CTA President Robert Belcaster accuses a suburban resident of comparing “apples and rutabaga” in comparing the RTA and CTA with Washington, D.C.’s Metro system. May I comment on the CTA simply as a rider who uses it to go to and from work? I promise not to make any comparisons.
Monday: Arrive in Loop aboard a southbound Lake Shore Drive express bus on which a passenger sitting next to me spilled juice on herself, while at least one other passenger was drinking coffee from an open Styrofoam cup.
Transfer to a southbound Red Line train and two people enter selling “ice cold soft drinks, three for a dollar.” They remain for three stops, then move to another car.
Tuesday: Uneventful ride on the bus, but a woman enters my car on the Red Line and preaches to us for two stops.
Wednesday: Bus driver, engaged in animated conversation with a young lady seated across from him, passes stop without stopping, despite the illuminated “Stop Requested” sign above him. Passenger wishing to exit shouts from rear of bus to gain his attention but must exit at next stop.
Transfer to Red Line train, where a woman is changing a baby’s diaper. A man enters the car selling cassette tapes.
Those were three consecutive days on the CTA; I have not mentioned the garbage, the smell of urine or the turnstile-jumpers one is likely to encounter on a fairly regular basis.
Ride the CTA, where your complaints will get you a letter from Mr. Belcaster but certainly no improvement in service.
