Wednesday, February 11, 2009

On The Street: This Sucks! Edition

Here we begin a series in which we share snapshot moments that matter: the little day-to-day interactions that reveal political, social, and economic forces at work in our communities.

We stood at the Grand Red Line station in downtown Chicago. The paint was peeling, the ceiling was leaking, and the bare bulbs dangled from their chains. They haven't quite gotten around to repairing this station yet. Tonight, there were significant delays, as both Northbound and Southbound trains had to run on the same track.

When our long-awaited Northbound train arrived, and passengers hurried off the train, a sweaty, crazed-looking white man could be seen and heard shouting: "CTA sucks! THEY SUCK!" Presumably he'd been stuck on that train for quite awhile.

Just another frustrated advocate for capital funding for mass transit.

1 comment:

t said...

Yeah, at least we got home in a reasonable amount of time.

I saw some lame-ass teenagers getting out of the movies and hailing cabs: "can you take us to, uh, Schaumburg?". Bet that was a fun ride.

I know the choices on the table aren't love CTA or leave it. And obviously, it needs more $$ and investment and needs a lot of improving. But having lived other places without comprehensive trains (which run 24/7 without stop) and buses, I'll take my shitty CTA any day over a car or a cab.