The best Chicago transit apps for iOS 6 devices

[flickr]photo:8006706489[/flickr]

I have 9 transit apps installed, including 1 for Portland, Oregon. Seven are reviewed here.

If you upgraded your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad this week, you’ll find yourself without transit directions in the built-in Maps application. Wednesday was the first day you could download and install the latest version of iOS 6, your iDevice’s operating system. The Maps app was previously powered by all things Google but in iOS 6 the app is powered by Apple-owned technologies and partner companies’ data. It’s been known for months that the new Maps app wouldn’t come with built-in transit directions. (However, Apple Maps does scan your phone for compatible transit apps and links you to them, or helps you find them in the App Store.)

Don’t fret, though, as there are several apps for free and purchase that take over transit directions duty. I’ll review six apps, some of which I downloaded after I started writing this post. Visit the CTA’s Transit Apps webpage for more apps.

See all the screenshots created for this post.

Buster (CTA)

Download for $1.99. Arrival times, no trip planning.

Buster has four features: a bus route list (from which you can find a specific stop), find bus stops near where you’re currently standing, favorite bus stops, and an interface to the CTA mobile Train Tracker website. The first three are quite standard among Chicago transit apps, but each has a unique way of helping you find “your” stops and bookmarking them. Continue reading The best Chicago transit apps for iOS 6 devices

70% of pedestrian deaths happened at night nationally. What about in Chicago?

[flickr]photo:5103472743[/flickr]

CDOT, NHTSA, and Western Michigan University are involved in the installation of these optical illusion zig-zag markings, part of an experiment to see if they improve night time visibility. You can read more about them on Steven Can Plan. Since installation, I’ve asked CDOT multiple times for the results of the experiment and each time the report hasn’t been finished. 

A reader forwarded me an announcement email about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Traffic Safety Facts 2010 Data (.pdf) in which one of the “facts at a glance” included this one: “Close to 70 percent [of fatal pedestrian crashes] took place at night”. He asked, “What percent of ped fatalities in Chicago happen at night? 70% seems disproportionately high.”

I looked it up. “Night” in this analysis means situations where the Illinois Department of Transportation crash data is coded as “Darkness” or “Darkness, lighted road”. I’ve divided the data in a table below to show the difference between those two designations. Continue reading 70% of pedestrian deaths happened at night nationally. What about in Chicago?

Bus-ted: are CTA drivers ever ticketed for traffic violations?

[flickr]photo:670492603[/flickr]

Photo by Mark Susina.

[This piece originally ran in Time Out Chicago magazine.]

Q: When CTA bus drivers commit traffic violations, like driving through a red light, are they ever ticketed? I can’t recall seeing a policeman pull a bus driver over, so I imagine tickets just get sent directly to the CTA, right? And in those cases, do the drivers have to pay the tickets themselves, or are they otherwise penalized? How many tickets before they get canned? Is it a three-strikes policy or something?

A: Police do ticket bus operators, but this is “rare, especially considering the number of miles CTA buses travel each day,” agency spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski says. Bus drivers are responsible for paying fines associated with a traffic stop, and receiving a ticket on duty is considered a CTA safety violation. “Operators can be dismissed if they have accrued up to four safety violations within a two-year period,” Hosinski says. “However, a serious safety violation could result in immediate termination.”

But if a red-light camera records a bus blowing a stoplight, the agency pays the fine, Hosinski says. Though she wouldn’t say how much the CTA shelled out on red-light tickets recently, in 2008, the agency reportedly paid 1,194 fines at $100 a pop — $119,400. The policy of the agency picking up the red-light tickets was instituted due to pressure from the bus drivers union, and Hosinski says it streamlined the process of disciplining the drivers, since operators previously had the choice to either pay the fee themselves or contest the ticket in court, which delayed the CTA disciplinary process.

Charles Paidock of the CTA watchdog group Citizens Taking Action argues the rule is fair. “There’s pressure on the drivers to maintain schedules.” he says. “And things are going to happen in the process of operating a vehicle on city streets.”

Thoughts on August’s Critical Mass by Oboi Reed and Eboni Senai Hawkins

[flickr]photo:8001891833[/flickr]

Oboi Redd and Eboni Senai Hawkins at Daley Plaza. Photo by Vincent Carter.

Last month I collaborated with Oboi Reed, founder of The Pioneers Bicycle Club, and Eboni Senai Hawkins, founder of the local chapter of Red Bike and Green (RBG) to create a Critical Mass map highlighting African-American landmarks on the Near South Side. Since the majority of Massers live on the North Side, the ride tends to gravitate in that direction, so Oboi, just back from a study abroad trip in Brazil focusing on health and social justice issues, proposed ending the ride south of Madison for a change.

I thought the ride was a great success, with a huge turnout, beautiful weather and a very positive vibe from participants and bystanders. I think many of the riders appreciated visiting communities like Bronzeville, Douglas and Oakland where they may not have spent much, or any, time before. It would definitely be great to see more Critical Mass rides travel to the South and West sides, and to see more involvement from folks who live in these areas. Oboi and Eboni share their impressions of the ride below.

Continue reading Thoughts on August’s Critical Mass by Oboi Reed and Eboni Senai Hawkins

CTA announces name for Jeffery Boulevard BRT route

[flickr]photo:8000598986[/flickr]

Photo of the new bus livery (paint scheme) courtesy of Chicago Transit Authority. 

It’s the Jeffery Jump.

The Chicago Transit Authority describes the name for the Jeffery Boulevard bus rapid transit service in a press release issued this morning. Jeffery Jump replaces the 14-Jeffery Express route. The press release is quoted in part:

The Jump service is branded to communicate the way this service allows commuters to “jump” ahead of traffic and get a “jump start” on their morning and evening commutes  Jeffery Jump buses uses will be visually distinguishable from other CTA buses—wrapped in bright blue with the Jump logo.

The previously announced service will operate from 103rd Street on the south side to Metra’s Ogilvie and Union Stations downtown, saving an estimated five to seven minutes off of morning and evening commutes. The new service is scheduled to begin in November 2012. Road work to prepare Jeffery Boulevard for Jump service has already begun.

Two stations, located at 71st and Jeffery and 100th and Paxton, will have unique sidewalk and crosswalk designs and a large canopy for protection from the weather. Curb bump-outs will limit the need for buses to merge in and out of traffic in order for customers to board.

Bus rapid transit partners in Chicago have simultaneously launched a new website, BRT Chicago. There are three routes in the works: Jeffery Jump, Central Loop BRT, and Western-Ashland Corridor BRT.

Turf and Surf: car-free fun by land and lake

[flickr]photo:7932293176[/flickr]

Todd on the sailboat American Excess.

[This piece also appeared in Checkerboard City, John’s weekly transportation column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets in print on Thursdays.]

It always bugs me when people say Chicago’s a great city but complain that there’s no access to natural beauty or outdoor adventure here. True, there are no mountains or saltwater for hundreds of miles, but we have ocean-like Lake Michigan close at hand, making this one of the few major U.S. cities where you can work in a skyscraper and easily take your lunch break on a sandy beach.

And this is great place to live if you want to commune with nature without polluting the environment to get there. The South Shore Line electric railroad takes you directly from Millennium Park to the campgrounds of the picturesque Indiana Dunes. The bicycle-friendly Metra commuter rail system means that you can get to state parks likes Illinois Beach, Fox Lake and Kettle Moraine via a relaxing train ride plus a bit of pedaling, instead of fighting traffic jams. And since this is the nation’s rail hub, and Amtrak lines within the state accept un-boxed bikes, it’s easy to take a journey in the mountain-like hills of Southern Illinois or along the mighty Mississippi. So having a good time in the great outdoors near Chicago is really just a matter of attitude.

Continue reading Turf and Surf: car-free fun by land and lake