Chicago Transit Still Stumbling After Redesign

Half a year into the Chicago Transit Authority’s redesigned service plan, rider complaints persist, writes Sarah Freishtat in the Chicago Tribune. “It’s not as convenient and streamlined as it used to be, especially for rush hour,” says one commuter. “The CTA is still running far fewer trains than scheduled on its two busiest lines, and the agency, like other transit systems around the country, continues to face bus and train operator shortages.”

Riders also express concerns about crime. “The Tribune found in December that the rate of violent crime on CTA trains began to drop in 2022 for the first time since the pandemic emptied public transit of many riders, but it was more than twice as high as the years before the pandemic.”

The agency changed listed wait times on its schedule and upgraded its trackers to limit ‘ghost buses’ in an effort to make headways more predictable and reliable. “CTA spokesman Brian Steele said the schedule changes don’t amount to running less service than before they were put in place, and they better match the actual service running.” But an ongoing operator shortage is making it difficult for the CTA to run more trains, and headways on some lines remain much longer than before the pandemic.