would be running express, as usual, but not getting off the expressway at the usual exit (where I get off), but one mile beyond, as there was apparently an accident that was preventing traffic from exiting at the usual spot. I stayed on figuring it would be faster to catch another bus going back toward my house, or just walk the mile home, than wait for and take the local bus all the way. At the next stop, the driver announced he was actually going surface streets all the way. Which makes more sense, as he wouldn't miss any stops. What I don't understand is why he suddenly became a local bus, stopping at all the stops along the way? No one on the bus wanted to get off, as we all thought this was an express bus. And there was a local bus right behind us. In fact, we were passed by 3 other express buses. I appreciated that the CTA didn't have us get on the expressay and get stuck in traffic, but why can't they get their act together to do things that make sense? It took an hour to get home last night, when the ride is usually 40 minutes or less! Oh, and when we got to the supposedly closed exit, it was open, and it looked like the next exit, where they originally said they were going to re-route us to, was the one that was closed!

Lonely streets

When I come back home late at night, I usually walk 2 or 3 blocks after getting off the bus. Lately, I started to freak out on how dark the streets are, and how lonely they are. I wonder on how insecure is walking at night back home ( and even during the day!). Some times I've crossed by some crazy guy walking in the street...and start walking fast or changed streets.......I wonder, what would I do? how would you a approach a situation of danger?

Scooters' last gasp

With the speculators out of the petroleum futures markets, and gas prices returning to normal, is the scooters' whine to be silenced?

One of the more enjoyable features of this summer's gas price spike has been a return to the road of thousands of vintage motorbikes that had been slowly rusting away in area garages. I have spotted dozens of classic, more petrol-friendly Honda CB350s, Yamaha YZ500s, even several fairing-equipped Kawasaki KZ750s. (Prince's bike in "Purple Rain") In August, at a movie theatre parking lot in the 'burbs, I saw a totally original "Kaw Thou" --a Kawasaki KZ1000, shiny and gleaming like it was still 1984.

Unfortunately, the price spike has also given license to whoever wanted a scooter to purchase one without guilt, and absurdly but proudly ride them to work. I think it is sooo American that, at the height of pump-price madness, these characters felt emboldened to purchase yet another gas-consuming device. How long have these folks secretly wanted one, but stopped because they thought they would look foolish?

I'm sure their thinking went like this: Hmm, OK, gas is $5 per gallon; I commute 10 miles over surface streets to get to and from work. This cute, lime-green Italian scooter gets 75 miles per gallon, and only costs $3200 (matching helmet $120). That means that gas would have to fall back to, oh about $2.75 per gal in the next 15 years to make this purchase look ridiculous, and that won't happen in my lifetime! Where the hell's my checkbook?

Whatever your mode of transportation, please use it to get to the polls on time to vote in tomorrow's election.

Shall I Jump Off as You Speed By?

Twice in the last week I've been on a bus with a driver who seems to have difficulties handling all that's required of a bus driver. I'm sure the job is a difficult one, controlling such a large vehicle, watching out for crazy drivers, making sure everyone pays the correct fare. However some drivers seem to forget that part of the job includes stopping to pick people up and drop people off. One driver last week blew past two stops in a row, then got upset when the people trying to get off hollered as she started to speed by a third stop. Another day, a driver on a different route twice missed different stops. Apparently driving the bus while keeping track of where the stops are is too much for some drivers to handle.

What's with the humming?

Why is it that every time I hop on the El, there always seems to be someone humming to themselves?  I just don't get it!  I would totally feel out of place humming to myself, especially when the train is so quiet.  Anyone else notice this phenomenon?  Please share your stories.

I must be dreaming

When the conversations at work inevitably turn to commuting woes, I often try to steer it back to current WTA standings, historical Cub's batting averages, or last night's production of The Pearl Fishers at the Lyric. Failing that, I generally fall silent. I never have much to add.

Of course, a one-hour ride on the train is accepted as routine. This is often in addition to a 15- or 20-minute dive to the station, combined with a 10- or 15 minute walk to the office. Typical.

Well, my short walk in the morning is not always as nice as it sounds. Many, many times in the years I've lived downtown, I've jolted myself awake with only 12 or 15 minutes before I need to be at work. Never one to back down from a challenge, the elevator instantly becomes my walk-in closet. A dash over the river and up Franklin, and I am at my desk just in time.

Here's the issue: my thoughts remain sleep-cloudy and dreamlike. Critical retention is impossible in this state. The coordination of typing, the act of placing a phone call, the morning mechanics of social interaction, all seem unfamiliar and require extra focus and concentration. With ambient morning temperatures, usually 58-76 degrees F, this effect is intensified.

For someone who appreciates the pleasures of lounging around, with coffee flowing and the FT Weekend ceremoniously unfurled all Saturday morning, the contrast is especially painful.

The Metra commuters just don't understand.

Survey: Chicago has the 2nd longest commute in the country

According to the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey "Chicago ranks second in the country for cities with 250,00 people or more with an average one-way commute time of 33.2 minutes. New York City clocks in first with 38.3 minutes."

This is not surprising to me considering Metra and CTA inefficiencies;
I live in Glen Ellyn which is in western suburb of the Chicago. My commute is about an hour each way. My daily commute is really time consuming but the most annoying thing is the delay time of the Metra trains. Sometimes if find myself at the station waiting for train which is 35 minutes late. Thank God I never missed class or test due to that delay. Last winter was my first winter and it was terrible, but commuting made it worse. I will never forget one Sunday in January when I was going to church early in the morning. It was around −5 °F, and train was 30 minutes late!!!I was freezing outside the station!

It said that some of the causes of such delay are heavy traffic, equipments not supplied on time, police activities etc...
Whatever the reasons are, I think our trains systems should be improved in terms of operations and infrastructure.
An average of commute time of 33.2 minutes is too high for us and actions should be taken to reduce it.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=15968&seenIt=1

People and musicians that ask for money: are their stories really true?

A couple of months ago, I was on the red line train. Suddenly a musician that usually plays in one of the stations sits down beside me. He is very badly dressed and people don't feel very comfortable around him in the train. He starts talking to me and I keep on the conversation. We talk about professions, my profession and what I'm studying and then we talk about his. At the end of the conversation I asked him how is it like to work in the station playing music for money (thinking how tough it might be). Well guess what? he earns 20 dollars per hour! more than I DO in my current job (and tax free). I ask him where he lives and he tells me that he lives in a very good area of Lake view which surprises me a lot. I guess its a good business to ask for money in the public transportation as a musician!

Mornings with Al

As some of the regular contributors to this blog may know, my commute consists of walking seven blocks to and from my office. With increasing regularity, a neighborhood homeless guy, Al, finds shelter at night by lying directly across the front door of my building. As I must be the first guy to leave by that door (sometimes before 5:30am), the responsibility of Al's wake-up falls to me.

Now I could exit the building another way, but that would mean walking downstairs, crossing the garage, activating the door, and walking up the ramp, --a hassle. What usually happens is that I tap rather softly on the glass near his head while simultaneously pushing gently on the door. This used to get him to scramble to his feet and thank me for allowing him access to the building. After several unsuccessful tries at this, he then took to rolling over just enough for me to squeeze out the door and step over him. This is harder than it sounds when carrying a tennis racquet and a backpack.

Now that the weather has turned much cooler, waking him up becomes harder. He has increased the number of blankets that surround him to the point where he resembles a giant, rather fragrant cocoon with feet.

Other tenants have taken to leaving the building by the garage method, but I hope Al appreciates the friendly voice and the gentle nudge that greets his day.

Colors

As much as I hate the approach of winter, I have been enjoying the changing colors of the trees. To get to the bus, I walk down two blocks lined with trees which have started to produce a plethora of colors. Most of them are turning bright yellow, but one stretch has a tree that's a mix of the bright yellow and vibrant red, next to one that's all a deep maroon, near a few that are bright yellow, and a few that have still retained their summer green.

I just wish this was as cold as it would get. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the colors before the world goes gray.

Rt. 59 Train Station

Let me paint you a picture of the Rt. 59 Train Station in Naperville. There are two parking lots which feed into the train, both of which hold approximately 3-5,000 cars. Both parking lots are full by 7:15 so that means that the train I take is depenedent upon the parking situation. I unfortunately have to park on the "crappy" side of the station so our parking payment machines are much worse than the other side's. This means that I have to use magic to get it to take my two dollars. Since we just got new machines (which are by far worse than the old ones) there is a huge learning curve for everyone so the act of paying for parking usually take up to 10 minutes. This pretty much means I miss the train at least once a week. Yes, all to get a parking spot which is 500 yards away from the train. I finally figured out the trick this morning...you have to wait for the small light on the dollar intake mechanism to turn green, then insert your dollars. This of course is not displayed ANYWHERE on the machine. Go figure. So once parking is resolved, I head to wait in line on the station which is large enough for like 12 cars. There are approximately 700-900 people getting on at my stop so that means about 60 people are getting on at each car. And it is not a pleasant experience because people are pushing and shoving. I actually got tripped one day. Gotta get a seat or you are standing for 40 minutes! it is pretty amazing to see people go back to their primal instincts every morning. And if you are handicapped, forget it...it's survival of the fittest for the Rt. 59 train station. So, once you are settled, hopefully in a seat, all you have left to hassle with is the conductor coming through yelling at you if you dont have your tickets ready. Oh yeah, and the 1,500 people (yes we stop at another large train station) all trying to exit the train at the same time which inevitably makes you feel like a herd of cows - MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

And this is just one leg of the commute!

Rules of the Road

On my way to the bus stop in the morning, I have to cross the street, which I do at a stop sign. This morning, a driver coming through the intersection gave me a nasty look and mouthed something at me, as if I had done something wrong. I had nearly completely crossed the street by the time her car reached me, and the driver had come all the way through the intersection, so it's not like I suddenly stepped off the curb and in front of her. I think periodically people should need to take a refresher driving course, because apparently this woman didn't understand what the crosswalk was for or know that I have the right of way as a pedestrian.

The Steel Yard

Every day, when my train is delayed (which is another post entirely), it stops at the same spot just outside the city next to a steel recycling yard. Sadly, this is my favorite part of the commute because I get to witness the workers recycling all the scrap metal for Chicago-land. I don't know if any of you have seen Dirty Jobs but the work that is being done at this yard is identical to an episode where Mike Rowe is at a recycling plant. The magnetic metal is picked up by big magnet machines and the non-magnetic metal is picked up by cranes. It just amazes me that every day they look like they are hard at work yet never seem to get anywhere with the piles of metal. Regardless, it is good to see that recycling is actually going on in this city and that not everything jsut goes directly to a garbage dump.

Public vs Private Space

I take public transportation a lot. I don't understand what has happened to the concept of public versus private space. Yes, cell phones give you the ability to talk to anyone from anywhere. But does that mean you have to? Does everyone on the bus with you need to listen to your argument with your significant other, hear your suggestions of where to meet for dinner tonight, endure your complaints about your boss, or need to know who was hitting on whom at last night's party? Until recently, these were generally considered private conversations. If you were in a public space (on the bus, in a restaurant, or in a store) discussing one of these topics with a friend, and someone nearby was clearly listening in, most people would have some choice words for the eavesdropper and would walk away, out of earshot. Now suddenly, perhaps since the other participant in the conversation isn't clear to those nearby, it's ok not just to eavesdrop, but to be forced to listen to these same conversations.

While typing this I needed to change a setting in my web browser. In searching through the menu options, I came across a setting called "privacy". When working on my computer at home, whether connected to the public Internet, I expect privacy. Yet somehow we have grown to expect privacy everywhere but when we're in public.

The Daily Commute

Ever wonder what people are thinking while on their way to work? Do they forget they're in public while sitting on the bus or crammed onto the train? Do they think we can't see what they're doing through their car window? From the annoying (listening to the woman at the other end of the bus spend 20 minutes making plans for dinner) to the gross (having the guy next to you sneeze all over you on your way to work) to the dangerous (what's hard to understand about a bike lane? It's for cyclists only!) to the amusing (watching the person in the next car dance to music only they can hear). We hope you'll share your stories of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hopefully it will provide some entertainment, and maybe get people to think a bit more about how they act on public transit and how they drive when in their own cars, and make the streets a bit safer and our commutes less stressful.