About 90 percent of CTA riders use some type of fare card, and you might have noticed each transaction corresponds to a distinct pattern of beeps and lights on bus fareboxes or rail station turnstiles.
Most commuters sit back and enjoy the ride, so long as they do not get the dreaded six beeps, which indicate the fare is not being accepted. However, some riders yearn to know about the innermost workings of the Chicago Transit Authority. Today is their day.
Q: Although I am not especially old or disabled, I like to sit near the front of the bus so I can pay attention to the different beeps made by the fare-collection machinery when people board. Three short beeps are the most common, but sometimes there is only one beep. Can you explain?
— Lee L., Chicago
A: We’ll give the Cliffs Notes version because the CTA fare structure is a lot more complicated than it needs to be because of a proliferation of card types, which include senior citizen free rides and fare cards for disabled riders, college students and Metra Link-Up passengers.
There are one, three and six beeps for fare cards.
One beep indicates a valid transaction. With a Chicago Card, Regional Transportation Authority reduced-fare permit smart card or student permit smart card, three beeps and the word “Retouch” on the farebox indicate the fare card machine was unable to read the card and the customer should retouch the card, said CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory. Three beeps without the “Retouch” prompt indicate the card has been accepted, but it has less than $2 of value remaining.
With a Chicago Card Plus, three beeps mean the fare has been collected. Unlike the regular Chicago Card, the Plus card is automatically replenished by the CTA’s accessing the customer’s credit card or bank account when the value falls below a designated level.
For all cards, six beeps signal the fare has not been paid because of an invalid or expired card, Gregory said. In those cases, the operator will request that the customer pay the fare, using cash or another transit card if available.
At rail stations, the fare turnstiles contain several symbols. The bottom circle lights when a fare is paid and the word “Enter” is displayed, Gregory said.
The other rectangular symbols are basically “spotter displays” used by CTA customer assistants to make sure that special pass privileges are not being abused, she said.
“If a senior citizen permit is being used, but the person coming through the turnstile appears to be much younger, CTA personnel will ask the individual for identification,” Gregory said.
Q: Can my wife still use her handicapped parking sign at parking meters in Chicago now that Mayor [Richard] Daley has raised meter rates and turned parking over to a private company? She’s worried the car will be ticketed or towed.
— Martin E., Skokie
A: Vehicles displaying handicapped placards continue to receive a waiver from feeding the meters, according to the Chicago Department of Revenue. It is a state law that is not affected by the privatization of parking meters.
Q: When I take the Metra train from Union Station south, we pass by the new shopping center on Canal Street. The building has a unique arched deck to the parking garage. On the north end of the building, the road seems to be blocked off by barricades. The area east of the tracks toward the Chicago River is open. Is this intended to be a bridge connecting across the river in the future? It doesn’t make much sense otherwise to have finished off this road like they did.
— Dino B., e-mail
A: The city is studying a possible new viaduct that would extend Taylor Street from Wells to Canal Streets, said Brian Steele, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation. The viaduct would span the railroad tracks and river. The developer of the Southgate Market built the approach structure in anticipation of a viaduct, Steele said. CDOT is seeking funds for the viaduct project, but no timetable for construction has been set, he said.
Q: The CTA has not inspected/cleared/returned to service the 200 or so articulated buses removed from service more than a month ago due to that hitch-cracking issue that ONE (1!!) bus suffered. Contrast that to the airlines. When the Federal Aviation Administration demands emergency inspections of an aircraft type, the entire affected fleet is generally inspected and returned to service in two days max. What is wrong with the CTA?
— Scott M., Chicago
A: The Tribune has been asking the CTA for answers every week since the roughly 200 accordion-style buses manufactured by North American Bus Industries Inc. were removed from service in February.
The answers have been unsatisfactory: The CTA is waiting for the consultant hired to evaluate possible frame-fatigue problems found on at least some of the buses to complete its report. … New CTA President Richard Rodriguez needs to get up to speed on the issue before action is taken. … There’s no hurry to return the buses to service because new buses made by another company are being delivered.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the delays are part of the CTA’s legal strategy against North American Bus Industries, which sued the CTA after the transit agency stopped making payments on its $102 million contract for the buses when signs of problems emerged about four years ago and the busmaker failed to resolve them. The CTA countersued.
CTA officials and mechanics at the agency’s bus garages say the articulated buses are lemons, plagued by numerous problems since entering service in 2003 that go beyond the structural integrity of the bus chassis. The buses were parked indefinitely two months ago after a joint broke in the part of the frame on one bus that connects the two sections of the vehicle.
The CTA took a big, unnecessary risk by entering into the North American Bus Industries deal. Instead of buying buses with a proven track record, the CTA became the first transit agency to buy this new model of low-floor accordion-style bus. It’s a decision the transit agency and its customers will regret for many years.
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Contact Getting Around at jhilkevitch@tribune.com or c/o the Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. Read recent columns at bancodeprofissionais.com/gettingaround
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