Next, buses are monitored and controlled at key spots on the route, called terminal points. Each bus is equipped with a GPS tracker, and four times a year the CTA analyses the data to see if there’s a more efficient way to run the buses. The main way the CTA tries to combat bunching is scheduling. “Though everyone may be affected at some point, we feel that it’s something we work at and that we have a very high standard for unbunched,” Connelly said. Still, for Connelly, bus bunching is a smaller part of making sure the buses are on time and consistent. Of course that percentage is greater during morning and evening commutes, as well as along the busiest routes. According to CTA performance metrics, only around 3 percent of bus trips experience bunching, which the agency defines as a gap of less than 60 seconds between buses at a stop. Mike Connelly, the CTA’s vice president of planning, said bus bunching isn’t a major issue for the agency.
#Cta bus 15 full
I don’t think you’ll ever get zero bus bunching, so your goal is to reduce it as much as possible.”Ĭlick here for a full screen and shareable version ‘At the mercy of the street’ This reality makes it almost impossible to eliminate bunching on a route unless there’s a lot of time between buses. “Left on its own, buses will bunch.”īig gaps between buses, he said, will get bigger, while small gaps will shrink. “A bus system by nature has bad dynamics,” Eisenstein said. As a system, buses by design are set up to bunch. That’s not always the case, though, according to University of Chicago Professor Donald Eisenstein.Įisenstein studies self-organizing systems, like workers in a production line. It seems like there should be something the Chicago Transit Authority can do to keep the buses on schedule. Bus bunching is ninth on the Chicago Transit Authority complaint list, the subject of around 2 percent of all calls. Many riders feel just like Zachar, unable to figure out how two, three or more buses can even be in the same place at once. I don’t understand why one can’t just wait and be on schedule like he’s supposed to.” “Oh, don’t get me started,” Matt Zachar said while waiting for a bus to arrive. Meanwhile, three 66 Chicago buses all rolled east down Chicago toward the stop together.
#Cta bus 15 drivers
Passengers getting off the Blue Line at Chicago waited for buses downtown, while bus riders worked to get off and board the “L.” Both groups converged at the bus stop, leaving bus drivers to wait while each got where they were headed. We watched bus bunching play out on a recent weekday morning at the 66 Chicago bus stop at Chicago and Milwaukee avenues. Not only is the problem practically inevitable, short-term fixes can sometimes make bus riders feel worse. Bunching is a symptom of a bus system that’s not running efficiently, and that creates more street traffic for everyone: bus riders, car drivers and bikers, too.Īnd don’t be fooled that bunching is simple to combat. Most CTA bus riders have been frustrated by bunching at least once, but it’s not just a problem for them. I’d also like to get drivers’ perspectives on how they feel about it and how they deal with it and what tools they have to unbunch their buses.
I’m interested to know about the urban physics involved in bus bunching, how it happens. Corrin Pitluck noticed it often while riding and driving around Chicago, so she put this question to Curious City: Riders show up at a bus stop, and the bus doesn’t show up on time. So in retrospect there's only one charging station left that hasn't been revealed yet and either Chicago or 74th is the only place left to rule out for it in terms for having it at the garage rather than a terminal.It’s a situation that plays out every day in Chicago. 77th is a will card due to the #700s still being there and also having a wall mounted charging station. I can only guess and say a majority of the midway corridor routes would receive them as you stated but I'm like you, where would the other charging stations be located? Judging by the time frame CTA has layed out my guess is Midway,Navy Pier and Austin so far have charging stations. Oh yeah forgot #63 does west terminals at kedzie so what do you there? You know really, if they could charge at one spot, they could run these on several lines like at midway you could do 55 or even 63w. Ah the article states that there will be 5 charging stations, so is that 2 terminals on each line and one at chicago, but what about 74th? Maybe at the garage they plug in? That would open up a slot.