What realistically can be done about bus fair evasion? According to the CTA Ridership data, it seems to be growing a lot more rapidly than Train fair evasion. Enforcement worked on the train, but bus drivers end up getting their lives threatened for not letting someone on the bus. What should be done about it?
I am Gen Z, but am just laying down thinking... wow.
Home prices and rents are through the roof
Interest rates are high
Stock markets are through the roof
Job Hiring is Slow
Artificial Intelligence is projected to at best take jobs, at worst end humanity??
Gas Prices are through the roof
There are multiple wars/genocides going on right now
Loneliness is at its all time high as most people don't have more than a couple friends
it costs money to do ANYTHING and like 6 companies own all of the food at the grocery store
Gambling and sports betting is being pushed on us since other things are too expensive
Like i am not meaning to complain or anything truly, but this feels so dystopian sometimes. IF AI doesn't wipe us out, AND IF it does not take our jobs, we still have an unsustainable social and economic situation at hand that is kind of just growing by the year.
I say this as a southside resident, but i never thought i would see the day that condos on the southside are consistently selling above asking price (bridgeport and Bronzeville to a lesser degree), and people are paying 1700+ for a 1 bed in pilsen.
These neighborhoods are great, don't get me wrong, but it is very different from just a few years ago where you could find many affordable spots in these neighborhoods.
This made me look up north to see what has been happening there, and i am seeing condos sold for 30 - 40K over asking and 2 bed 2 baths renting for the same price as I rented in a new build in the loop/west loop like 4 years ago. Jeeeezus. is this a product of richer people moving to the city? more people packed into one spot? one thing is for certain... we need to build more in this city.
I am curious, as a lot of cities in the country are at a fiscal cliff right now with their transit in some way. How noticeable has it been ever since funding got cut?
I am posting this here because people talk about what places are easiest to make friends and meet new people. I do not know how easy it is to make genuine friendships there, but my trip to san diego is coming to an end and genuinely, that city has the kindest human beings i have ever interracted with.
People consistently say hi to me in the street without knowing me, make jokes with me, and if i ask a simple direction question, they will go out of their way to learn more about where i am going and how i am doing.
This is just MY experience, but people of all ages, races, and seemingly income statuses are just so nice there.,
You all have a great team ngl. people counting the clippers out but tbh a decent center and someone who can take a big leap and you are contenders. im at work rn i hate work man
Are you a believer in it or not? why or why not? and if you DO believe it, is it right around the corner, decades away, or not at all in our lifetime?
I know i have posted about this once or twice, but I feel like a lot of people on the train do not know about how to report smoking on the train outside of letting the conductor know (which comes with potential danger as people could get violent if you stop them from smoking).
I feel like hanging a sign in some CTA cars saying to report smokers using the chatbot on transitchicago.com would help as it would give people a realistic and discrete way to report someone smoking on the train. I want to know though: what would be the repercussions of this? And would there be any societal / train specific downsides to this?
So many people believe AI will leave people unemployed or have society fall in love with chatbots, but there needs to be more mainstream dialogue around the idea that this could literally cause human life to be extinct.
When something is improving itself and its intellect in ways that humans cannot either understand nor control, it develops the power to do whatever it likes at a certain point. Alignment is not guaranteed and can only be nudged in a certain direction at best.
I am doing my absolute best NOT to fear monger but instead to lay out genuine concerns that some experts have echoed as well (so please let this post stay up, mods).
How likely do you believe that within our lifetimes (so the next 50-75 years), AI will leave the human race either extinct or cause close to a mass extinction?
So many people believe AI will leave people unemployed or have society fall in love with chatbots, but there needs to be more mainstream dialogue around the idea that this could literally cause human life to be extinct.
When something is improving itself and its intellect in ways that humans cannot either understand nor control, it develops the power to do whatever it likes at a certain point. Alignment is not guaranteed and can only be nudged in a certain direction at best.
I am doing my absolute best NOT to fear monger but instead to lay out genuine concerns that some experts have echoed as well (so please let this post stay up, mods).
How likely do you believe that within our lifetimes (so the next 50-75 years), AI will leave the human race either extinct or cause close to a mass extinction?
So many people believe AI will leave people unemployed or have society fall in love with chatbots, but there needs to be more mainstream dialogue around the idea that this could literally cause human life to be extinct.
When something is improving itself and its intellect in ways that humans cannot either understand nor control, it develops the power to do whatever it likes at a certain point. Alignment is not guaranteed and can only be nudged in a certain direction at best.
I am doing my absolute best NOT to fear monger but instead to lay out genuine concerns that some experts have echoed as well (so please let this post stay up, mods).
How likely do you believe that within our lifetimes (so the next 50-75 years), AI will leave the human race either extinct or cause close to a mass extinction?
It is expensive, but if you are in a big city with public transit, the light phone is amazing. directions are great for transit and driving. It has amazing UI, you can download so many songs to listen to for replacing spotify/apple music, and the directory is amazing for calling doctors offices, restaurants, or deadass whatever you need to call that has a name.
i’ve seen discussion on if it can replace the iphone FULLY or only supplement it, but as someone with a truly crippling iphone addiction, this phone has given me so much time back in my life and has allowed me to lock my iphone up for months at a time. the only reason i even keep my iPhone anymore is cause my family is paying for it and they want me to stay in the groupchat with blue messages (i know, ridiculous reason, but they are paying for it so i am not going to complain).
the biggest downsides to the light phone are 1. the price is kinda wild but also i understand with how it is made. 2. the phone just doesn’t receive messages from random people in my contacts sometimes. like my friend had texted me for a month and i never responded cause i didn’t get her messages. i just have to block and unblock them and it works but that is the biggest problem of it and it only has happened to one person.
I am a bit uneducated when it comes to the feasibility of these things. I feel like expanded service, people getting to locations faster, AND very safe/clean/smoke free trains/buses would skyrocket ridership and actually make chicago in a world class tier when it comes to transit. I also saw that light rail and BRTs are much cheaper than an actual elevated rail that chicago uses today and since we have no BRT (at least to my knowledge), it would be a great addition to chicago’s current transit infrastructure.
when it comes to safety, it takes shape in many different ways. From actual CTA Security, to community investment programs to reduce crime, to higher gates when getting on a train. as far as buses, idek what to do with fare evasion there.
but how likely is all of this? or is most of it just a fever dream and we are probably going to not see any real changes after the 1.2B extra in funding for chicago’s transit every year???
I was on a train today and someone started smoking. i went and told a cta employee that someone was smoking when i got off, they thanked me, and immediately removed them. the workers take it seriously and want us to report it.
Also please report it with the chat bot on transitchicago.com. it needs to be publicized more, but even if it is for data collection purposes alone, it won’t hurt to report it every time it happens. the amount of times we report it can show our desire for stronger turn stiles/gates, and how prevalent the issue really is.
I am not trying to ask a leading question. Bridgeport is a really weird neighborhood to me as a black person. i see a lot of asian families, a lot of older white people with blue lives matter flags on their shirt/cars/homes/hats, and then i see younger people in their 20s walking about (though not as much as the first two).
at the same time, black business in bridgeport are present too. Black owned therapy spot on 37th and wallace, stussy’s diner on 35th and halsted and an african clothing store right next to it, ramova theater was opened up with a big investment push by many big black artists, Nimba (african restaurant) JUST opened on morgan as well. All of these businesses are pretty new (within the last 5 years), while at the same time, black businesses were vandalized with Black lives don’t matter tagging, bricks thrown in their windows, and bridgeport records even faced a BOMB THREAT for selling records of black and hispanic artists.
All of this to say, this neighborhood confuses me. for people who have any sort of clue at all, are race relations actually getting better? people say racist families are moving to mt. greenwood or florida, but also i have seen some of the alder meetings and a lot of the people in there are just blatantly racist.
I wish i could post links to everything but it isn’t letting me, but the channel is called “11th ward chi - community meetings on zoning” and watch her video regarding the meeting for “people’s gas.”
everything else is on google. but yes, is HOW much better is bridgeport actually from its once racist past? and is it safe for black people?
I completely understand why people get frustrated with delays, nasty things they see on the red/blue lines, and the lack of train coverage going east/west on the north and south sides. That said, Chicago's transit is a god send.
I am from Saint louis, MO. The transit there is genuinely terrible. No transit in the burbs, fee bus that has awful connectivity, 30+ min waits, and doesn't bring you anywhere that people actually hang out. basically, you NEED a car in STL. My brain could not FATHOM living in a city without a car.
Moving to chicago, It was almost like a dream, that i never even imagined, coming true. trains in almost all areas of the city to get me home at almost any time of day?!?! I can take the bus to the redline every single day to get to where I need to go. The bus is late? that is fine, I will just DIVVY to the redline instead. I can do ALL of this while paying 87 dollars (75 for CTA, 12 for Divvy) per MONTH?! a tank of gas for my car is more expensive than that, and that isn't counting insurance, monthly payment, tickets, maintenance, registration, and parking for the car either. I understand I have male privilege taking the CTA alone at night sometimes, but outside of that, i just wonder why everyone in the city doesn't take the bus/train instead and save like 300-600 per month minimum. Regardless, it is so lovely. the grid makes it so easy to understand streets here, and CTA complements it so well.
I want improvements for the CTA too, but sometimes i just need to stop and marvel at the beauty we have in front of us. AND I CAN TAKE A BUS IN THE SUBURBS like wtf that is not something i ever in my right mind even knew was POSSIBLE growing up in STL. I could cry. I literally transited to King Spa in Niles/park ridge from hyde park... and then transited back. dude this is AMAZING. I LOVE CTA I LOVE CHICAGO.
I was going to post this a few days ago but I forgot. Nonetheless, the rockets won because the nets lost AND many teams in the west are making a leap PAST the suns this year (in my opinion).
The nets have a high probability to be the worst team in the league next year (depending on what the bucks do with giannis) after they got the 6th pick and wizards ended up making amazing trades last year for trae, AD, and then also landing the first pick. On top of that, the pacers will have haliburton back as well, so the nets will probably be the bottom team in the east.
The Suns will also probably be a bottom 3 team in the west after the Jazz, clippers, warriors, grizzlies, and mavericks will all be getting better (mainly mavericks due to them having cooper flagg develop, and warriors since they will get jimmy back + porzingis). The suns cannot realistically improve much from what they were this year as they do not have the cap space nor picks to do so. I also don't think dillon brooks will be a quasi all-star next year again either (as much as i love him).
With having BOTH of their unprotected first round picks in 2027, we have a great chance at getting 2 top 5 picks next year. Idk anything about the 2027 draft, some say it will be weak, but no one truly knows until the time rolls around. Stephen castle and kel'el ware both came from what was a "historically weak class." I also still believe in reed but that is besides the point.
at the end of next season, FVV's contract will be up, DFS will be halfway done with his (better trade value), and KD will be on the last year of his. Why not just run things back one more time with a healthy roster, try to TRULY see how things look with fred, KD, and steven adams (3 of our best 7 players) healthy, and then WORST case scenario, we will use those two top draft picks to better our team (Whether we trade both, draft both, or some combination), and go from there?
Those picks are the final unpredictable assets we have that could actually give us a star. We have always been a scoring threat/star away from contention. What are your thoughts?
It is actually kind of hilarious. I do not post or comment ever, but just see so many individuals talking about how they are getting priced out of the city, how they are struggling to pay 1800 for a 1 bed in ravenswood, etc.
In case you didn't know, you do NOT have to pay that much. There are a plethora of 1 beds available on the southside of chicago in areas where you will NOT die. Bridgeport, West Pilsen, Bronzeville (especially the northern part of bronzeville near 35th, green and redlines), Hyde park, Mckinley Park. All places with a train connected to them (except hyde park), and you can find a nice 1 bed apartment less than 1500 dollars easily. some less than 1200.
People will say "there is nothing to do in the southside, all my friends are in the north side, transit isn't good enough" which is all fine, but:
if you live near a train stop, you are 30 min from your friends.
there is plenty to do in the south side, bars are in bronzeville, bridgeport, pilsen, and chinatown. Clubs are here as well. Invite your friends to the southside sometime. I have recs if you need them. So many free events with Uchicago, charis listening bar and Maria's is great in bridgeport, free pool at pennywhistle in pilsen is an incredible time, and 31st beach during the warmer days is charming.
If it really is a dealbreaker then just don't say that there is nowhere to live IN CHICAGO. because that is not true. I have a friend renting a 2 bed 1 bath by himself in bridgeport for 1300 a month living next to buses and a couple blocks from the orange line. There IS somewhere to live in chicago for your budget, there is just nowhere to leave in lincoln park, lakeview, ravesnwood, Bucktown, and wicker park for less than 1500 a month.
That is all.