Finally! The CTA is introducing new machines that let you buy transit passes with your debit or credit card. Welcome to the future, CTA! By "the future" we mean "the present" or "several years ago." But welcome, nonetheless. The minimum value you can buy or add with your plastic is $5 and the max is $25 per day (as a security measure, according to the press release) for Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card and American......

Chicago Transit Authority We woke up this morning to another fresh coat of snow on the ground. While we're certainly among the ranks of those who just wished this winter would end already we have to concede that we have lived through worse. When the words "blizzard" and "Chicago" are uttered in the same breath two years immediately come to mind. We weren't born in 1967, but we sure as hell remember 1979 and......

The CTA will be spending $227 million in federal funds on improving itself and fixing slow zones. Doors open on the left at "finally." In other CTA news, the Yellow Line is going to start running on weekends. [S-T, Trib] Chicago police officers made heroic rescues in a fire last night in a Chicago Housing Authority building. [Trib] This just in: Airport security might be bullshit. [S-T] Patrick Daley's sewer company did $200,000 worth of......

Photo by On The Flipside The CTA approved a plan today to buy 406 new El cars for $603.6 million to replace some current cars that are 30 years old. And these new bad boys won't be any old rail cars--no, no. They're the rail cars oooof theeeee fuuuuuuuture! (That's in our "Pigs in Space" announcer voice.) The new cars will be equipped with digital diagnostic equipment to expedite repair work and cameras on......

The CTA bailout passed, and now we can move on to that other chronic political problem: Governor Blagojevich. Just how much of Mr. Testicular Virility are Illinois residents willing to take? Judging by a new Chicago magazine article about the embattled gov, "Mr. Un-Popularity," not much. In that article, the Capital Fax Blog's Rich Miller suggests that Blago is the most unpopular governor in the country, with approval ratings that have sunk as low as......

Thee Erin's title and caption for her photo, above, absolutely slays us: "'When did we become a civilization that dressed for the crowd and not for the individual?' 'Speak for yourself Bob. I taped my ankles.'" Wonderful. "...a masterwork of nausea that is only matched by the breakfast burrito and whiskey sour I enjoyed to prepare for this competition." Joshua Allen provided the commentary for today's dizzying round of Layer Tennis. The CTA workers......

The CTA may be getting slightly greener (assuming it can get its hands on some green). Yes, our beleagured transit authority is looking to by hybrid buses for its fleet if Springfield works out a funding structure. The diesel/electric buses get an extra 2 miles per gallon, and they're priced to move because the King County Metro System in Seattle didn't exercise its option to by the articulated (read: accordion) buses, plus they'd save......

When Mike Madigan and Mayor Daley declined Balgojevich's invitation to meet (again) yesterday to try to work out a deal to fund transit, Rick Harris, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, which represents rail workers on the CTA, told the press that "we are about at wits' end." Harris was reacting to the looming "Doomsday 3", as the RTA's labor unions are concerned that a plan to overhaul pension and health care......

Mercy, CTA. Uncle. Whatever you want. We give up. You're eliminating every bus we ever take, charging us more for every packed, smelly ride, and now, you're stealing our identities, too. CTA customer service rep Miranda Smith was arrested last week and charged with official misconduct, one count of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of identity theft. (Aggravated identity theft means the victim is over 60 or disabled, or that the crime occurred "in......

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......

We've all been talking about the CTA, their budget crisis, and what exactly will (or will not) happen if they CTA doesn't get some help from their governmental parents in the Illinois legislature. While the CTA isn't ruled by the IL government, we think this is a little like the college kid who keeps drinking hard, wasting her money, and wondering why she keeps getting into situations that don't have great consequences — thereby necessitating......

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......

We've all been there. The bus is packed as it is, asses to elbows to Timbuk2 bags. We're trying not to step on the granny sitting in front of us and trying to convince the proud older man with a cane that we don't want the seat that just opened up (even though we do, we were raised right!). The bus pulls away from the stop with a jerk and a block later, jams......

So it might be a good idea to look for alternate forms of transportation. Like biking and the CTA. Why not do a combo? The CTA is reminding us about the idea with Bike to Transit week. This week, the CTA is actively pimping their efforts to make it easier for people to combine bike riding with public transit. For instance, there are racks on every CTA bus that can carry two bikes, so......

Carl Wright, a Chicago actor who appeared in Soul Food, Barbershop and Big Momma's House, has passed away from cancer. Northwestern won't be offering an undergraduate major in Jazz studies any longer. --> Bo Diddley's condition is improving after having a stroke last week. In local celeb gossip, people are wondering whether Vaughnifer is planning a romantic reunion in Chicago. Someone at MeFi asked "What is required for a Chicago porch repair permit?" A......

A fire on the roof of the Heller International Building at 500 W. Monroe St. broke out just before noon today. We've been seeing lots and lots of smoke, but aren't sure how large the actual fire is. The Trib isn't reporting any injuries — yet — but that hasn't stopped the media from hurrying over. Between the sirens, the helicopters and the fire trucks racing around, it sort of feels like a war......

Chicagoist wants you all to go to this story and look at the expression on CTA Board President Carole Brown's face as she rides a bus this February. Classic. The picture accompanies an article detailing Brown's plan to have the CTA's Office of Inspector General do an audit to see if buses and trains are cleaned as often and thoroughly as they should be. At a board meeting Wednesday, Brown was given the party line......

Do you feel as if your trips on the Blue Line are taking longer these days? You're not alone. Today, the Sun-Times is reporting on how the Blue Line to O'Hare — the second busiest branch after the Northside Red Line — is suffering from huge rush-hour crowds, compounding the problems already caused by crumbling infrastructure. Blue Line trains now putter through slow zones on a third of the tracks between Division and O'Hare, up......

Plans for the Olympic stadium and village have been unveiled. Illinois is one of a bunch of states that have reached an $8 million settlement with Bayer, who they say didn't properly warn people about the risks of taking the drug. Local tech company Itellext is teaming up with AOL to make a free customized version of their search tool Watson available for K-12 students. The CTA is putting a new northbound platform and......

McDonald's new menu, especially the new fancy coffee, helped them make big money last year. The city is unveiling Olympic ads that will be displayed at O'Hare. Motorola is sending kids to China (not in a Jack Bauer kind of way). And their investors want new fancy toys. Mayor Daley isn't allowing the Park District to jack up parking prices for the Bears game. An E2 guard discussed the stampede in the club. The CTA......

As we get more and more frightened about the threats/promises of impending CTA snafus ranging from commutes that take so long we could draft a thesis (on urban transportation, natch) or the same slashing service and raising fares, we are constantly running through various solutions that could help alleviate some of these problems. (Because at some point, you've just got to help your own cause.) One of the solutions that keeps coming up in all......

The CTA put out their 2006 ridership figures on Monday, showing a 0.5 percent increase from last year, and boosting figures to their highest level since 1993, according to CTA officials. Several things in this report were unexpected to us. First, that buses account for two-thirds of total CTA ridership. We would have never guessed, frankly. A lot of buses don’t run 24 hours, and after rush hour a lot of buses don’t seem......

Drive Less. Live More. The new slogan and website from the Regional Transportation Authority is mostly aimed at providing details and tools for using public transportation. The tools are not necessarily new, some have been around for year, but it is great that the RTA has finally put all of these together in a central site. The site contains commuter calculators, which estimated for us that if we drove to work we would be spending......

Ogilvie Transportation Center is being evacuated as we speak. At around 3:15, at least one person was shot. NBC 5 says that it could be a possible hostage situation. Traffic outside the Chicagoist office, which is across the street, is being rerouted as well. All we can hear is sirens. Update - 4:02 p.m.:The DHL guy just came into the Chicagoist office. He was on the 36th floor at Ogilvie when the incident occurred.......

A $2.4 million pilot project aimed at increasing the mobile security network for buses and trains throughout the city will begin this month. The project, funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, will provide wireless transmission of live streaming video to patrol cars and emergency vehicles from buses and train cars. Frank Kruesi told the Tribune that, "The mobile security network expands the capabilities of security cameras on our buses." In addition,......

On Tuesday, the CTA Transit Board passed its 2007 budget. And then promptly asked for more money. In order to remedy the slow zones throughout the system, which now make up 34 percent of the Red Line and portions of the Blue Line, the CTA estimates it needs an additional $500 million dollars over and above the state and federal dollars it already receives (the budget currently allocates $35.7 million for 2007 but nothing for......

Yesterday, we were stuck on the blue line for about 15 minutes. "Attention passengers, attention passengers, a train ahead of us is having a malfunction. We will be moving shortly." After the third or fourth time of hearing this the rain soaked, anxious passengers start to get a little frustrated. We overheard one young lady expressing her frustrations, "I wonder if the CTA ever gets scared there might be a mob, they should be scared......

The Feds have subpoenaed workers comp files from the city. More than 1,100 transportation nerds gathered downtown to discuss transit solutions. The CTA is adding low-emissions buses. Handicapped transit riders are upset about a 50% increase in Pace paratransit fares and a $3.25 increase in taxicab vouchers. "Discarded" via Michael DaKidd......

A three-alarm fire destroyed a warehouse at 1514 W. Lake St. in the West Loop this morning, disrupting Green Line service in the process. The flames came within 15 feet of the Green Line elevated tracks, causing no damage, but service was halted on a three-mile stretch near the area. A fire department spokesperson called the Reliable Plating Company building a total loss, but no one was injured. The CTA has started a bus shuttle......

Chicagoist’s love-hate relationship with the CTA continues unabated, but even we feel sorry for Frank and Co. as it’s mostly bad news this week. NBC – 5 reported that more than five dozen CTA passengers affected by the Blue Line derailment last July filed lawsuits against the agency. The CTA is not admitting liability despite the accident occurring on its train, which was traveling over its tracks in its tunnel. We’ll be curious to see......