THE DREAM IN ACTION

As I write this post in response to a post on tadfad.com about Public Transit I am sitting on the northbound redline train of Chicago’s elevated train system.  The CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) is imposing rate hikes within the month and the trains seem to be getting slower and slower and at least in the morning on the way to work and coming home during rush hour the trains are literally cattle cars. Each train has roughly 5000 people and a new train comes every 3-6 minutes, during rush hour.  After thinking about Chicago’s public transportation system, a combination of trains and buses, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are 5 main characteristics to a successful public or mass transportation system.  

Those characteristics are:

• Reliable

• Quick

• Safe

• Cost Effective

• Well Funded

Reliable.  The transportation system must run with reliability everyday and must be there within a reasonable amount of time.  Ex: If a person shows up for a 7:45am train it better be there within 10-15 minutes of the promised time or passengers will no long use that source of transport.Quick.  The transportation must work reasonably quickly; it must be reasonable relative to alternate means of transportation. Ex: If I can drive to work and in 20 minutes and the train system takes more than about 15 or 20 minutes more than that it would not be worth taking. Safe.  If the transportation system is not safe for all people to ride it will not be a popular option.Cost effective.  If the transportation system is not cost effective for the passengers it will not be used. Ex: If the train is not the cheapest option of transportation it will not be widely used.Well funded.  I think this is probably the most important point. In Chicago the number one issue for the train service is the fact that it is under funded. As I said before, rate hikes are coming soon to CTA passengers and there are many improvement projects already underway that need more funding. An example of the results of poor funding is Chicago’s blue line train. This train runs from the Loop to O’Hare Airport and the CTA decided last February to slow the train down in order to “get more life from the tracks” rather than to spend the appropriate money and repair the tracks.

In conclusion, a successful public transportation system is a cheap, quick, reliable, safe, and well funded one. Chicago’s CTA train system is the best that I’ve experienced, however, it leaves much to be desired in the well funded category.