Author Archives: Julia Gerasimenko

Impacted by transit shutdown? Share your story

| Jun 5, 2020

Recently, transit service across the Chicago region was shut down in response to protests. This included buses, trains, Divvy bike sharing, and paratransit.

Active Transportation Alliance would like to hear your story about how the recent shutdown of CTA, Pace, Metra, paratransit, and Divvy bikes affected you.

These stories will help our advocacy efforts to ensure such drastic and harmful actions are not repeated in the future.

Take our survey now to share your story of how the transit shutdown impacted you!

Public engagement needed around Metra’s off peak service cuts

| May 20, 2020

Metra recently announced a series of cuts to off-peak service on the Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service, and North Central Service, as well as cuts to Saturday service system-wide.

In response to these cuts and to share thoughts about other pandemic-related Metra policies, Active Trans partnered with Star:Line Chicago in submitting comments to the Metra Board of Directors meeting held this week.

While Metra is experiencing a 97 percent ridership loss due to COVID-19,

CTA, Pace announce boarding changes to protect workers and riders

| Apr 9, 2020

When we started advocating for rear door boarding on buses in 2017 in our Back on the Bus report and in our 2018 Bus Friendly Streets Report Cards, we never thought it could become a public health imperative.

We started fighting for all-door boarding as a way to speed up service and make buses more reliable.

Now, four weeks into Illinois’ stay-at-home order, CTA and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that effective immediately transit riders will be encouraged to board all CTA buses through the rear door. 

Transit operators need stronger protections

| Mar 27, 2020

As of March 30, six CTA bus and train operators have tested positive for COVID-19. A Pace bus driver has also tested positive for COVID-19.

There are likely many more who have the virus, and we expect to hear more confirmations of operators testing positive in the coming days and weeks.

These diagnoses beg the question of what steps are being done to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus among essential workers operating buses and trains.

Bike shops must stay open during possible “shelter in place” order

| Mar 19, 2020

The next important step in the response to the growing threat of the coronavirus will likely involve a “shelter in place” order. This order, which could be enacted by local and state officials, would likely require all but “essential businesses” to close.

These essential businesses could include gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants, hardware stores, banks, and a few other types of businesses.

We want to ensure that bike shops are among the essential businesses allowed to stay open in the event of a shelter in place order.

Safety on CTA the right way

| Mar 11, 2020

Active Trans joined with the local CTA bus and rail operator unions and several community groups to call on Chicago to protect transit riders and operators by engaging in a community-driven process to address safety concerns on CTA following the Feb. 28 police shooting.

Partners include Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 308; ATU241; Chicago Jobs with Justice; the Bring Chicago Home coalition including the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and ONE Northside;

More police on transit doesn’t make everyone feel safe

| Mar 4, 2020

Last Friday a Chicago Police Officer shot a CTA customer who was being detained for moving between train cars — a minor nonviolent infraction — at the Grand Red Line station. Thankfully, the shooting victim is no longer in critical condition and the charges have been dropped.

Earlier that same day, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, along with CTA Board President Dorval Carter and interim Chicago Police Superintendent Charlie Beck, announced a new security plan for the CTA system at a press conference held at the Roosevelt Red Line station.

All-door boarding coming to select CTA bus routes

| Feb 25, 2020

If you ride the bus in Chicago, you’ve probably had this experience: You’re boarding a bus while a line of people fish Ventra cards or loose change from the depths of their bags. As a result, the embarkation process feels like it’s moving at snail’s pace.

While this may sometimes seem like an unavoidable reality of riding the bus, the truth is there is a solution.

To that end, the CTA announced it will be piloting what’s called “all-door boarding”

Will you help make Chicago’s streets safer?

| Feb 4, 2020

Do you want to see better streets for biking in your Chicago neighborhood and throughout the city?

Would you like to learn how to be an effective advocate?

Well, here’s your chance to get directly involved in making a difference.

Here’s your chance to help create better walking and biking infrastructure in Chicago and help to hold Mayor Lightfoot accountable to her campaign promise to build 100 miles of new bikeways by 2023.

Support bus lanes on South Halsted

| Jan 31, 2020

Transit agencies are considering major upgrades to a busy bus route on Chicago’s Far South Side and in the South Suburbs. As part of the project, they’re looking for public input — but you must act by February 9.  

Pace and CTA started the South Halsted Bus Corridor Enhancement Project in 2018 with the goal of improving transit along 11 miles of South Halsted Street, between the Pace Harvey Transportation Center and 79th Street.