By Jim Sterne
News Editor
Robyn Ziegler, CTA's Media Relations manager, has a response to the "People Who Care" petition asking for increased service on the Lincoln Ave. Bus # 11. (See insideonline.com for the original story Sept. 17, 2003.)
Ziegler says that the service cuts to Bus # 11 took place in 1997. The service restructuring at that time was the result of an eight-month study of the CTA's service delivery and internal operations.
She noted that since that time, CTA has added service to the #11 Lincoln two times. "In December 2000, we extended service hours one hour. And on June 22 this year, we evaluated and extended the northern end of #11 Lincoln route to accommodate the residents on Kedzie Ave. between Devon Ave. and Howard St."
Ziegler said that the CTA service standards determine where and when service adjustments should be implemented throughout the system. They use five key measures to evaluate routes and services: the distance an average customer travels to reach a bus stop or el station; the hours and days a route operates; frequency of service; the number of riders at the busiest location on a route; and, the number of customers a CTA vehicle carries per hour.
"Currently CTA customers who want to travel further south than North Ave. have several options. Connections to Brown Line trains can be made along the current #11 Lincoln route at Western, Addison, Paulina, and Fullerton. Connections to Red and Purple Line trains can be made along the current #11 Lincoln route at Fullerton."
The CTA seems to prefer riders to transfer to the el so that bus routes do not duplicate trains, or to transfer to other busses such as the Clark #22 or the Broadway #36. " To make trips further south into the Loop, #11 Lincoln customers can transfer at North Ave.," Ziegler said.
"The 1997 cuts were based on many factors, including lowest performing routes in terms of ridership, duplication of service, productivity and revenue. The changes provided annual savings of $22.5 million and laid the foundation for the unprecedented level of quality service that CTA customers enjoy today," she said.
The "People Who Care" letter has been forwarded to the CTA planning department for review. Ziegler said that the CTA appreciates feedback from customers and is committed to enhancing service. Since November 1998, CTA has made service improvements on 66 percent of its bus routes (98 out of 148 total routes) and on all of its rail routes," Ziegler said. |
