CTA Riders Complain About Trains Bunching Up

CHICAGO (CBS) -- CTA riders are beginning to complain about trains bunching up, especially during rush hours. The transit agency is trying to respond.

Bunched-up trains make no one happy. Riders wait, the front train is invariably jammed, and the ripple-effect delays get everyone irked.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Bob Roberts reports

But the Chicago Transit Authority reprimanded its rail general manager, Marlene Taylor, last week for e-mailing motormen to load and go, and not to wait for stragglers.

You can expect more memos, but CTA President Forrest Claypool said it is not a cut-and-dried or easy solution.

"It's a multi-faceted solution," he said. "Part of it is an infrastructure investment, part of it is better management and I think we're slowly and surely going to make progress as we capture more growth -- because this will get worse as we capture more growth."

The reinstituted, long-time CTA policy allows motormen discretion when loading.

Claypool urges common sense. What he does not want to see is trains repeatedly reopening and closing doors, which can lead to delays of a couple of minutes.

That may not seem to be much, but Claypool said bunching can begin quickly, especially in rush-hour conditions when trains already run more closely than at other times of the day.

In:
• Forrest Claypool
• Bob Roberts
• Chicago Transit Authority