CTA Leader Pledges Improvements by Year’s End

CTA
President Ron Huberman unveiled an improvement plan for Chicago’s
transit system on Tuesday, March 4, that emphasized the strategies
needed in order to upgrade overall customer experience.

Huberman spoke before the City Club of Chicago luncheon at Maggiano’s
banquet hall where he presented a presentation on the future of the
CTA. According to Huberman, the CTA needs $6.8 billion in funding in
order to reach a state of good repair, which involves implementing
better services for customers. These services include ending slow
zones, increasing cleanliness and providing clear communications.

 “The customer is our most important asset, and they are the people
we need to keep happy,” Huberman said. “And if we’re being honest with
ourselves, they are the folks that are most frustrated with us.”

 According to Huberman, a major concern of customers is eliminating the slow zone on the CTA Blue Line.
The transit system was designed to go 70 mph, but on a large percent of
the line, trains are running at 15 mph. Huberman has proposed a project
on the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line that is scheduled to reduce slow zones to 6.9 percent by the end of 2008.

The issue of cleanliness on the CTA buses and trains is also a key
initiative for Huberman. According to Huberman, more efficient tools
have been developed to make cleaning less time consuming on employees,
which allows the system to be cleaner without major staff increases.

 “Cleanliness is an especially challenging issue,” Huberman said.
“People will simply not forgive us for providing a dirty system because
it signals that we don’t take care or pride in the organization.”

Huberman also laid out plans to improve communication with
customers. Strategies include installing clearer, color coded signage
on the platforms and digital displays. According to Huberman, the
digital displays are going to be installed within the next 18 months
across the system and will alert customers on the platform when the
next train will be arriving.

In order to fund these improvements, Huberman is proposing a
“pay-as-you-go” strategy that will draw money from newly placed
advertisements, concessions and retail throughout the system. He said
the CTA is identifying key areas to rebuild the infrastructure and at
the same time building retail into them.

Huberman also suggested to “humanize” the transit system by placing concessions on platforms to increase revenue.

“If people are going 15 mph in a slow zone, waiting 25 minutes for
two buses, or if they are not on a clean bus or train, and we stand up
to say that this is the future, they will not back us up,” Huberman
said.

 “2008 will be spent fixing those things so we can win the faith of
the public that the CTA is an organization worth investing in.”