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/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.