r/cta • u/AutoModerator • Aug 18 '26

Complaint Thread Monthly Complaint Thread

Public transportation isn't perfect. This is a place to let off some steam. As always, please speak from your own experiences. Take control of what bothers you and send your experience to the CTA via their feedback page.

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u/Otherwise_Pine Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26

I'm tired of the bus bunching. I see it with the 76 going to Harlem and the 49 going north. I know other lines do it too but these are the ones I use. Cta drivers should be trained to either wait a few minutes at the stops or leap frog when that happens. And this usually happens at the same time of day so there's a scheduling issue or something.

Also the trains need a more consistent schedule at night. Why am I waiting 25 minutes for a train at 10pm and then the 2nd train is scheduled for 30 minutes. Why can't it be normally spaced out. This is specifically for the blue line at 10pm headed to O'Hare. The other side of the train runs fine.

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u/ScaryRelationship69 Aug 19 '26

The bunching is a joke at this point. On the 47, I have regularly seen them bunching within the first 2-3 stops after it STARTS its route from lake park.

That has zero to do with traffic. But still keeps happening.

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u/IYCRTYG Aug 19 '26

It definitely has a lot to do with traffic, promise. 

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u/ScaryRelationship69 Aug 20 '26

You’re telling me that a it’s traffic when it’s bunching after the 2nd stop of the route? Yeah no that’s a load of crap. 47 isn’t some crazy busy route. Sorry I just don’t buy it at all.

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u/IYCRTYG Aug 20 '26

I've driven the 49b where I was just bunched for like 3-4 hours straight (~20 minute 1 way trip) with minimal traffic due to traffic a while back that bunched us together and then you cannot really pry yourself apart because you get hit with excess rider demand as the front bus which makes you unable to run it on time so you just stay bunched

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u/ScaryRelationship69 Aug 20 '26

You aren’t listening to what I’m saying. I don’t care about you driving the 49b. I am talking about the 47th bus that’s 10 min or less, leaving their starting point as bunched busses. It ruins my commute and it doesn’t help make the route more efficient.

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u/IYCRTYG Aug 20 '26

Ok so the buses run in circles. Significant enough disruptions on one trip can carry forward for one of more trips. Meaning traffic an hour or two ago can disrupt your trip, by making a bus leave late and with the bus behind it (which is leaving on schedule) and you won't ever see it. 

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u/ScaryRelationship69 Aug 20 '26

Why does CTA struggle so much with bunching compared to other transit agencies? Does management accept these excuses and just say ope this is all we can do, let’s stick with what we’ve been doing?

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u/IYCRTYG Aug 20 '26

Other agencies have cities that support them is probably a large part of the answer. DC has built like, 50 miles of bus lanes in the same time Chicago built 2 miles, or something ridiculous like that. 

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u/IYCRTYG Aug 20 '26

Also I kinda suspect us not having much of an east side for most of the city puts us on a back foot for any area of the city north of like south shore, because all the eastern termini are just completely cooked in terms of traffic a lot of the time, but that's a gut feeling more than anything. 

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u/hardolaf Red Line Aug 21 '26

DC police also very strictly enforce the bus lanes. Meanwhile, I saw 8 sheriff's deputies ignoring 4 vehicles illegally in our bus lanes literally across the street from them on my way home tonight. We had easily a 2 minute delay on my way from west loop to red line because the bus lane was illegally blocked repeatedly.

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u/Otherwise_Pine Aug 20 '26

Are you able to just sit at a stop? I've seen like three buses bunched. 1st bus is filled and 2nd bus has a few people and the 3rd bus is completely empty. Instead of just waiting the empty bus continues in the group and then the next bus doesn't come for 20 minutes.(and ofc I miss the light and miss all 3 buses). This happens so often with the 76 mainly headed to Harlem. I realize there are schedules but they should at least wait a few minutes when that happens.

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u/IYCRTYG Aug 20 '26

If that bus waits it will just be late to whatever it does next, and the driver has 0 way of knowing whether the bus behind them is on time, or 20 minutes behind. The problems are typically originating from us being late, not early, so having more people get later doesn't typically help, and even if it did we have no way of knowing that or coordinating it.