As a commuter, I am not surprised to hear that Chicago is No. 3 on the list of cities with the worst traffic congestion. What does surprise me is that the city and its suburbs, not to mention Pace or other transportation companies, haven’t taken any meaningful steps to alleviate the problem. The suburbs need to provide better public transportation. It’s great to be able to take Metra from Chicago to Hinsdale; I don’t even mind the mile-and-a-quarter trek from the train station to my office. But when the weather is bad, the last thing I want to do is walk to work. The second to last thing I want to do is climb in my car. Driving at least guarantees that I’ll be dry and comfortable.
If a bus were available from the Hinsdale train station to my office, I’d take public transportation every day. And I bet a lot of the other commuters would too.
