The new shelters will be floor-height, so turnstiles at the entries (plus a CTA ordinance making them fare-paid areas) would probably be sufficient. In public perception, that's a significant step beyond just saying roving fare inspectors may check your bus every month or so.

I think what's tricky about self-service fare collection on buses downtown is the close spacing of the stops. As soon as the inspectors get on at Wells, everyone suddenly decides they meant to alight at Clark. On LRT or BRT, you can audit most of a car between stations.

Fully enclosed platforms with sliding doors that only open when a bus is loading seems like the only sane way to do prepayment. Drivers/staff will know that anybody coming through the doors onto the bus has paid, and if someone tries to creep in from the side they didn't pay. That's what I expected to see when I heard we were close to BRT.

Without that, it just seems like "Bus Fewer Stops".

I talked to someone in Cleveland once about their BRT system and it sounded like it was basically honor system, but it wasn't an expert. And also, Cleveland.

It must have been during the honor system experiment in LA that I was there and tried the subway. I was kinda confused. "Okay, I just paid for a ticket from this machine... now what? Trains are down here... Where do I... Don't I have to.... Wait do I just get on the train now? How do they know that I... I must have missed something. Hope I don't get arrested."

I never thought about the audit thing, but that's an easy way to enforce it. It's just like parking meters, no one is there strictly policing it and, sure, you might be able to get away scotch free 75% of the time, but the consequences of the 25% of the time a meter maid comes by are not worth the free meal. However, the problem would be that it is VERY easy to come after someone for a parking ticket because the city can just boot their car, very strong incentive to pay. It's much harder to collect against individuals and this could lead to hangers on, particularly those who don't give a rats ass about their credit, abusing the system and just racking up tickets and not paying.

Since it is BRT, supposedly, and there will be high ridership, you could put an additional fare collector on the bus so that people can board at the rear, too. It's not pre-payment, but it does speed boarding. China does it.

The MTA uses self service fare collection on its SBS routes.

^I hadn't heard about that; thanks. That's very relevant to what Chicago is planning downtown. I wonder what New York's experience with evasion has been.

Apparently the current thinking is to open with only one of the boarding platforms being prepaid, and see how that works in a Chicago winter before making a decision about the others. There will be queue-jumping signals at some intersections, but no signal priority otherwise.

The project's own calculations indicate that the Central Loop BRT speed improvements will be quite modest. A trip from Wacker to Michigan that now takes 13.6 minutes could improve to as little as—wait for it—12.3 minutes on average.

One new concern I have is about the raised platforms, which look like they can only berth one bus at a time. So during the morning rush, folks on the third bus back will be popping the cherry to get out and get to work on time, rather than waiting until the first two buses at the intersection move along.

Streetsblog Chicago has an interview with CDOT Commissioner about the central loop BRT.

CDOT Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld Discusses the Loop BRT Project

They expect fully operational by the end of 2015. Nothing about rider payment flow.

There was much less margin for safety. No cab signals, trains operated "on sight"—and rear-end collisions in low-visibility or blizzard conditions were not rare.

OK,hire a manual operator to work the junction like back then, and use the money to expand the brown to Jeff Park.

Ridership on the Howard branch is as high or higher than its ever been. I believe thesame is true on the Brown Line. System numbers were higher in WWII but thats because of the other branches actually having high ridership.

Clark Junction is MANUALLY OPERATED at all times. The interlocking machine was the latest technologly when installed. The is a video on the CTA website.

Also until 1963 North Shore Line trains were included on the Howard branch.....

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2...l#.U41YMigvk10

Lake Shore Drive plans aim for big-picture, not patchwork approach

BY TINA SFONDELES Staff Reporter May 30, 2014 7:10PM

Saw these Wilson Station renderings on DNAinfo:

http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/...extralarge.jpg

http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/...extralarge.jpg

http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/...extralarge.jpg

http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/...extralarge.jpg

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140...homes-offices#

I hope they actually end up going with the more sculptural structural supports shown here instead of big fat cylinders like the ones at Belmont and Fullerton.

I'm fine with either, but I think the CTA will actually use these ugly wide-flange columns with a tacky decorative footing.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TrFbSqYW5h...hboundView.jpg

^ I bet they use both columns. As you guys are talking about two different kinds of support at two different sections of the same project.

Whichever columns and beams they design and use, the City and the CTA should use the piles and piles of steel salvaged and saved from the never-used 63rd St. Dorchester terminal. The inventory was the result of an agreement where the City and the CTA would not have to repay the Federal monies for the never-used Dorchester terminal if the City and the CTA would use the steel in other projects. How big are the piles of steel....almost two blocks long!!

I went to a neighborhood meeting tonight and got a chance to talk with someone from CDOT.

He told me there's a pretty good chance that the pedestrian bridge over LSD at 35th Street could happen beginning later on this year.

I was also told that a Tiger Grant has been submitted for the crossings at 41st & 43rd over LSD. IDOT will know within the next several months wether the grants were accepted with would mean that construction on one or the other of 2 would begin within the next 18 to 24 months, or so I was told.

Yeah, I mentioned something about 35th St a few weeks ago. At this point, I'll believe it when I see it.

It did go out for bid, but it's obvious that this is not a priority for CDOT.

41st/43rd would be cool.

http://www.cordoganclark.com/portfol...0Bridges/7.jpg
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