Last night CTA heald a public hearing explaining the proposed fare policy for the new Ventra system.  Here are the comments Riders for Better Transit made to the CTA board:

We believe, on behalf of the riders we represent, that the proposed Ventra policy offers great convenience to CTA riders by allowing us the option of using credit cards or a Ventra card. This will make it easier for occasional riders and tourists to navigate our system and offer similar conveniences to regular CTA users that the Chicago Card currently provides.

The largest convenience of a new fare collection system, however, will not be realized until CTA, Pace and Metra use the same system and transfers can be made easily across the entire Chicago region. We support anything that can be done to speed up the implementation of a truly universal fare system.

Additionally, we recognize that CTA has gone to great lengths to make Ventra as accessible as possible for unbanked riders by preserving the option of a single-use ticket and by making Ventra cards widely available. Our biggest concern is for any low income riders who may struggle to meet the initial $5 cost of purchasing a reusable Ventra card. For those who may struggle to make that up-front cost, purchasing a single use card for $3 subjects them unjustly to a higher fare.

We encourage the CTA to be transparent about the impact they expect the single ride fare to have on unbanked and low income populations. We also encourage the CTA to work to accommodate low income populations who will struggle with this up front cost. For example, the Chicago Card policy is that the card is free for first time users but a $5 replacement fee is charged for subsequent cards. Perhaps lower income riders can be accommodated through a similar enrollment or card give-away program.

Active Transportation Alliance would be happy to help make sure the new Ventra cards get into the hands of this vulnerable population.

Bike lanes are a great way to provide safe space for biking on a street, and they've worked well at helping more people feel comfortable riding on Chicago's often busy streets. But many of us have experienced the fear and frustration caused by cars parking in the bike lane.

When the bike lane is blocked, you can be forced to squeeze into faster-moving car traffic, which is not always the safest situation. Parking in the bike lane is illegal for good reason, but not everyone driving understands the law or why parking in the bike lane can put others at risk.

So if you notice a problem with parking in the bike lane and want to do something about it, what can you do? First, you can politely talk to the driver if he or she is in or near the car to let them know there's a bike lane on the street and ask if they're willing to move to keep the street safer. Many people will politely move their car, and they may not have realized what they were doing. But since it's not always that simple, here are some other tips for dealing with vehicles parking in a bike lane in Chicago:

• Call 311: Report vehicles parked in bike lanes to 311 and ask that they be towed. For recurring problems, calling 311 helps to build data showing that there’s a chronic problem in the area.
• If it’s a government or business vehicle: Note the vehicle number, snap a photo, and send it to the agency or business with a written complaint, and cc your alderman.
• If it’s a cab: Note the cab number, snap a photo, and call 311 to report a cab driver complaint. This is different than asking for a tow truck. The city will record the complaint against the cab driver without sending police to write a ticket, but it will be a strong reminder to the cab driver not to park in bike lanes.
• For chronic problem spots: Note if there is a particular spot on the block where the problem is recurring, and then consider the following actions:
  • Call your alderman and ask for enforcement at the specific location, if the problem spot is in the same ward where you live. If you can be specific about problem times or days of the week, even better. Ask your alderman to talk to the police commander and the Chicago Bicycling Ambassadors about it.
  • Contact the Chicago Bicycling Ambassadors, who can work with the Chicago Department of Revenue on an enforcement event.
  • Write to the police commander, cc'ing the alderman. You can send the same correspondence you send to the aldermen to the local police commander. Find his or her contact information here.
  • Attend a CAPS meeting to request action: This is an opportunity to talk to police face-to-face about the problem and explain why it’s a public safety issue deserving attention. Find more information here.
  • If you notice people are parking to visit specific businesses, talk to managers at those businesses to request that they post a sign notifying customers that parking in the bike lane is illegal and their car will be ticketed. Many businesses notify their customers about nearby parking lots that are off-limits – they should do the same for off-limits parking in bike lanes. You can create a simple, friendly sign for them that they can tape to the window to increase the likelihood the business will try this.

(Photo credit Steven Vance via Flickr)

Chicago will soon decide whether to install protected bike lanes on Milwaukee Ave. this spring between Elston and Kinzie, as the first stretch of safety improvements that will eventually extend all the way to Devon.

By creating more order on an often chaotic and hazardous street, protected bike lanes would make Milwaukee Ave. safer for everyone, whether you are walking, biking or driving.

Consolidating some parking may be required to create a safer street, and that's worth it. Unfortunately, barrier-protected bike lanes could be left out of improvement plans as the city assesses how to use limited street space. Please sign the petition telling Chicago city officials to install barrier-protected bike lanes on Milwaukee Ave.

TAKE ACTION TODAY!
Click here to sign the petition supporting protected bike lanes on Milwaukee Ave.

Thanks to all of you who joined us on Monday for the Riders for Better Transit Summit: Building a 21st Century Transit System. The event was a huge success! We had over 120 attendees, including elected officials, local transit agencies, transportation professionals and, of course, our members!

In case you missed it, the event featured 11 great presenters who spoke about why transit is important, the kind of difficulties it’s facing in our region today and how we can look at transit governance and transit funding for solutions to move transit forward.

Carol Coletta, urban policy expert and commentator, started the event off with an important question: What kind of transit will we leave to our children? Active Trans Executive Director Ron Burke also helped set the stage for discussion by laying out some of the problems that transit in our region is facing, and Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology gave us a vision for the future of transit in our region.

The event featured two panels, one on transportation governance and one on transportation funding. Steve Schlickman, executive director of UIC’s Urban Transportation Center facilitated the panel on transit governance where John Gates, board chairman of the RTA, Frank Beal of Metropolis Strategies and Dan Cronin, chairman of DuPage County, weighed in on the strengths and weaknesses of the RTA.

The topic is a timely one since Metropolis Strategies has announced their support for state legislation that would drastically change the RTA by combining its functions with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. The panelists discussed this option as well as what responsibilities the RTA has to growing suburban areas like DuPage County, which contributes significantly to the funding for our system and is interested in more transit.

In our second panel, Jacky Grimshaw, also of CNT, lead a discussion about where we can look for new sources of funding for transit. With many transit agencies facing a shortage of funds, and less and less help coming from the federal government for new transit projects, it’s clear that transit in the Chicago region needs new investment.

Randy Blankenhorn of CMAP, Peter Skosey from MPC and Transportation for America’s Georgia Gann shared new ideas about where to look for this much needed revenue. Some of the ideas included revisiting the current gas tax and exploring congestion mitigation pricing, as well as ideas like expanding the sales tax base to services.

Thank you to all of our speakers for sharing your expertise with us! And thank those of you who attended for your positive feedback. Check out what others are saying about the event in this story on DNAinfo.com.   

Interested in some of the information presented at the summit? The slides from the event can be found here.