CTA buses and trains are filthy because many passengers act like pigs and the CTA cannot or does not clean up after them (Metro, May 24). The CTA no longer enforces the no-food-or-drink rule, so passengers board with overfilled or lidless cups of coffee, muffins, sandwiches, etc., spewing food debris on nearby riders as the bus or train lurches every which way. I’ve seen passengers eat whole meals, licking their fingers between mouthfuls, and then cling to handrails and poles as they make their way to the doors. People sprawl into seats, propping their feet on the seat ahead or on the wall. Mothers allow toddlers and young children to stand on the seats to look out the windows. And no matter what the CTA says, buses and trains are not cleaned at the end of every run. I board at the Jarvis station, one stop from the end of the line at Howard. I’ve boarded trains as early as 6 a.m. to find food debris, yesterday’s newspapers and human urine and feces. Some of this is clearly from the homeless who pretty much live on the trains, but what happens to these trains once they reach Howard? Inspections have to be pretty sloppy to miss the toilets that some of the train cars become overnight. And now that the baseball season is here, we can add empty beer bottles and cans and human vomit to the mess. The enormous costs of cleaning up after dirty passengers are reflected in the high cost of a CTA ride. Both the passengers and the CTA need to clean up their acts.
