CTA

CTA Encourages Customers to Plan for Impact of Forecasted Snowfall on Travel

January 7, 2010

In anticipation of the expected snowfall forecast for the area this afternoon, CTA is reminding customers to allow extra travel time.

“We recommend customers allow extra travel time as buses travel in the same traffic as other vehicles and can be impacted by adverse weather conditions.  Rail service also can be impacted by snow, ice and extremely cold temperatures,” said CTA President Richard L. Rodriguez.  “During inclement weather, more travelers opt for public transit making buses, platforms and trains more crowded.”

Trains are equipped with sleet scrapers and snowplow blades to remove ice and snow from the third rail.  In addition, CTA has four snow fighter locomotives to clear tracks of ice and snow.  Crews also inspect and activate overhead heating fixtures on platforms at all 125 outdoor rail stations so that customers can stay warm, and restock sand boxes so there are supplies at the ready to keep stairs, platforms and bus areas safe for customers and employees.

As snow continued to blanket the area this morning, the morning commute operated without significant impact from the weather.  All CTA buses and trains operated on their regular weekday schedules with only a few minor delays.

CTA staff will monitor the weather throughout the day and determine if deployment of additional staff or snow clearing equipment is needed for the evening commute. 

The CTA’s Bus Tracker is a useful tool for planning the evening commute with the estimated arrival time of buses along a route.  All 150 CTA routes are available on the Web site at www.ctabustracker.com.  In addition, customers can log onto the CTA’s Web site at www.transitchicago.com, or call Customer Service at 1-888-YOUR-CTA (1-888-968-7282), to find out if CTA service is impacted by the weather.

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