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Campaigns | Public Transit (CTA) Campaign | CTA Links - Events - Media - Research - Riders' Comments
Chicago, July 22, 2009 -Transit Riders for Public Transportation and the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) rallied Wednesday for transit operations funding. Holding posters that resembled CTA bus signs, a crowd of 30 people gathered in the morning at the Chicago office of Congressman Daniel Lipinski.
The group was calling on Lipinski to add strong language for transit operations funding into HR 2746. LVEJO is
endorsing the HR 2746. Known as the Carnahan Bill, which could allow up to 30% of mass transit funds to be used for operations needs. Daniela Jurado,a youth from Little Village spoke about the need to improve transit's reliability. Because of infrequent service, she said that many residents have long waits in the cold for the bus.Others struggle to pay fares after the January fare increase or find themselves having to spend more on gas because service has been discontinued on routes like 31st Street. LVEJO is campaigning to restore 31st Street Service, which CTA cut in 1997 when federal operation subsidies were eliminated.
Selene Gonzalez of the Bridgeport neighborhood called on Obama and the new Congress to follow through on promises made regarding green jobs growth, which would put tens of thousands to work. LVEJO Community Organizer Mike Pitula highlighted the historic privilege given to highway construction and car culture. He pointed out the historic moment to secure economic, environmental justice, and civil rights benefits by shifting funding to transit operations. Disability rights activist Jim Watkins highlighted the benefit that expanding bus routes would have on complementary para-transit service.
The current budget crisis has hit Pace hard, causing controversy around both suburban buses and city paratransit services. LVEJO Coordinator Kimberly Wasserman-Nieto concluded the rally outlining a letter to Lipinski. A contingent of transit riders entered Lipinski's office to to deliver the letter. Mike Pitula and Daniela Jurado met with Staffer Mike McClaughlin to discuss the need to put transit funding first and dedicate half the funds to operations.
LVEJO is proud to be a founding member of Transit Riders for Public Transit.
Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at Stake in the Next $500 Billion National Surface
Transportation Act: A Social Movement Must Lead the Fight in Congress
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Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT) is a new national campaign that aims to intervene in the reauthorization of the national surface transportation act. We are changing the terms of the debate by flipping the script. TRPT is asking for an 80% transportation and 20% highway and freeway funding split as a major step towards improving mass transit and stopping the catastrophic speed of global warming. Present federal transit funding has a “formula” of 80% for freeway and highway and only 20% to public transportation. The current act, reauthorized every six years is set to expire in September of this year, and the next act is being hailed as the next “six year stimulus,” worth $500 billion. TRPT is meeting with congressional representatives from Oregon, to New York, to Atlanta, to Los Angeles, and also leading grassroots district campaigns.
Currently transit agencies are being hit with operating deficits of anywhere from $50 million to $2 billion. Agencies are cutting service and raising fares at a time when ridership is on the rise, when masses of people, especially low-income people, are losing their jobs, Section 8, and public assistance. Federal and state governments have misplaced prison and highway construction as their highest priority. We must organize to ensure that the next re-authorization of the national transportation act generates an increase in social services, puts money back into working people’s pockets, and creates truly green jobs that won’t cause black lungs.
The Transit Riders for Public Transportation national campaign is coordinated by the Labor/Community Strategy Center and the Bus Riders Union in Los Angeles along with founding members who include WEACT for Environmental Justice in Harlem, United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park in Brooklyn, Little Village for Environmental Justice in Chicago, Atlanta Transit Riders Union, People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources in Austin, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights in New Orleans, Just Transition Alliance, Public Advocates in Northern California and Urban Habitat in Oakland. There are at least twenty other groups in the process of signing up.
TRPT is a multi-racial campaign that brings together the leadership of the most transit dependent and transit deprived communities. As leaders and members of mass membership organizations that battle transit agencies and corporate polluters locally, we have joined forces to bring together the necessary broad front of civil rights advocates, scientists, bicycle advocates, public health providers, unions, community organizations and main stream environmentalists to impact national transit policy.
We are building a national campaign based on a clear legislative and grassroots platform. Each organization is educating their own base of members and mobilizing them toward their own local set of demands including: no fare increases and service cuts, restoration of deteriorating rail and subway, 1,000 more buses, auto-free zones, bicycle lanes. From Sunset Park in Brooklyn to New Orleans and Eugene in Oregon and La Villita in Chicago, member organizations are door knocking, having one-on-ones on the buses and trains, and mobilizing allies, meeting with their congressional delegation. TRPT members are also preparing to hold coordinated actions nationwide to advocate for their local programs as well as the broader set of national TRPT demands.
TRTP National Program:
Dramatic reduction in highway funding and dramatic expansion of public transit funding. 80 percent for public transit, 20 percent for highway maintenance, no new highway construction.
Federal requirement for dramatic restriction in auto use in all metro centers, states and federally funded projects. Auto free zones that are open only to public transit, bicycles and pedestrian traffic. Auto free rush hours. Creating bus only lanes on surface streets and freeways. Auto free days. All policies must ensure viable transportation for the disabled and for rural areas.
From the entire act’s allocation for transit, dedicate a minimum of 50 percent to operating purposes, with at least half of that restricted to bus operations. Operating funds, especially for buses, are critical to stopping the massive fare increases and service cuts. An infusion of operating funds will enable a grant to cities and rural areas to reduce all transit fares by 50 percent. It will allow for more bus and rail service on existing lines, free transfers, 24/7 transit service. Operating funds also mean green jobs. Currently, the American Public Transportation Association calculates the creation of 60,000 jobs for each $1 billion invested into transit operations.
Prioritize capital preservation over expansion, with at least half of all capital funds restricted to bus fleets. Bus is the most cost effective way to move people in larger urban and rural areas and has historically been short-changed as powerful rail lobbyists get the lion’s share of federal funds.
Establish a Title 6 provision that would prohibit racial discrimination in any federally funded transit projects. This provision would allow private parties, that is, civil rights and community groups to bring discrimination complaints against any federally funded projects based on “disparate impacts.”
Mandate on dramatic reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollution for all federally funded projects. Each project must be able to demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and air toxic emissions before they are funded.
From New York, to Chicago, to Atlanta, grassroots organizations are leading local campaigns with their own local platforms that connect to the broader TRPT program. The Bus Riders Union’s Environmental and Economic Justice platform in Los Angeles demands a moratorium on any new rail construction and no new service cuts. It proposes the purchase and operation of 500 new buses for L.A. County to reduce overcrowding, wait times, to improve midday and night service and weekend service, and to initiate new bus lines and freeway lines. We want a reversal of the 2007 fare increase to a $52 monthly bus pass—which could save bus riders $120 a year or more if you are in a family of bus riders. Our long-term vision requires a down payment of $150 million for a bus-only lanes program that will eventually turn into a countywide network.
The national campaign will come to life by groups signing on. As we each work with our local congressional representatives to move them closer to this far-reaching program, and as we take the message out on to the buses and in our communities, we can learn to work together for years to come and beyond in a long-term national movement to transform transportation policy for civil rights and environmental justice. To join us call Francisca Porchas, National Campaign Coordinator at 213-387-2800 ext. 21 or email her at francisca@busridersunion.org.
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By Jon Hilkevitch | Tribune reporter January 28, 2009
CTA trains are running faster than they did 21 months ago when Ron Huberman took over the agency, ridership remains stable and mass transit isn't lurching toward another "doomsday" funding deadline. But bus service, which carries two-thirds of CTA riders, still is unpredictable and buses still bunch up, creating long commuting delays—rain or shine.
New technology, including the CTA Bus Tracker system that was expanded during Huberman's watch as CTA president, hasn't improved reliability as much as had been promised by the 37-year-old tech guru, who was reassigned Tuesday by Mayor Richard Daley to become Chicago's new schools chief. Some CTA officials said Huberman frequently made comments about how much more he needed to accomplish to improve service in time for a possible 2016 Olympic Games in Chicago."Ron's departure is a huge loss for the CTA," said Susan Leonis, CTA board vice chairman. "He improved the CTA's reputation in Springfield and Washington. He helped us get new state funding for operations and he managed the very difficult three-track project on the North Side, as well as eliminating slow zones on the Blue Line out to O'Hare." But during Huberman's relatively brief tenure the transit agency still didn't figure out how to communicate with customers as effectively as it should or pay enough attention to the complaints and suggestions of riders, according to feedback the agency has received. To his credit, Huberman slowed down planning for the proposed CTA Circle Line—the billion-dollar-plus pet project of his predecessor, Frank Kruesi—focusing instead on increasing train speeds and buying new buses to replace broken-down vehicles.
Huberman also found money in the budget to improve track safety in CTA subways—where derailments and equipment breakdowns led to smoky fires, passengers fleeing trains and a loss of confidence stretching from station platforms to the mayor's office. Yet Huberman was slow to halt funding for the controversial Block 37 CTA superstation—the hub for a poorly conceived airport-express premium rail service from downtown to O'Hare International and Midway Airports.
"One thing problematic about Huberman's tenure at the CTA was a continued focus on failed projects like Block 37 and station beautification at the expense of improving basic service in the neighborhoods," said Mike Pitula, a community organizer with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. "A massive amount of money was spent on putting in flat-screen displays and granite floors and tiles in the Dearborn Street subway, while there are stations on the Blue and Green Lines that have been closed for years and could be reopened to serve low-income neighborhoods and communities of color."
jhilkevitch@tribune.com
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The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization made their presence known outside of the entrance of a CTA hearing last week by Igor StudenkovIssue date: 11/17/08 Section: News |
As the trial period of the Chicago Transit Authority's West Side and West Suburban Sub-Regional service plan comes to a close, the CTA looked to West Side residents for feedback at a meeting held last week. Under the provisions of the program, which was implemented in 2006, the CTA launched the Pink Line, eliminated the Blue Line's Cermak branch and retooled several bus routes. The CTA organized a hearing that took place on Nov. 13 at the Chicago Police Department's 10th District Office to discuss whether to make the changes permanent.
An hour before the hearing started, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), a local community advocacy group, staged a rally near the entrance. People who came to the hearing were greeted by a crowd of young adults who marched in a circle, pounding buckets with drumsticks. The organization used the rally to bring attention to their transit proposals before they brought them up at the hearing.
Michael Pitula, head of LVEJO's Campaign for Public Transit, explained that the elimination of the Cermak branch made it difficult for West Side residents to reach O'Hare Airport and for Northwest Side residents to reach Illinois Medical Center. Putila described LVEJO's proposal to re-institute bus service along 31st Street. He explained that since the original route was cut in 1997, the street saw increasing commercial and residential development. Because the transit options in the area were limited, many people couldn't take advantage of it.
The route proposed would begin at 4800 W. 25th St. in Cicero, proceed along Cicero Avenue to 31st Street and follow most of its length, curving on Western and Archer Avenues to link with Orange Line's 35th/Archer and Ashland station. The line would take another turn towards U.S. Cellular Field and proceed along State Street towards the Museum Campus. While acknowledging that CTA may not have the funds to revive the line, Putila explained that the transit agency recently received over $1 million in federal funds to run a service conceived by a grassroots organization of their choice. The hearing began with a short presentation as CTA representatives explained all the service changes implemented under the West Side/West Suburban Sub-Regional Service Plan. They detailed the background behind their decisions and the ways in which the service changes were adjusted to accommodate for changing circumstances. The remainder of the meeting was reserved for comments from the audience. The attendants overwhelmingly opposed the discontinuation of the Cermak branch, echoing some of Putila's complaints. Some called for the end of the Pink Line, while others insisted that the two lines should co-exist.
Daniel Reiner of Hyde Park argued that even if the CTA doesn't restore the Cermak Branch, it would still need to find an adequate replacement. A life-long Near West Side resident who identified herself as Yvette complained about the noise level at the Paulina Junction, where Pink Line merges with Green Line. The attendants also made many complaints about the retooled bus routes, especially express routes. Route #X9, the Ashland Express, received a significant number of complaints because the route's drivers frequently treated it as a local route, causing considerable delays. Some attendants suggested rote changes of their own. A man who identified himself as Frank presented a proposal to extend routes #52 and 58 further north and south, respectively. Yvette argued for the restoration of the Lake Street route to augment development in West Loop and Fulton Market District and to help seniors get to destinations that Green Line doesn't cover.
Through it all, the tenor remained fairly peaceful. Complaints were largely restricted to specific services rather than CTA in general, and, for the most part, everyone who spoke stayed on topic. And, in a marked contrast to some of the previous events of this kind, they tried their best to abide by time limits. The sense of jaded resignation that pervades many CTA events was replaced with cautious optimism that perhaps the transit agency would truly listen to the people it serves. As the meeting came to a close, most people went away content that, at the very least, they were heard.
Ron Huberman
President
Chicago Transit Authority
567 W. Lake St.
Chicago , IL 60661-1498Download this letter
Proposal for a 31st Street bus route (detailed map)April 25, 2008 - RE: 31 st Street bus
Cc: City of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Cicero Town President Larry Dominick,
RTA Executive Director Stephen Schlickman, Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano, PACE Executive Director T. J. Ross, 2 nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti, 3 rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell, 4 th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, 11 th Ward Alderman James A. Balcer, 12 th Ward Alderman George Cardenas, 22 nd Ward Alderman Ricardo Munoz.
Dear President Huberman:
We would like to thank you for taking the time to brief LVEJO and the Little Village community on the current experimental period of the West Side/West Suburban Service Plan. We are making a proposal which we believe you will find to be a valuable addition to this plan.
We propose that CTA restore regular bus service to the 31 st Street Corridor (Please see the attached map and connections list). Community residents proposed this as part of a Community Visioning Project that we have been conducting in cooperation with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. Based on input from the community, we recommend this bus run every 10 minutes during rush hour, every 12-15 minutes non-rush hour: 5 am-midnight: 7 days a week. Here are some reasons why we believe this is an incredible opportunity for the CTA.
The proposed bus would travel through 7 Community Areas and 6 wards, an area with an approximate population of 240,000 people.
Currently these Areas have a major gap between available east – west bus routes:
- Between the lakefront and Western Avenue, there is a 13 block gap, ~1.625 mile gap between east – west bus routes (#21 Cermak to #35 35 th St) .
- Between Western Ave and Kedzie Avenue, there is a 9 block, ~1.125 mile gap between east-west bus routes (#60 Blue Island, 26 th to #35 35 th St).
- Between Kedzie Avenue and St. Louis, there is a 13 block, 1.625 mile gap (#60 to #39 Pershing), and
- Between St. Louis and Cicero Avenue, there is a 21 block, ~3.125 gap between east-west routes ( #60 to #47, 47 th St. bus).
This stands in stark contrast to areas north of I-290 which have bus service every 4 blocks (eg #70 and #72 buses are 4 blocks apart). The proposed 31 st St. route would reduce these gaps and provide numerous useful connections. (Please see the attached list for connections.)
We propose that the CTA begin the 31 st bus service on a 6 month trial period, starting June 1, when people will be going to events at the beach, parks, museums and other lakefront venues. We request that the CTA Board review and approve this proposal at the May 14, 2008 CTA Board Meeting.
Additionally, we recommend the installation of EVM (Electronic Value Machines) in Little Village at high traffic locations in the following order of priority: 1) Little Village Lawndale High School, 2) 26 th Street and Pulaski, 3) 26 th Street and Kedzie, 4) 26 th Street and Central Park, 5) 31 st Street and Pulaski, 6) 31 st Street and Kedzie, 7) 26st Street and California. We are willing to confer with you further as to identify specific locations for the EVMs at each of these intersections.
Sincerely,
Michael Pitula
Community Organizer – Public Transit
LVEJO - Little Village Environmental Justice OrganizationDownload this letter
Proposal for a 31st Street bus route (detailed map)Enc (2) Proposed 31st bus route: (Eastbound)*
*The westbound route would reverse this order
Our proposal would also provide South and West Side CTA riders an additional route to access jobs and cultural events at the Museum Campus, which currently is only accessed by one (1) North Side bus route and one (1) West Side bus route. This bus would run along the service drive East of Lake Shore Drive from 31st Street to McCormick Place to Soldier Field to the Museuam Campus, Northerly Island, etc.
To: Mr. Bill Lenski
Regional Transportation Authority - Cook DuPage Corridor Study - 175 W. Jackson Boulevard (Suite 1550) - Chicago, IL 60604March 27, 2008
Dear Mr. Lenski:
Below, please see our organization’s recommendations for the Cook-DuPage Corridor that the RTA is currently studying.
Overview:
We strongly support the public transit components, and are skeptical about the highway components. We oppose any component that involves widening or extending existing highways. We are critical of the absence of freight planning in this study as it is a limiting factor in the expansion of viable mass transit and commuter options. We are insist on the need to focus on transit equity (environmental justice, civil rights, disability rights, climate justice, gender justice) at every phase of this Study process. The chief priority of our transportation agencies should be to make up for decades of underinvestment and unequal investment in transit/rail and facilitate the Chicago region’s transition away from car/truck dependence. Public funds are needed to prepare Chicago for the low-carbon future. Our economy will be crippled if we don’t have good transit and rail-based freight options in place. Emphasis must be placed on reducing traffic congestion by moving people and goods onto transit and rail, not by expanding roads that will be just as congested in ten years.
What do you think of the major projects included in the proposed system?
Mid-City BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)
LVEJO strongly supports the Mid-City Transitway (MCT). We believe it should be the highest priority for the region because it would expand transit access to the densest areas under study, would provide a convenient link between O’Hare and Midway as well as transfers between the Blue, Green, Pink, Orange, and Red Lines, and Metra’s east/west commuter lines. Also, MCT would improve regional transit equity on the basis of race, class, and other factors. It would extend rapid transit to a number of low income, working poor communities and traditionally oppressed African-American, Latino communities of color and immigrant communities that are currently poorly served by the existing transit network. Mid-City Transitway would enhance the access of these groups to the major job centers of the region, reducing regional poverty significantly. We strongly support this project and emphasize the need to consider this not only as the top priority within the Cook-DuPage Corridor Study, but also as a more important priority than the CTA’s Circle Line proposal.
Despite our strong support for this project, LVEJO questions why the MCT has been proposed as a BRT rather than a new Light Rail or Heavy Rail El line. In a 1998 document called Destination 2020, the Chicago Area Transportation Study wrote, “The Mid-City Transitway is projected to have the highest ridership of any of the proposed projects, making it an excellent candidate. There is also a freight railroad right-of-way (the Union Pacific and the Belt Railway of Chicago) for most of the alignment, making it easier to construct without a lot of costly and politically-difficult demolition.” LVEJO believes this corridor can and should accommodate both mass transit and freight rail. Further study should identify how best to take advantage of this.
Also, several studies and planning documents indicate that the MCT would have far more riders than CTA’s proposed Circle Line and the Inner Circumferential Rail (ICR) Line, yet the Circle Line is well ahead of the MCT in the Alternatives Analysis process; the ICR Line has been proposed as rail. Making the MCT a bus line might also hurt the prospects for high-density development in the neighborhoods it serves, and would make it difficult to service high riderships. What are the ridership figures reviewed by the commission? The MCT has the potential to greatly improve transit in Chicago and extend high-density development to large parts of the city, but this opportunity may be lost if we settle too easily on BRT. Finally, the MCT should be considered in conjunction with the CTA’s Red, Orange, Yellow Line Extension Alternatives Analysis. Even though these Extensions fall outside the Corridor’s area of study, they may allow for a maximization of the utility of the MCT Corridor and are long overdue.
Inner Circumferential Rail Line
As stated above, we question why this O’Hare-Midway link has been proposed as rail, while the higher ridership Mid-City Transitway has been proposed as a bus line. The ICR Line seems like a useful addition, but should be a lower priority than the Mid-City Transitway.
Elgin-O’Hare Expressway East Extension to O’Hare
LVEJO opposes this project. Highway extensions should be the lowest priority - public funds should be invested first and foremost in public transit, which has suffered from underinvestment for decades but is far better in creating livable and sustainable cities. Furthermore, State of Illinois and other government agencies should unilaterally call for a halt to all airport expansion. It is estimated that 40% of existing O’Hare air traffic is to and from Midwest regional destinations. Air traffic accounts for a massive share of global greenhouse emissions that are contributing to unstable climate change. Instead, massive public reinvestment in a Midwest regional freight network through initiatives such as the CREATE program should be promoted as a lower carbon alternative to O’Hare airport expansion and the Peotone third airport proposal. Modernizing the freight rail network will also facilitate local/regional mass transit improvements.
DuPage J Line BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), I-355 BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)
The Bus Rapid Transit projects should take advantage of the existing lanes without any widening of the roads. Public funds should be used to acquire low emission buses. The passing lanes of existing highways should be converted to Bus and High Occupancy vehicle only lanes without any lane widening. This can be done through administrative/legal controls with minor engineering controls. This may be on a rush hour basis only at first, but with increasing hours as more buses become available. This should be considered a low cost transitional phase to immediately reduce car traffic. Non-passing lanes can then be leveraged to speed truck traffic, improving mileage of these vehicles and expediting freight transport as a transitional improvement until freight rail infrastructure improvements can be completed.
I-290 HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) Lanes, I-290 BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)
LVEJO opposes the widening of highways, which only encourage further reliance on cars. These funds should be devoted to public transit, not more subsidies to cars. A combined Bus/HOV- only lane might be culled from existing lanes without highway widening. This could be used to reduce the supply for individual cars and increase the demand for bus ridership without widening the highway. The remaining lanes could be used for truck traffic until freight rail modernization and enhancements are completed. Of course, we recognize that space limitations on I-290 between Cicero Ave and 25 th Ave make this idea questionable.
Blue Line Extension
LVEJO opposes the Blue Line Extension. The low density of the suburbs would yield low ridership and would not justify the massive costs of doubling the length of this heavy rail corridor ( Forest Park). RTA needs to provide more detailed ridership projections, information about how far apart stops would be, and how often the line would run before this proposal can be taken seriously. It might make more sense to build convert existing I-290 lanes into a combined Bus and HOV only route that connects with the Blue Line at Des Plaines Ave. Also, Bus-only lanes and traffic signal upgrades should be considered for the Cermak corridor connecting with the 54/Cermak El.
Furthermore, CTA Blue Line service should be restored to the 54/Cermak branch of the CTA El system, at least every other train run. Forest Park Blue Line should not be expanded, but the 5 existing closed stations and entrances along the existing rail route should be reopened and renovated for revenue service. Instead of Blue Line extension, focus should be placed on enhancing service on the existing ROWs used by Metra, with expanded bus connections throughout the corridor. Freight rail enhancements along these routes will make this more feasible and cost effective.
Other Comments: Download letter to Mr. Bill Lenski
Lack of freight improvement
RTA needs to integrate freight into its Study. Years of disinvestment in Chicago’s freight network has caused bottlenecks of both freight and passenger rail service locally, regionally, and nationally. The success of this Corridor Study hinges upon the integration of freight rail modernization, enhancement and expansion plans. More projects such as CREATE should be integrated into this process, in order to mitigate freight as a limiting factor to mass transit expansion.
Fares
RTA needs to incorporate a unified fare structure for all modes that CTA, Pace, and Metra operate. The focus should be on making fares convenient and easy to pay, with a steady decrease in the price of transit.
Public Participation
We are concerned that the opportunities for public input have been too few thus far. The commission should provide much more information about why it made the proposals it did, and give the public many more opportunities to participate in this important plan. We would like the RTA to publish the Alternatives Analysis Public Hearing Schedule as soon as possible.
Also, the Spanish-speaking community, along with other non-English communties represent a significant and growing proportion of the riding public. The RTA needs to make a greater effort to do multilingual outreach, especially in Spanish to the Latino communities of the region. Also greater outreach is needed to low income communities in general and African-American communities.
Environmental Justice, Civil Rights, Disability Rights & Gender
LVEJO is concerned and upset that there has been no explicit inclusion thusfar of Environmental Justice, Civil Rights, Disability Rights, or Gender in this study. RTA needs to explicitly demonstrate how this project would address systemic inequalities in land use and transportation on the basis of race, class, income, national origin, immigration status, disability, and gender. Specifically, RTA should demonstrate whether and to what extent each of these proposals mitigates the Chicago region’s air quality, which is consistently out of federal compliance, and which disproportionately impacts low income, working and communities of color. Similar projections should be made regarding the impact on water and soil quality, as automobile usage has been shown to have far reaching effects on both. We are also concerned by the lack of explicit attention to the paratransit and disability needs of residents travelling to/from/through this Corridor. Please refer to Executive orders related to Environmental Justice, as well as Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americnas with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Climate Impacts
In addition to the environmental impacts and environmental justice implications of these proposals, RTA should undergo efforts to collaborate with the scientific, environmental justice, and climate justice communities to identify how these proposals would reduce the region’s output of tons of carbon.
Mass Transit as Green Collar, Economic Justice
At some point in the study process, RTA should partner with groups working on economic justice and green collar job as to how public investment in transit can be used to regenerate the region’s historic role as a leader in the global transit construction and manufacturing industry. Public investment in this sector provides the opportunity to restore good paying, manufacturing and construction work for Chicago’s population. These jobs have largely declined in an era of deindustrialization and neoliberal globalization.
We thank the commission for its work and applaud the cooperation demonstrated by the many public officials involved in the process. I hope that unified planning will continue in this spirit of cooperation, because our region will suffer terribly if it cannot expand transit options before carbon taxes and rising gas prices make car-only transportation systems obsolete.
Sincerely,
Michael Pitula
Community Organizer – Public Transit
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
Download letter to Mr. Bill Lenski
Malestar por eliminación de ramal de tren
Por Jaime J. Reyes Diario Hoy 312 527 8449
jreyes@tribune.com - 14 de marzo, 2008
Chicago -- Molestos dijeron estar los pasajeros al saber que el servicio de trenes con destino a Cermak/54 de la Línea Azul serán eliminados a partir del 27 de abril.
Así lo anunció ayer la Autoridad de Transporte de Chicago ( CTA) al informar sobre cambios al servicio de 13 rutas de autobuses y de trenes al oeste de la ciudad, que incluye la eliminación de dicho ramal.
Los cambios ocurren cuando la agencia reportó un incremento del 5.7 por ciento en el número de pasajeros en los trenes que corren al oeste de Chicago en comparación con la baja del 2.4 por ciento registrada en otras líneas. Asimismo, la agencia reportó un incremento del 5.5 por ciento en el número de pasajeros de autobuses que corren al oeste de Chicago contra el 5 por ciento en otras rutas.
Ron Huberman, presidente de CTA, indicó que el incremento en el número de pasajeros en el corredor del oeste y la satisfacción de los viajeros "eran la razones clave para las mejoras".
"Queremos dar el servicio más conveniente, confiable y eficiente a nuestros pasajeros", dijo Huberman.
Pero los pasajeros dijeron que la eliminación del ramal Cermak/54 de la Línea Azul, lo último que les ofrecerá es conveniencia.
Zorayda Ortiz, de 27 años, dijo que usa esa ruta para ir a trabajar al campus de la Universidad de Illinois en Chicago ( UIC), a su casa en Pilsen y antes de que implementarán la Línea Rosa para visitar a su mamá, en Humboldt Park, porque no tenía que transbordar.
"Es horrible, creo que mucha gente va a estar inconforme. A la gente no le gusta la Línea Rosa. Ellos (CTA) no piensan en la gente trabajadora del oeste de la ciudad", dijo Ortiz.
Harry Brooks, otro pasajero, opinó que "sería un inconveniente eliminar la línea porque es más fácil trasladarse del sur al oeste en lugar de dar la vuelta a la ciudad en la Rosa".
Según la agencia, el ramal Cermak/54, que ahora opera sólo en hora pico, será eliminado porque es el que menos abordan los pasajeros. CTA indicó que en su lugar se incrementara el servicio en el ramal de Forest Park a O'Hare de la Línea Azul.
Michael Pitula, organizador de Transportación de la Organización de Justicia Ambiental de La Villita (LVEJO), criticó a la agencia.
"Estamos decepcionados con la eliminación de la Línea Azul. La Línea Rosa no reemplaza a la Azul porque no corren por la misma ruta. Hay varias estaciones que no serán cubiertas", señaló Pitula.
"Sería más justo tener un equilibro de servicio entre ambas líneas: Azul y Rosa", dijo Pitula.
Al cierre de está edición, ningún portavoz de CTA había contestado para responder a las críticas.
Los entrevistados también opinaron que aunque habrá más servicio de camiones, como la ruta 60, que corre en Pilsen y La Villita, entre otras 12 rutas, habría que arreglar el problema de amontonamiento de autobuses.
"Si no se resuelve eso, no sabemos como va a funcionar tener más", cuestionó Pitula.
La eliminación permanente del ramal aún espera los comentarios del público en audiencias que están por determinarse, según CTA.
Congratulations to everyone who came to our first
showing of "Bus Riders Union" Saturday. Sixty people
came from around Chicago; it was a great success. Our
friends in Los Angeles are sending seven copies of the
film to show around the city and suburbs.
Monday night we formed the Rider-Driver Alliance (RDA) with
the attached Mission Statement, Immediate Demands and
Long Term Goals. On Tuesday, we handed out hundreds
of fliers at the city administration's rally at the
Thompson Center. We invited people there to the second
showing of the film this Saturday, now at DePaul
University (see below and attached flier in English
and Spanish). Please let everyone know about the
address change. On Wednesday we held a joint press
conference with IMPRUVE.
Today IMPRUVE and RDA are celebrating a major victory.
IMPRUVE and supporters from the RDA,
Committee for a Better Chicago, LVEJO, SEIU and
other groups went to the Regional Transportation Authority's
headquarters. We went to demand that RTA leadership contact
Pace about the impending crisis in paratransit. We were able to
speak with Stephen Schlickman, Executive Director of RTA.
Pace's plan to take away the monthly pass would create a life threatening situation for people with disabilities. Riders on dialysis would be confined to their homes, unable to afford transportation to and from their healthcare.
In response to our demands, RTA executives enacted a 2-week, $37.50 pass as a stopgap measure to be honored until September 16, the date when CTA contingency cuts would go into effect. Pace fare hikes would also take place on that date. These passes will be available to paratransit riders at the new RTA Customer Service Center, 165 N. Jefferson at the CTA Headquarters at Lake and Jefferson.
Service cuts and fare hikes for PACE riders were
scheduled for this Saturday, Sept. 1st. Paratransit
riders would no longer have been able to use monthly
ADA passes. Also to be cut are CTA 1, 2, 3, and 7-day
passes on Pace buses,even if Senate Bill 572 passes.
Lay-offs, fare hikes and cuts in the CTA are threatened for September 16th.
Thanks to this major victory by a small but committed group,
people with disabilities will continue to be able to meet their
transportation needs during these couple of weeks.
They will be able to receive healthcare, pay bills, get to church
and the grocery store. Imagine what we can do with more small but committed groups and individuals working together!
We invite you to spread the word: email this letter
and attachments to others. Print off and distribute
copies of the flier and spread the word to transit
workers and riders. Come to the film-showing and
action planning meeting on Saturday:
We do not need to keep accepting these doomsday
manipulations. We are not pawns. We are not numbers.
We are human beings. The Rider-Driver Alliance is
organizing and fighting for what we need and deserve:
a world-class public transit system.
Rider-Driver Alliance - Contact us: LVEJO 773-762-6991 - IMPRUVE 773-416-7366 publictransit@lvejo.org
Michael Pitula - LVEJO Public Transit Organizer being interviewed
for News Broadcast, regarding CTA policies and rider requests
The CTA threatens to cut 63 bus lines and the Purple and Yellow Lines!
CTA also wants to raise the price of ALL fares, transfers, and passes...read more
Download CTA "Final Meeting 2007" flyer as Word doc or 
PDF
"In its first two weeks alone, the Pink Line has been creating major delays for CTA customers
across the city"...read more
C.T.A. 2006 Blue/Pink Line Rider Comments | 10/09/06: "CTA’s Circus" Letter from Dr Ehrman, M.D. and Michael Pitula LVEJO Public Transit Organizer
| CTA Bus Schedules http://transitchicago.com/maps/bus/bus.html CTA Bus Tracker http://ctabustracker.com/bustime/home.jsp RTA Trip Planner http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/ |
CTA: A Riders Perspective http://ctariders.blogspot.com/ |
Federal Transit Administration - Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Federal Transit Administration - Transportation and Environmental Justice
Transportation Equity http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/transequnews.htm
Chicago Community Bicycle Project http://www.chibikeproject.org
Sustainable Chicago 2016: Declaration of Support for Public Transit and the Workers
Or call 836-7000 from any area code in the Chicago area until 1am for trip information from a live operator.
The Gray Line Website: http://www.grayline.20m.com
The Pink Line Pop Quiz
#1 True or False? The Pink Line cost extra money the CTA doesn’t have.
#2 True or False? The Pink Line is in support of a cure for breast cancer.
#3 True or False? The Pink Line is more direct to O’Hare than the Blue Line?
Download Bi-lingual Flyer as Word doc. or PDF
Un examencito sobre la Línea Rosa
#1 ¿Cierto o falso? La Línea Rosa costó extra dinero que CTA no tiene.
#2 ¿Cierto o falso? La Línea Rosa apoya una cura para el cáncer del seno.
#3 ¿Cierto o falso? La Línea Rosa es más rápido al aeropuerto.
Events - Media - Research - Riders' Comments
The Pink Line: a closer look (Download flyer)
Environmental Research Foundation /
Rachel's News Archive now
housed with LVEJO (En Español)
Transit Links:
For general information please email us here.
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