r/cta

I am in the communications field and am interested in applying for a comms job I saw open up at the CTA. The salary listed for the role I’m interested in at CTA is attractive, but I’m more curious about the benefits CTA offers its employees. I’m not sure if benefits differ between the more corporate roles vs more on-the-ground roles like operators, etc. but any info is useful here. I checked out the benefit services website they included in the job listing, but only saw info about medical plans.

My current job has some great benefits that I would miss, especially our retirement plan, so just trying to compare the quality of the benefits and general work environment.

So lmk: What is the retirement plan like? What do you like/dislike about working at CTA? Anything else to know before applying?

Thank you in advance!

I have seen it a lot more recently. security guards riding the train, K-9 units on platforms and actually chasing after people, cta workers taking smoking on trains more seriously, and separately, even the bus now has an announcement saying “fare payment is required” which ofc won’t do much but shows they are actively thinking about different ideas to better the system!

Stuff like this gives me hope for CTA’s future. this NEEDS to continue. and with the dialogue around taller fare gates to stop evasion, i feel like im actually becoming excited about CTA getting better !!!

& RATHER UGLY & INCONSIDERATE & EXPENSIVE & NOT NEIGHBORLY OBNOXIOUS & RIDICULOUS & FRANKLY, UNHEALTHY & IRRESPONSIBLE & STOMACH-CHURNING SELF-CENTERED & SELF-SERVING & UNSIGHTLY & THREATENING & DID WE MENTON GROSS??
SELF CENTERED & SELF-SERVING & UNSIGHTLY & THREATENING
& WHOLLY INAPPROPRIATE & UNSAFE & SELISH
DON'T DO IT.

On an Instagram post a couple of people mentioned the CTA shutting down service during major events going on downtown.

They say use PT for such events and train transportation is the best way to go so what's the issue?

You know that there will be people everywhere to go to Navy Pier and you are running just the normal services of those buses? I have seen how buses are lined up for Cub games or Soldier field events, why couldn't you do the same today? There were tens of 29 on Navy Pier terminal before 10PM to get the people from there which means there was no resource crunch, it is just very bad planning. Why did you line up those many buses at the destination from 8PM? At least running 29 from Roosevelt and 124 from Union station could have solved the issue.

I’m Canadian but I’m in Chicago frequently to visit my partner, often for weeks to a month at a time and I’m hoping someone else has figured this out because I’m so fed up.

I can’t use my Canadian card in the station machines, regardless of how much room there is on it it gets rejected. I can’t load it online because there’s no way to correctly complete my billing address since I can’t enter my province.

Is there a work around? I get that I can use cash but I have to take a bus to the nearest station and I’ve had more than one occasion where bus drivers take cash and refuse to issue to me a transfer so then I end up paying twice to get to wherever I’m going.

This is honestly really frustrating. I’d like to give the CTA my money but these systems make it nearly impossible to do this.

Edit: Public Transportation Needs Better Security
( I think the bigger issue is that public transportation needs better security. Whether that’s through better fare enforcement, more security personnel, or a combination of both, the goal should be preventing disruptive and dangerous behavior.

As someone else pointed out, the argument isn’t that everyone who evades the fare commits crimes. Most don’t. The point is that many people who commit crimes on transit also bypass the fare, so reducing fare evasion can be one tool to improve safety.

My concern has always been about the behavior, not someone’s income or housing status. I just want people to be able to get to work or school without being threatened or dealing with aggressive intoxicated passengers or drug-related incidents.

Original Post:
I rely on public transportation every day and buy the $80 monthly pass because it’s how I get to work. I regularly ride the 4, 6, 15, 28, and 47, and lately the situation has become really frustrating.
It feels like fare enforcement has become almost nonexistent. I constantly see people riding without paying, and while I don’t care if someone genuinely can’t afford the fare, I do care when some of those riders are creating unsafe conditions for everyone else.

I’ve dealt with aggressive intoxicated passengers, people obviously under the influence, screaming matches, and even drug use and drug-related incidents on the bus. Paying customers shouldn’t have to worry about being harassed or feeling unsafe just trying to get to work.

When people who repeatedly cause disturbances can ride without paying or consequences, it drives away the people who actually depend on and financially support the system. That’s not good for riders, drivers, or the transit agency.

Has anyone else who rides the 4, 6, 15, 28, or 47 noticed this getting worse? I’d like to see better fare enforcement and more visible transit security so people can ride safely without dealing with this every day.

So say a parent of a teen is really struggling financially and is donating plasma to make a little money but can't afford the full bus fare...............do bus drivers pay attention to what type of Ventra card is tapped? Do they know if an adult uses a high age kids card?? The student cards still seem to charge the reduced fare in summer.

The limited-edition lineup includes:

Brown Line Cookies & Cream – Cookies & Cream ice cream dipped in a chocolate shell and finished with Brown Line sprinkles.

Orange Line Mango Passionfruit – Mango passionfruit ice cream coated in an orange-flavored shell with Orange Line sprinkles.

Blue Line Blue Moon – Blue Moon ice cream encased in a vanilla shell and decorated with Blue Line sprinkles.

Red Line Strawberry Tres Leches – Tres Leches Cake ice cream dipped in a strawberry shell and finished with Red Line sprinkles.

I had something happen on the bus last night that made me curious what the general expectation is.

The bus was pretty full around 10 p.m. There weren’t any open seats, but there was plenty of standing room. A woman got on with a stroller and what looked like a 2 year old. She also seemed unfamiliar with the CTA and was a little hesitant.

There were several young, able-bodied people sitting in the priority seating (about 6 people), so I spoke up and asked if someone could let her use that area so she could park the stroller there instead of blocking the aisle.

Instead, I got mean attitude, and no one moved. Ironically, one of the people sitting there appeared to be a CTA employee. The woman with the stroller ended up staying in the aisle until the driver told her she couldn’t block it. Since the bus kept filling up, she got off and asked the driver when the next bus was coming.

It made me wonder:
\- Is priority seating just a courtesy, or are riders actually expected to give it up when someone clearly needs it?

\\- Would you have said something, or is it better to stay out of it?

\- If you were sitting in priority seating and someone who needed it boarded, would you expect to move?

I’m genuinely curious what the etiquette is here, because it felt wrong watching someone get forced off the bus when there was a designated area that could have been made available.

***TLDR: I asked people to give up priority seating for a woman with a stroller and no one did, so now I’m wondering if those seats are actually expected to be given up or if it’s just a courtesy.***