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"You Can't Sit Down": CTA

Posted by ChicagoPCCLCars on Wed Jul 16 22:44:30 2008

Quick, go to the basement and dig up "You Can't Sit Down" by Phil Upchurch. "Holy Bat Man" in honor of the movie shot mainly in Chicago. I'm shaking my head. Chicago has long been a bastion of the transverse seat. The latest 3200 series cars only has single seats on one side....heard it was to widen the aisles to allow for wheelchair access. Then the CTA surveyed riders and claimed that overwhelmingly the rider's choice was for longitudnal seats...called "bowling alley seats" back in the day. Bet some of the more larger sized sistahs weighted in heavily on that one.

Now Channel 9 in its 9 pm newcasts headlined that the CTA is planning to take out all the seats in some rush hour trains...yes, all the seats in some cars. The Brown line would be first with the Red and Blue to follow.

"You Can't Sit Down........"

Channel 9 is conducting a call-in right now.



CTA to experiment with seatless rush-hour train cars
By Jon Hilkevitch | Chicago Tribune reporter
3:39 PM CDT, July 16, 2008
Ushering in a new era of the cattle car, the CTA plans to eliminate all the seats on some cars of rush-hour trains to pack in more riders who are otherwise left standing on crowded rail platforms, officials said Wednesday.

The standing-room-only rail cars would begin operating by the fall on the Brown Line, CTA President Ron Huberman told the transit agency's board.

Last month, ridership rose 7 percent compared with June 2007, CTA officials said. Although that may not seem such a dramatic change, many rush-hour trains have been packed with riders for years.

Changes to the current seating configuration are under review, but it's likely that an eight-car train would include at least two contiguous cars without seats, Huberman said. Elderly, disabled and pregnant passengers could opt to ride in the cars with seating, he said.


Most CTA trains can accommodate up to about 90 riders per car. By yanking out seats and eliminating the aisle, dozens of additional passengers would fit, officials said.

The CTA began considering alternative seating several years ago when it tested a train car with more center-facing seats.

Stripping out all the seats from some train cars is not the CTA's preference in terms of customer service, Huberman said. But with ridership increasing each month—in large part because of soaring gasoline prices and a new requirement to provide free rides to senior citizens—the transit agency is unable to afford more service.

Ridership among senior citizens has jumped 25 percent since March, when the free-ride program took effect.



David Harrison

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