A recent CTA survey found that most Pink Line riders are satisfied with the newest “L” route, but, as Kyra Kyles wrote Tuesday, some riders don’t have such a rosy outlook. (“Pink Line’s true colors,” Oct. 10 “Going Public” column.) With readers citing longer commute times and “train jumping” difficulties, it seems there still are some kinks to be straightened out along the Pink
A tale of two commutes
My roommate and I live just off of the Damen Pink Line stop. Beginning in June, we began having conflicting views on this new Pink Line service.
Before the Pink Line was introduced, it took me 35 minutes on the O’Hare Blue Line to get to the Clark/Lake stop across the street from the law firm where I work. My roommate’s commute was much faster: She would get to work within 20 minutes (right off of the Clinton Blue Line stop).
Once the change was implemented, I was ecstatic! I found out that I only had four stops before I reached my Clark/Lake stop, and if I was lucky it would only take me 18 minutes to get to work. Unfortunately for my roommate, her quick commute turned into a hold-my-breath-and-hope-the-next-train-i sn’t-Pink-so-that-I-won’t-be-late-to-work. It turned into 40-minute hell, and she had to get up earlier in order to make it to work on time.
In my honest opinion, I feel that the Pink Line is awesome. I do, however, think that the trains should run Pink-Blue-Pink more frequently and extend [service] to later hours so that riders like my roommate can find it easier to get to work on time. There has to be a compromise somewhere.
Veronica Trejo, 24, Pilsen
Line dancing
I don’t know who the CTA polled about service on the Pink Line, but I think it stinks!
I work in the UIC Medical District, so I have to take the Pink Line to the Polk stop from downtown. In the morning, I have to do a crazy “train jump” to avoid riding all the way around the Loop (get off the Purple Line at Merchandise Mart, transfer to a Brown Line to Washington, then transfer to the Pink Line, which is at the last stop on the Loop before heading out to Polk).
I used to be able to take the Purple Line to Clark/Lake and transfer to a Blue Line that headed straight out to Polk.
In the evening, while the train is faster getting downtown, any time gained is lost “waiting for signal clearance ahead” at Clark/Lake. What was the CTA thinking adding another train line to an already overcrowded Loop network?
Jim Marshall, Evanston
Time’s a-wasting
I am an assistant professor at UIC and commute from Frankfort (a Southwest suburb) to Chicago on the Metra Rock Island Line, then connect to the CTA at the LaSalle Street station. I used to board the 54th/Cermak Blue Line train at the LaSalle underground and made it to Polk and Paulina in 15 minutes or less.
Now, with the “wonderful” Pink Line, it takes me 20-30 minutes to travel to the SAME station. (Yes, I know the Blue Line still runs a few trains on the original route during rush hour, but these trains are so few and far between that the commute time is as bad or worse if I wait for one of them.) For me, the Pink stinks. Bring back the original route, please.
Michael J. Barrows, 57, Frankfort
Customers, strike back
Lousy CTA service? Call and demand a refund. With the new-ish Chicago Cards, the agency knows when I rode and what I paid. Perhaps if enough $2 fare cards are mailed to angry customers such as myself, the CTA will find it less costly to do the following: adhere to and enforce a schedule.
Commuting to my partner’s home (Uptown to Rogers Park) averages 45 minutes, and an off-peak trip from Uptown to downtown, via the Red Line, averages an hour. Today the No. 22 Clark bus halted without explanation at Granville, [and] the driver yelled at me when questioned after five minutes of fiddling with the fare box. I’m on a schedule. Is the CTA?
Years ago, the Red Line ran [A- and B-stop] trains, basically skipping at least half the stops per train. Commutes averaged 20-30 minutes from the far North Side to downtown. When this model was eliminated, we were told that more frequent runs would compensate for hitting every single stop. Now, riding the train is akin to taking a bus. I can travel from Brooklyn to Central Park in Manhattan in less time than it takes CTA to move me 5.6 miles on a mostly straight shot of “high-speed” rail.
Going forward, if I have any commutes that are unacceptably long, save a mechanical breakdown, I am calling 1-888-YOUR-CTA. Fellow riders, will you join me?
Victor Saporta, Uptown
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Have something to say about public transportation in Chicago? Send your ideas and opinions to kkyles@tribune.com.
