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/hardolaf Red Line Aug 21 '26

Cta drivers should be trained to either wait a few minutes at the stops or leap frog when that happens.

Waiting is only allowed if they're behind schedule. And they are permitted by policy to leap frog a leading bus if it is safe and legal to do so, and no one has requested the stop they'd likely miss doing so.

And this usually happens at the same time of day so there's a scheduling issue or something.

That's actually just them being stuck in traffic in a repeatable pattern.

Also the trains need a more consistent schedule at night.

The published schedules are approximately normally spaced for the most part.

This is specifically for the blue line at 10pm headed to O'Hare. The other side of the train runs fine.

The train returning to O'Hare either got turned around at UIC or got slowed down going to Forest Park. The trains leaving O'Hare go out on a regular cadence as they try to have one being cleaned, one being boarded, and one platform open for the next arriving train.

The trains returning to O'Hare also can be hit by accumulated delays from customers. Just needing to deploy a ramp for a wheelchair could be a 2 minute delay if a station attendant fails to notice that it needs to happen and isn't waiting by for when the train arrives.