The CTA Bus System

I don't know why I ever bother to take the bus.

My house is in quite a good location- I'm near 3 El lines and even closer to 2 major bus routes. Even though the bus routes are literally at the end of my street, I generally take the El because I find it more reliable. However, about once every month or so I decide to give the buses another chance.

This morning I had an interview downtown, and I decided to take the Clark bus because the trusty CTA plan a trip assured me this was the quickest way. By their calculations, if i took the 9:08 bus, I would be at my destination by 9:27, which left me a good half hour for any mishaps. Since it was -9 degrees this morning (no I'm not exaggerating and that's w/o the wind chill), I decided to take the closer option.

So, I planned my morning carefully and intended to arrive at the bus stop a mere 4 minutes early. However, as I walked down the street I was just in time to see the bus driving by. At this point, I should have just headed to the El. But, I wasn't sure what stop I would need to get off at, and I figured I would still have plenty of time since the buses supposedly run every 10 minutes. I found out that this schedule is merely in theory. I ended up waiting over 20 minutes for the stupid thing (ironically though, 4 northbound buses passed in the meantime). And, seeing as how it was only -9 out, my feet were literally numb by the time the bus actually came (I might also mention that me and a fireman waited inside the bank for a good 10 min so we wouldn't freeze, but my feet were still numb). And, when I say numb, I mean they were throbbing in pain and they felt as if I had been skiing for 3 hours in the bitter cold.

Anyways, after 20 minutes of sitting on the cold bus, I realized I wouldn't make my interview anywhere near on time. (Clearly the estimated 20 minutes for travel time was a drastic underestimate.) So, I jumped off and grabbed a cab (thankfully, this gave me a chance to warm my still throbbing feet before the interview). Thanks to my quick cab driver, I made it with 6 minutes to spare--- so I guess all is well that ends well. However, I do wish I had grabbed a cab an hour earlier and spent the extra time I would have had relaxing in a warm Starbucks. O well, lesson learned.

The best part of all of this--- next month the CTA is closing down one of the El lines for the next 2 years. They expect commuting times to double, which is already anywhere from 20-45 minutes (and you just have to guess which one it will be). They're brilliant PR solution: we hope people find another way to travel. What the hell does that mean? Take the trusty bus? Perhaps, they want everyone to drive to work so that the horrible traffic situation can worsen.

Speaking of driving, I'm not sure my car is going to make it through the cold. She really doesn't like it and has become very slow to start. I'm hoping that she's just pissed I haven't cleaned her for a couple of weeks and the matter can be solved with a little soap and water, and not a new battery like Bill predicts. My favorite part is sitting in my car for 15 minutes, while trying to revive the battery, and watching 15 cars drive slowly by wondering whether or not I'm going to give up my valuable parking spot.