Advice for the CTA, Metra

I have been a lifelong public transit rider in the many cities where I’ve lived and visited. I moved to Evanston in 2016.

Based on the number of cars, trucks and speeders on the roads in Chicago — and the crashes reported each morning and evening — why would anyone subject themselves to such conditions?

In New York City, where driving a car is folly, jumping on a subway is faster than walking or taking a cab. New York has multiple express and local trains; it’s incomprehensible that sprawling Chicagoland doesn’t. Evanston’s Purple Line stops at its connection to the Red Line, except during rush hour when it runs express to and from the Loop. Here is at least one already-existing express line that could be used throughout the daily transit schedule. Why isn’t it?

Why aren’t there more lines like the Blue Line that run down the middle of an expressway? Surely many suburban commuters would prefer a fast, smooth ride to the tension and hazards of highway driving — if it could be counted on to be frequent and reliable.

I am taken aback when, as often happens, fares are not collected on Metra. That practice weakens the entire system. Why doesn’t Metra use an electronic turnstile system like the “L” or Washington’s Metro does? Since its inception in 1976, D.C.’s Metro has calibrated travel distances to electronically swiped fares.

Despite its chug-chug-chug, I continue to take the “L” downtown. Even with its well-known drawbacks, I believe and hope that the more we use public transit, the better it will become.

I encourage my fellow residents to join me — and the CTA to better respond to our needs.