Home / Blog / transit

Tag Archives: transit

Advocates call for keeping transit running during any post-election protests

Oct 13, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

UPDATE (10/14/20): In response to the petition, Mayor Lightfoot's Office said in a statement to WTTW that they will work with city officials, community leaders, and other stakeholders to “avoid any shutdown of transit options in the future.” A coalition of advocates is calling on Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago-area transit agencies to keep our buses, trains, paratransit, and bike sharing running during future periods of civil unrest in the city. The group’s petition states that “transit is a public good and a necessity at all times.” It calls for the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace Suburban Bus, and Divvy to make public commitments to remain in operation during times of protest so people can get where they need to go. The group says this request is urgent given the potential for unrest following major upcoming...

Tags: Advocacy, Bus, Chicago, Chicago Central, transit, Transit Equity

Big threat looms for local transit riders if no action taken

Sep 29, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Without $32 billion in emergency funding needed for public transit, public transportation will be devastated both locally and across the country. A new report released by TransitCenter and Center for Neighborhood Technology details the impact for people in Chicago and 9 other regions. As emergency funding from the CARES Act runs out, transit cuts averaging 40 percent across major U.S. regions would result in more than 3 million people losing access to frequent transit, according to the report. The study finds that in the Chicago region, nearly 210,000 people would lose access to frequent transit near their home, and more than 55,000 would lose access to frequent transit near their workplace. Take action now to send a message to Congress...

Tags: Advocacy, Back on the Bus, covid-19, transit, Transit Equity

Pop-up bus lanes coming to Chicago Ave and 79th St.

Sep 21, 2020 | by Active Trans

The Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Transit Authority are rolling out a new pilot that will implement "pop up essential bus lanes" on two major corridors along two of the highest ridership bus routes in Chicago. One will be on 79th Street between Cicero and Western, a total of three miles, and the other on Chicago Avenue between Laramie and Ashland, a total of 4.6 miles. The right hand travel lane will be converted into a bus only lane using tape and signage. This initiative is a step in the right direction toward more effective and equitable transportation on the South and West Sides of Chicago. A fast, reliable bus trip is also a safer bus trip during COVID-19. It's encouraging to see this roll out as part of...

Tags: Back on the Bus, Bus report cards, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, transit, Transit Equity

Metra must get past serving just white-collar suburban riders

Sep 18, 2020 | by Active Trans

This is a guest post by Scott Presslak, a regional transit advocate who runs the Star:Line Chicago Twitter account. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, the only certainty we have these days is uncertainty. 2020 has, without a shred of hyperbole, been the most challenging year that most of us have had to persevere, on multiple fronts. That challenge has come down hard on transit agencies across the U.S. and, locally, Metra has been hit hardest. Metra’s core market historically has been white-collar suburbanites commuting to and from the Loop for 9-to-5 Monday-through-Friday jobs. This market was already shrinking pre-pandemic as more workplaces offered remote work flexibility. Now, many more of these residents have the privilege to work from home...

Tags: Advocacy, covid-19, North Suburbs, public transit, South Suburbs, transit, Transit Equity, West Suburbs

Join our transit discussion during Cook County Racial Equity Week

Sep 9, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Active Transportation Alliance is excited to co-host a discussion on public transit during Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s second annual Racial Equity Week. Register for the discussion, which will be held as a virtual event on Thursday, September 17 at 11 a.m. The event is a roundtable on transportation equity in the time of COVID-19, with a spotlight on Cook County’s Fair Transit project on Chicago’s South Side and South Suburbs. Panelists will discuss the transportation needs of essential workers and how transit issues intersect with racial equity. Active Transportation Alliance Executive Director Amy Rynell will deliver opening remarks. Moderator Jacky Grimshaw, Vice President of Government Affairs, Center for Neighborhood Technology Presenters Andrea Reed, Co-Chair, Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric ...

Tags: Advocacy, chicago south, Chicago South Side, covid-19, public transit, South Suburbs, transit, Transit Equity

The stress and uncertainty surrounding transportation

Sep 2, 2020 | by Active Trans

At Active Trans, there’s been a lot to learn as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Every day we’re fine-tuning our work so that we can better address the challenges people face while walking, biking, and using public transit during the pandemic. We’ve known that COVID-19 has altered walking, biking, and public transit, but we’ve been struggling to understand how different parts of the region and individual communities have been affected. In order to get a better grasp of the widespread impact of this crisis, we decided to conduct a listening tour of the region. As part of the tour, Active Trans met via Zoom with more than 100 individuals and organizations that are invested in our work. We spoke with...

Tags: Bicycling, Chicago North Side, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Chicago West Side, covid-19, North Suburbs, South Suburbs, transit, Walking, West Suburbs

How to get everyone wearing masks on public transit

Aug 28, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Universal mask wearing on buses and trains is the best way to ensure transit riders and operators stay safe and healthy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While universal compliance is difficult to achieve, leadership from local and state elected officials and local transit agencies is needed to send a clear, direct, and accessible message to transit riders that masks are required on all buses and trains. We do, however, understand that not everyone may have access to masks. To remedy this problem, we're suggesting that CTA install mask dispensers on buses and trains. While the Healthy Kit giveaway program has been a commendable effort on CTA's part, the reach of the program was very limited. Making masks readily available on all...

Tags: covid-19, transit

Mobility and essential travel during COVID-19

Aug 21, 2020 | by Alex Perez

When COVID-19 cases and deaths were rising in Chicago in March and April, the pandemic hit communities of color on the South and West Sides of Chicago at disproportionate rates. People in communities of color were already facing disparities in income, employment, health, traffic safety, and economic disinvestment before the COVID-19 outbreak. When the pandemic hit, Black people started dying at 2-3 times the rate of the city's White residents. In order to gain a better understanding of the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black and Brown communities in Chicago, we wanted to look at transportation patterns among communities that were hit hardest. We also wanted to look at where essential workers live and how travel behavior changed...

Tags: Chicago North Side, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, transit, Walking

Mobility in the time of COVID-19 in the north and west suburbs

Aug 20, 2020 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of what we perceive and know about mobility and transportation. In recent months, Active Trans met with more than 100 stakeholders who are invested in our work. We spoke with community partners, elected officials, department of transportation and transit agency officials, and residents across the city and suburbs. As part of this process, we held a series of small-group conversations and solo conversations with stakeholders, municipal staff, and elected officials in the north and west suburbs. Though not all encompassing, here is a glimpse of what residents are experiencing. During the course of 14 conversations, we spoke with community members, municipal staff, and elected officials representing Des Plaines, Elgin, Highland Park, Skokie, Waukegan, DuPage...

Tags: biking, covid-19, North Suburbs, Trails, transit, Walking, West Suburbs

Chicago’s budget needs to advance bus and bike lanes

Aug 18, 2020 | by W. Robert Schultz III

Active Trans Campaign Organizer W. Robert Schultz III, a 31st Ward resident, provided testimony at a Chicago City Council hearing on the city's infrastructure needs on August 18. The following is an excerpt of his remarks. I have lived in Belmont Cragin, Logan Square, and Uptown. Over the 30 years that I lived in Chicago, I have worked in nearly every one of its 77 community areas, and my Chicago experiences started as a frequent visitor to Englewood in the 1960s. I chose to make Chicago home because I wanted to live a car free. This means walking to a Chicago Transit Authority bus stop if I am heading out for shopping or work, or recreational-, educational-, or health-related activities....

Tags: Advocacy, Back on the Bus, Back ont he Bus, Bicycling, biking, Bus, Bus report cards, Chicago, covid-19, transit, Transit Equity, zero vision

‹ prev4 of 15next ›