Purple Line Express Will Be Suspended This Spring

The CTA will suspend Purple Line Express service for two 9-day periods in early March and late April while crews reconstruct the Wells Street Bridge over the Chicago River.

Purple Line riders can expect a slower commute for much of this spring, when the CTA suspends express service on the route for construction on the Wells Street Bridge. Purple Line express service will be suspended from March 1 through 11 and again from April 26 to May 1, according to a statement from the CTA. Crews from the Chicago Department of Transportation will use that time to rebuild parts of the 90-year-old bridge, while CTA crews will simultaneously replace the tracks.  Readers who signed up for our breaking news alerts got this information first. Sign up here. During that period, Purple Line local service will continue as regularly scheduled between Linden and Howard, but commuters must transfer to the Red Line at Howard Street, …

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CTA Suspends Purple Line Service This Weekend

Beginning on Friday and lasting through Monday, CTA crews will install a new viaduct at Greenleaf Street in Evanston. Purple line service will suspended from 8:30 p.m. Friday through 4:30 a.m. Monday.

CTA Suspends Purple Line Service This Weekend

Beginning on Friday and lasting through Monday, CTA crews will install a new viaduct at Greenleaf Street in Evanston. Purple line service will suspended from 8:30 p.m. Friday through 4:30 a.m. Monday.

Purple line service will be suspended between Howard and Davis streets this weekend as crews install a new viaduct at Greenleaf Street. The tracks will shut down at 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, and reopen at 4:30 a.m. Monday, June 11, according to a release from the city. CTA will run a bus between the stations at South, Main, Dempster and Davis, operating every four to 15 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes late at night. Parking restrictions and street closures will also be in effect during the construction. Greenleaf Street will shut down east of Chicago Avenue beginning at noon on Friday, and will remain closed until construction of the bridge is finished, about 5 p.m. on Monday. Parking restrictions will affect Clark Street, …

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Bed Bugs on Your Commute? In Your Garage Sale Purchase? Stay Vigilant

Chicago ranked second last year for bed bug infestations. Experts attribute the rise to global travel; more garage sale and thrift store exchanges; and increased visits between homes and public spaces.

Bed bugs, according to their name, ought to be relegated to mattress pads and box springs. But alas, because there is a spike in bed bugs across the country, the opportunities to bring home the blood-sucking insects are increasingly prevalent on public transportation. "They are transported through public transportation," said Curt Colwell, an etymologist at the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) in Springfield. "They move from buses to planes to trains to taxis. It's pretty common." Bed bugs, which are about the size of a dog tick, are human pests that go through five stages of life and require human blood for each phase, according to Randy Allen, regional manager of Wil-Kil Pest Control, a pest management company that serves the …

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Paying CTA Fares With a Tap

"Backbone" of universal fare system to take root with automated payments on trains and buses.

Those flimsy, easy-to-lose CTA fare cards will soon be history. Officials with the agency on Tuesday approved a deal that will bring new technology to CTA buses and train stations allowing users to tap debit cards, credit cards and prepaid CTA cards to pay their fares. According to the Sun-Times, commuters will eventually "be able to use their cell phones in the same manner to pay for their fares." The system, operated by the San-Diego based Cubic Transportation Systems, is expected to save the CTA about $5 million a year by "finally getting the CTA out of the fare-collection and banking businesses," according to Chicago Tribune transportation writer John Hilkevitch. The city's $454 million contract with Cubic will last 12 years. According…

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Casey Cora

10:25 pm on Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Yikes. Thanks, Thomas. (And apologies to our readers.) It's been fixed in the story.   more ›

CTA Cleanup in Wilmette?

Renewal project slated by the Chicago Transit Authority, is it needed at the Linden Station?

Chicago Transit Authority rail stations across the Chicago area are getting a facelift. Will the effort include Wilmette? "We don't have a complete list ready right now but it's not limited to Chicago proper," a CTA spokeswoman told Patch. Earlier: CTA Solicits Public Opinion for Proposed Improvements At a news conference Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Forrest Claypool announced the debut of a public-private partnership that will result in makeovers for more than 100 rail stations. The effort will utilize a mix of city employees and private contractors — dubbed the "Renew Crew" — to perform the work over the course of a year, moving from one station to the next painting walls and ceilings, repairing masonry and …

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For Some Seniors, Free Rides to Expire

Budget cuts force limitations on seniors' free public transportation rides.

Know a senior citizen who relies on free public transportation to get around? That's about to change. Beginning Sept. 1, the Regional Transit Authority's "Seniors Ride Free" program will expire for all senior citizens except those defined as "low-income" using standards adopted from Illinois Department on Aging "Circuit Breaker" program. All other seniors will pay a discounted, half-price, fare. Related Video: Seniors Voice Opinions on RTA Free Ride Changes The Seniors Ride Free program, enacted in 2008 by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has been targeted for cuts in light of both the state's ailing finances and the transportation agencies' budget woes. A 2009 Chicago Tribune story quotes a UIC study estimating the programs impact — free …

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Quinn Approves Universal Fare Card for RTA, Metra and Pace

Chicagoland commuters should have a more seamless way to use the three transit agencies by 2015.

A universal fare card system for RTA, Metra and Pace transportation systems was signed into legislation by Gov. Pat Quinn Thursday, according to the Chicago Daily Herald. The bill will "allow riders to use credit or debit cards or prepaid cards on all transit systems effective Jan. 1, 2015." "This is 21st century transit reform," Quinn said during the signing ceremony, according to The Chicago Tribune. “Now it's the law and everyone will work toward that date,” RTA deputy executive director of communications Diane Palmer told the Herald. “This is obviously a key priority for the RTA.” Additionally, the law calls for Metra to create a train tracking system that is similar to the Chicago Transit Authorities' Bus and Train Tracker programs, …

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VIDEO: Seniors Voice Opinions on RTA Free Ride Changes

Most seniors at a recent RTA meeting said they are OK to pay for transit.

The Regional Transit Authority, which oversees the CTA, Metra and Pace, held an informational meeting concerning upcoming changes to the Seniors Ride Free program Thursday afternoon at the Levy Senior Center in Evanston. Officials from all transportation services were on hand to hear questions and concerns about the changes that will go into effect Sept. 1. The Seniors Ride Free program will now be known as the Seniors Circuit Ride Free program and the Seniors Reduced Fare program. To qualify for the Circuit Ride Ride Free program a senior would need to make less than $27, 610 individually, $36,635 for a two-person household, or $45,657 for a household of three or more. Diane Palmer, the RTA's deputy executive director of communications, …

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Fingerprint May Offer Clue to CTA Graffiti Vandal

Five incidents of criminal damage have occurred involving CTA train cars since January.

Wilmette police discovered a possible fingerprint overnight Saturday in the paint of the latest set of CTA train cars to be damaged at the Linden station. Four cars were vandalized between 8 p.m. May 28 and 1 a.m. May 29. The latest vandalism marked the fifth reported incident since January. Authorities also discovered ladders that had paint drips and smudges inside one of the graffitied cars while surveying the scene. It is not known if the ladders belonged to the offenders.

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