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As far as we know, we never rode a CTA train or bus in the presence of Frank Kruesi. Rumor has it he did it quite often, judging by the kinds of comments we heard when he was fired. We imagine the yellow jacket would be hard to miss. In the past, we doubt the CTA's new sheriff in town rode much with Kruesi, either. Ron Huberman (who for all the world looks to us a tiny bit like Vin Diesel) apparently used to poopoo public transit. However, after being summarily knighted on Tuesday, he claims that he will take nothing but.
In an interview with WBBM, Huberman outlined some of the things he'll have to deal with now that he's CTA President. There's the Circle Line, of which we've not heard much lately, in the wake of the Brown Line cluster and the painful slowdowns. There's the looming budget crisis that would scare the willies out of any successor. We don't envy him there, but he seems to be willing to jump right in. Here's hoping he can sweet-talk legislators downstate for funds better than Kruesi did.
Of utmost anathema to the lot of us sane city dwellers who live, work and play in Chicago and don't just have layovers here, Huberman insists that the Block 37 superstation will be finished. Great! Fabulous! We've heard so much baseless blather about it for so long we forgot what the fuck it's supposed to do! Hell, part of us still hopes that the whole block is somehow cursed, and that this whole CBS Tower/CTA tubage thing will never come to pass. We all know Block 37 will never be happy until we take over for the old Times Square, creating a solid smut block of brothels and beer gardens. ... But that's the evil Chicagoist talking.
We know it's too early to tell, but we're still basking in the afterglow of Kruesi just ... not having power. And Huberman may be spouting mere lip service, but we do believe the quickest way to find out what's truly wrong with the CTA is to ride it, day in and day out, like any average citizen. We'll be looking for you, Ron. Don't disappoint.
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Quick note -- Huberman will be interviewed on Chicago Tonight this evening.
What's the current bonding capacity of the CTA?
Is the state interested in selling bonds for transportation improvements?
How much push-back will Huberman have when it comes to CTA unions?
I think those are vital questions for all of us who depend on the CTA.
And, why have my Brown Line trains been sparkling clean for nearly three days in a row? Why can't they always been clean? I noticed the same level of cleanliness when the Olympic people were here.
Vice - Carol Brown opted to sell bonds to take care of the pension problem immediately. I think this makes a lot of sense as it will free up operating costs for the CTA.
Also did you guys know that Huberman says he takes the train to work everyday! My hero - seriously that's awesome.
Also what's with the block 37 hate? It had to be developed to begin with (it was a complete scar on downtown) and the CTA station is only a fraction of the whole project.
Chicagoist needs to be nicer to the CTA. I understand the frustration but all this whining isn't going to do much. I mean Kruesi's gone! yay!
Matty, thanks, and I agree. But what I am curious about is how much room the CTA has to issue another bond issue, or how much room the state would have.
I don't cheer for Huberman. Why didn't he ride the train more often before his job? Granted, it might not have been possible with his job duties, but I still want to know. It is almost as though he is slumming it with the rest of us now.
Matty,
I think the problem with Block 37 is not the idea of the station--I think it will be good to link the blue and red lines there, and it is a good space being used for other things. The problem I have with the project is that they want to make a train that runs express to the airports that starts at Block 37. I think they are spending way too much money for something that will benefit the tourists and only a fraction of the residents in Chicago. Why can't they fix the existing blue line problems with that money, or extend the red line, or fix the stations north on the red line in Rogers Park, or use that money for another project that will benefit the majority of residents that take the L?
They are already having switch problems with the brand new switches in the Fullerton-Belmont area. I sat on the brown line between Armitage and Fullerton for over 15 minutes last night during rush hour while they fixed the switching problem.
matty, i'm just weird that way. i'm fascinated by the fact that since block 37 was torn apart so long ago, even though it's in the heart of downtown, they've never really been able to get it started again. as far as hatin' on the whole CTA goes, i'm all for public transportation, 100%. but i still don't see the point behind the superstation. we already have a (dank, creepy, but extant) connection between the blue and red lines. why not renovate that instead of pour money into another hole?
That block 37 airport express is a total waste of money on a cash strapped system that desperately needs improvements everywhere else. If hatin' on the CTA doing projects that don't benefit any of it's residents makes me a 'hater' than I'm proud to be one.
i read reports that the airport thing just isn't going to happen.
that said, i understand the frustration with excessive service outside existing infrastructure i still think this is one of those things that most cities in the world are going to have anyway. London already does and i think paris too.
getting downtown fast from the airport can mean more business coming downtown as well as being a real convenience for people stopping through the city.
i'm not necessarily gung ho about it, but like the circle line, it's just another thing to make chicago stand out as a world city.
*shrug*
also new rail cars coming in 2009 (i saw the prototype - super pretty cars) as well as massive infrastructure improvements on the blue, brown and south redline stop.
all in all give the cta a few years more. i think it will become a great service once again.
also i think service has not been bad at all in the past few months but that's just me.
@matty:
Where did you see the new prototypes? I'm envisioning high tech Tokyo superspeed subways with rubber tracks and electronic maps telling me where every train is at all times.
Of course, I'm often disappointed...
Seems to me that riding the El everyday would be more effective at getting a feel for things than "mystery shoppers".
In regards to Block 37, express service to the airport is something that they couldn't really make work, and if I'm not mistaken the express service isn't something that's being pursued right now.
The superstation at Block 37 is being paid for by money from outside the CTA, a grant, or Federal funds or something. Probably in name of developing Block 37, not the CTA. My feeling is that since the money's spent, and we're getting this station, at some point the express service to O'hare will be put back on the table, but here's hoping that the new guy focuses on day to day operations first.
I'm envisioning high tech Tokyo superspeed subways with rubber tracks and electronic maps telling me where every train is at all times.
I'm sure Tokyo's mayor also hired a guy who's only transit experience was driving a school bus back in college.
Rather than getting involved in the minor stuff, let's not forget the funding problem. It's not a bunch of hot air, the state audit showed that the agencies can do better in certain areas (and by all means should, wherever possible) but what CTA, Metra, and Pace can save is in the "tens of millions of dollars" at this point, whereas the needs are in the hundreds of millions.
$226 million just to complete this year without cuts/fare increases, to be more specific, plus $400 in new operating monies in the future to provide better services to serve the region.
That, and $10 billion in new capital monies over the next five years.
In other words, it's not a bunch of baloney. There really is a massive lack of funding. I'm hoping Huberman brings positive changes and helps get the funding that's needed to fix CTA, let alone what also needs to be done for Metra and Pace.
I, with other partners in transit advocacy, and now affiliated with the Transit Riders' Alliance (an advocacy project of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association), have made it easy.
Go to http://www.savechicagolandtransit.com and send a fax (we'll pay for it!) to your legislators and our statewide leaders saying "Hey, let's fix transit in Chicagoland."
Tony, you've always made valid points re: the need for better and more funding. I doubt any regular CTA riders would disagree. In fact, I am pretty radical in how far I would go to better fund all forms of mass transit and discourage use of cars (higher gas taxes, for one thing, and no new road construction unless tied to increases in mass transit funding).
That said, I am always puzzled that, at least in comments I've read, and your Web site, you seem rather mute on the need for CTA to also reform from within. (Perhaps I have missed something?) This would help make the CTA a more efficient agency, and score big PR points with outsiders and customers and, especially, downstate/suburban lawmakers (trust me on this one--I've know quite a few of these people over the years, including some serving now). Absent workers are a big issue, as are the stubborn tendencies of the unions. So are overlapping layers of management, and the long tradition of dumping hacks into the agency. Simply put, I think you let the CTA off the hook far too easily, and it has an effect on how willing people are to listen to your one-note message.
That said, I would be curious if you know how much room/interest there is at the state and local level for a mass transit related bond issue. I don't see how long-term capital needs can be met without the involvement of bonds. The debt creation power of agencies is not exactly unlimited, not when one takes into account strong resistance to higher taxes.
Very well said vise,
I'd bump this to the top of the chicagoist page if it was possible.
Vise77:
I would like to clarify that we're not saying that there shouldn't be continued reform from within, or that the issues raised by the audit don't need to be addressed. We want to see transit operate as efficiently and effectively as it can, too--the public deserves nothing less.
The site is simply a tool to help people understand the funding situation and to ask their representatives and state leaders to put this on their agendas and address the problems that exist today.
I don’t disagree that we should make sure the agencies are doing the best job they can, which we encourage in the content of the site and in the base for the letter to send to legislators. However, we also need, as a region, to make sure the proper resources are committed to ensuring the three transit agencies can sustain themselves and grow with the region in the coming years. There is no internal way to get around it--transit needs better funding.
There is a crisis and the message we (as well as plenty of others today) are expressing is quite simply this: "let's fix it."