Now and through the summer, the Chicago-Card readers on buses will be relocated from left of the front door to the front of the farebox next to the driver. The readers were placed in their current locations in 2005 to quicken boarding. However, that didn't pan out quite as planned including, as the Sun-Times notes, in which bus drivers yell at passengers to retouch their card if it doesn't register, which holds up the boarding process. more ›

All of the love-hate relationship with the CTA aside, around 60,000 transit cards are set to expire beginning in April and an additional 28,000 will expire over the summer. If you have a registered Chicago Card Plus or a registered regular Chicago Card, you will get an e-mail about how to replace your current transit card for a new one. Upon receiving a notification e-mail, you will be instructed as to how to get a replacement card through mail. If you have a regular Chicago Card but have not registered it, you can still check to see when your card is set to expire to replace your card on time. You can check to see when your card expires either online, at an El station, calling the CTA, or visiting them in person downtown. You can renew and obtain new cards using any of those four methods as well. Regardless of whether you have a regular card or a plus card, the only catch is that you need to replace your card within 45 days of its expiration date so renew as early as possible. more ›

Well, this is some great news. The CTA announced its 2009 budget today and it seems those fare hikes we've been waiting will finally come to pass. The Ron said of the increase, “While this fare increase is difficult, we simply felt we had no choice.’’ And then he probably muttered, "Fucking Blagojevich," under his breath. So how will the fare increase affect riders? more ›

At this point writing about the CTA's "Doomsday scenario" is like beating a dead horse. We know what's at stake if they don't get the funding before Sunday. Our inbox, and those of thousands of Chicago Card holders, are full of messages from Ron Huberman matter-of-factly stating such. All this means that our eyes are on Governor Blagojevich and state lawmakers heading down to Springfield last night to hammer out a possible last-minute solution to... more ›

The US House subcommittee on highways and transit will conduct a hearing here on October 29 to determine what kinds of transit improvements Chicago would need before we could host the Olympics. Why yes, October 29 is a mere 6 days before our public transit system starts collapsing into itself like a dying star! "Mayor Richard Daley, Blagojevich, officials from the Regional Transportation Authority, the three transit agencies and the U.S. Olympic Committee will... more ›

If your panties were in a bunch about your Chicago card expiring, you may now partially un-bunch them. Your card will still expire, but you'll no longer lose your balance. more ›

On Wednesday, the Illinois House Committee on Mass Transit approved legislation that would enable the RTA to fund the CTA, Metra and Pace and prevent service cuts and fare hikes across the board. The Illinois House Committee on Mass Transit approved a transit funding and reform proposal by a 15-4 vote. The House is expected to convene to vote on the proposal next week. This bill comes after the RTA announced that a "doomsday" scenario... more ›

Hear us now, believe us later, but if you don't want to end up with a crappy solution to a shitty problem, it might be a great time to contact your State Representatives and Senators and to tell them that you really, really do want to ride the CTA in the "ehh" manner you're used to, rather than the CTA-lite version that the CTA board just passed if they don't get more funds. Tony Coppoletta... more ›

Nearly all of us agree that Frank Kruesi was a big DB that couldn't keep the CTA from being in a continuous state of CF always leaving everyone going WTF? And it was with great hope that Chicagoist saw Ron Huberman come on board with promises of administrative cuts and just not being Frank Kruesi. However, over at Time Out Chicago, our old pal, Scott Smith, posted that, yet again, the CTA is threatening fare... more ›

"Metro" via Mark Dawursk. more ›

Remember way back in January 2006 when the CTA raised their base rate from $1.75 to $2 a ride? Of course you do. Unless you're one of those people who never ride the CTA and use their car or bike to get everywhere, to which we say you're missing a vital, if dirty and malfunctioning, part of the city. Anyway. As you also might recall, there was a huge run on Chicago Cards at the eleventh hour, in order for people to avoid the extra 25¢ markup. A shortage soon occurred at stores and currency exchanges throughout Chicago. As a result, scores of people couldn't take advantage of the huge marketing ploy and ended up spending much more on their trips than was necessary. more ›

Despite a preponderance of stories lately, we swear we’re not trying to become Chicago’s next knitting blog. We swear. However, when we caught sight of these handy mittens on CTA Tattler today, we just had to mention them. Colleen Meagher, a Bostonian who runs the blog, Subway Knitter, developed some knitted mittens with a perfectly sized pocket to hold her Charlie Card (Boston’s equivalent of the Chicago Card/Chicago Card Plus). Ms. Meagher’s mittens are sadly... more ›

There are still 12 hours left in the day, just enough time for you to register to get your Chicago Card and then email the CTA with your thoughts on the proposed Circle Line. more ›

At every turn, the CTA is hawking their new staple of efficiency (excuse our sarcastic laughter) -- the Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus. Premise? You board buses and trains faster. You get a discount on fares -- you get the transfers that straight up cash riders don't get. You look sleek and cool by waving your card, hearing the snazzy 'beep beep' and gliding right on. more ›

Everyone's gonna be screwed when construction on the Dan Ryan starts next month. We all know that. But now the CTA is doing their part to help out ... or maybe just trying to figure out a way for them to make some money off it. In an effort to encourage those who would normally take the Dan Ryan to take trains and buses, CTA President Frank Kruesi recommended that the CTA waive the fee for its Chicago Card through May. So waive the fee initially, make a shitload in the end. Of course, it would give all of us the opportunity to get the card for free for a couple months. more ›

Last year, Chicagoist reported on our experience with the CTA’s Go Lane buses. At the time, we said “it didn’t slow things down but it didn’t speed things up much either though that’s the CTA’s reasoning for adopting the technology in the first place.” Now that more Go Lane buses are in use and many CTA customers have adopted the Chicago Card thanks to a fare increase, Chicagoist wondered if that would change. Based on our experiences with the buses, we have to conclude that the Go Lane bus is like most of the CTA’s capital improvement projects: short on forethought, nice in theory, lousy in practice. more ›

Remember in the beginning of the year when the CTA raised rates for those who paid with cash, but not for those who use the Chicago Card? It looks like everyone rushed out and bought Chicago Cards. No one wants to pay more when they don't have to, right? Well, now a bunch of grocery stores and currency exchanges are out of the cards, and the CTA is getting sued for not making the cards more available. more ›

• Daley says he favors a less restrictive smoking ban, the city council still can't agree on anything.
• This month anthropologists will begin photographing about 20,000 Columbian Exposition items with the goal of making them available on the InterWeb by Sept. 2007.
• Actual good CTA news: Daley puts the kabash on the CTA fare hike for disabled. The Chicago Card is free from now til March. We can now load up our CTA cards & check balances at 65 local retail outlets.

The CTA isn't proposing any more service cuts to cover a $49 million budget shortfall this year, but they are still finding ways to piss off a large portion of its customers. more ›

If you've been meaning to get a Chicago Card or Chicago Card Plus, get your ass in gear. The cards are only free through the end of the month (Sunday) and then the $5 fee will be back. You can get your card online, by calling 1-888-YOUR-CTA, or by going to the CTA office. You can also get them at Currency Exchanges, Jewel & Dominick's too. No more procrastinating! more ›

Who knew this was unofficial "Let's Speed Up Your Travel Times Week" in Chicago? First we got new CTA Go Lanes for privileged Chicago Card holders, and now this: transit peeps from the RTA and the Illinois Department of Transportation are joining forces to bring area commuters the fastest way to get from anywhere to anywhere. Sometime in the next year, Chicagoland commuters will have access to a comprehensive Web site that computes travel times... more ›

Wondering about the look of the CTA buses with an express lane for Chicago Card users? Then wonder no more! Chicagoist ended up riding one of these new buses into downtown today and got to see it in action (or possibly “inaction.”) We picked up the 156 LaSalle bus at North and LaSalle. While we were waiting, a CTA employee told us we would be boarding one of the new express lane buses. We... more ›

Have you ever sat in a tangle of tollbooth-induced gridlock, silently (or loudly) cursing the I-pass holders that whiz through the turnstyles with nary a wait and nary a care? Unless you have one of the CTA's Chicago Cards or Chicago Cards Plus, you may be resigned to a similar fate the next time you board a train or bus. more ›

When Aunt Josephine and Uncle Arthur come to town and want to see all the sites in one week you recommend CityPass to them right? It's simple. You buy a ticket for $49, it's good for 9 days, and it gets you into the Hancock, the Art Institute, the Field Museum, the Shedd, the Planetarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry. And tickets can be purchased at any of those locations. Great. Everything they want to see. Done. more ›