Chicago transit authority

This article is about the mass transit system. Please see The Chicago Transit Authority for the album and Chicago for the band. Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Transit Authority offers bus and rapid transit routes throughout the city, as well as to some suburban destinations. The CTA is a municipal corporation that started operations on October 1, 1947 upon the purchase and combination of the transportation assets of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the Chicago Surface Lines streetcar system. In 1952, CTA purchased the assets of the Chicago Motor Coach Company, which was under the control of Yellow Cab founder John D. Hertz, resulting in a fully unified system. Today, the CTA is one of the three service boards financially supported by the Regional Transportation Authority. Contents 1 About 2 Fare collection 2.1 Paying with cash 2.2 Paying with transit cards 2.3 Paying with Chicago Cards 3 Bicycles on the CTA 4 Equipment history and folklore 5 Revenue 6 See also 7 External links About The Chicago Transit Authority has over 2,000 buses in its fleet. Chicago Transit Authority trains serve as both elevated rapid transit, and as subway trains in parts of the city. Chicago Transit Authority also serves Chicago suburbs. Purple Line stations such as Central, pictured above, connect Evanston and Wilmette residents to The Loop. The Chicago Transit Authority covers Chicago city limits and forty surrounding suburbs. It operates twenty-four hours each day and on an average weekday, 1.6 million passengers access its buses and trains. The Chicago Transit Authority has approximately 2,000 buses that operate over 152 routes traveling along 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about one million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. The Chicago Transit Authority's 1,190 train cars operate over seven routes and 222 miles of track. Its trains provide about 500,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago. The Chicago Transit Authority employs more than 11,000 people to operate the entire system. Fare collection The CTA allows riders to board a bus or train and pay with cash, transit cards, or Chicago Cards. Paying with cash Only buses allow riders to pay with cash. The fare is $2.00, and cash transfers are not available. Previously, some rail station turnstiles accepted cash but this feature has been removed in an effort to speed up boarding. Paying with transit cards Transit cards are sold at all rail stations and at the CTA's headquarters. There are two types of transit cards: stored-value and unlimited rides. Unlimited ride cards can be purchased at the CTA headquarters and from vending machines at select CTA Stations (O'Hare on the Blue Line, Midway on the Orange Line, and Chicago on the Red Line), as well as from a variety of retail outlets throughout the Chicago area, such as currency exchanges. They are available for one day ($5), two days ($9), five days, seven days ($20), and thirty days ($75). There are also reduced fare cards available for senior citizens, people with disabilities, Chicago Public School students, and students of certain area universities as well. There are plans to install fare card and transit card vending machines at downtown Metra train stations (Union Station, the Ogilvie Transportation Center, and the LaSalle St. Station) in early 2006. Paying with Chicago Cards Main article: Chicago Card The Chicago Card (along with the Chicago Card Plus) is a contactless smart card, powered by RFID, used by riders of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to electronically pay for bus and train fares. Fares paid with the Chicago Card are less expensive than they are for other riders; $1.75 for a one-way fare, and $0.25 for transfer to up to two other rides within two hours of initial fare. Bicycles on the CTA Bicycles are allowed on the CTA at all times except during rush hour (weekdays, 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM) and on various holidays in which rider traffic is especially heavy (the 4th of July for Independence Day Fireworks, Venetian Night). Riders are encouraged to place their bikes in the one section of each train carriage where there is extra room for wheel chairs. The seats found in this space can be raised to allow more space. Drivers have the discretion to deny access to anyone with a bike if they decide that conditions are too crowded. All CTA buses are now equipped with bike racks in front which can accommodate two bicycles. On buses, if there is insufficient space in the racks, riders will have to wait for another bus or make other transportation arrangements: no bikes are ever allowed inside the buses. Every Pace bus has a bike rack that can accommodate two bikes. Non-rush Metra trains can accommodate 6-9 bikes inside of the train, depending on which line it is. Equipment history and folklore CTA buses were known as the "green limousine" or the "big green" — buses were one or more shades of green from the CTA's establishment through the end of the 1980s. With the delivery of the TMC RTS buses in 1991, a more patriotic color scheme was adopted, and the green scheme was fully phased out by 1996. A notable color scheme was the "Bicentennial" of about 1974 to 1976. CTA bought very few buses between the mid-1970s and the end of the 1980s. During this time, purchases were only made in 1979 (20 MAN/AM General articulated buses), 1982-83 (200 Flyer D901 buses and 125 additional MAN articulateds), and 1985 (362 MAN Americana standard length buses). Another aspect of this period was that with the exception of the 1983 MAN order, none of those buses had air conditioning, a budget saving move by the CTA. The 1972-76 fleet of New Looks, 1870 total, which were originally air conditioned (although there were problems with the air-conditioning systems, resulting in their eventually being disabled and sliding windows installed in the buses), comprised the majority vehicles in service into the early 1990's. The heavy rail orders of the CTA include the last railroad stock built by the Budd Company and one of the few examples of rail cars built by Boeing-Vertol. The next order is from Bombardier. Revenue The CTA generates revenue from farebox collections and also receives supplemental funding for operating expenses from the Regional Transportation Authority. 1999 Budget Operating Budget $795.9 million Capital Budget $235.0 million 2000 Budget Operating Budget $841 million Capital Budget $409 million 2001 Budget Operating Budget $869 million Capital Budget $477 million 2002 Budget Operating Budget $915 million Capital Budget $495 million 2003 Budget Operating Budget $925 million Capital Budget $539 million 2004 Budget Operating Budget $935 million Capital Budget $757 million 2005 Budget Operating Budget $996 million Capital Budget $688 million 2006 Budget Operating Budget $1.037 billion Capital Budget $371 million See also Chicago 'L' List of Chicago Elevated stations Mass transit in Chicago Transit fares External links Chicago Transit Authority - official site, including a trip planner, and system maps. Metropolitan Transit Authority Act from the Illinois General Assembly site - provides the legal framework for the CTA. Keep Chicagoland Moving - official CTA site to encourage support for mass transit funding. Ask Carole - the blog of CTA Chairman Carole Brown. Chicago "L".org - the Internet's largest resource for information on Chicago's rapid transit system. ChicagoBus.org - a site covering CTA bus operations. Bill Vandervoort's Chicago Transit and Railfan CTA page - unofficial enthusiast's site. Yahoo! Groups CHICAGOTRANSIT - a Chicago Transit mailing list discussing CTA and its sister agencies. Official Chicago Card website Campaign for Better Transit - A coalition of Chicago public transit riders and community groups working to improve Chicago's public transit system. CTA Bus/Train route maps and trip planner from an independent site using the Google Maps API to provide custom transit maps Search Term: "Chicago_Transit_Authority" Categories: Intermodal transportation authorities | Transportation in Chicago | Bus transit | RTA | Chicago Transit Authority | Contactless smartcards | Fare collection systems

Headaches ahead for Chicago transit Authority riders