Metra Black Out Dates 2010

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 5, 2010 at 5:44pm

did you tell them it isn't on the website?

Bob Maher said:

I tried to take a bike on Metra last night but was told, "No bikes this Saturday or Sunday."

Suck.

Not too bad for me - I biked the 10 miles back home and drove in, but there were two other cyclists who were stuck for the night.

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Permalink Reply by Sue Clark on September 5, 2010 at 6:20pm

When I bought a ticket last weekend the guy told me no bikes on trains this weekend...which I expected since it's a holdiay and people might actually want to travel. Plus it took a few times asking before he confirmed that I actually could use last weekend's ticket last weekend.

I'd like to see bikes on the south shore...but that's just me.

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Permalink Reply by David on September 5, 2010 at 8:48pm

The website got fixed, so it was obviously a short-lived glitch.

I took my bike on the Metra this morning and back again this evening and there was no problem at all. There were lots of bikes on both lines. This was on the BNSF outbound and the UP-NW inbound.

Obviously, this being Metra, you could always get an uninformed conductor, but all the conductors I spoke with today knew it wasn't a blackout weekend.


H3N3 said:

I mostly ignored this discussion here and on the listservs, but suddenly it seems I need/want to take my bike on Metra tomorrow.
I vaguely recall someone somewhere reporting the jazz fest thing was a mistake . . . I'm looking at this link and there is nothing there in regard to the current weekend? Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 5, 2010 at 10:27pm

But they didn't tell conductors or security. Jazz Fest is NOT listed on the web site under blackout dates as of today. I took the folder and bag instead of a full sized bike, just in case. On my return trip from downtown, security goons at the head of the platform were happy to inspect my backpack and say okay, then as soon as I started to roll towards an open door to fold my bike before putting it on board, one of them stood in front of me, scowling and folding his arms, saying "no bikes." I explained that allowing folding bikes in bags has been Metra policy for years, and that I've done this hundreds of times.

2nd security goon joins in. "No bikes." I tried explaining again. A conductor joined in the ignorance party. I kept insisting and asked the conductor to get his supervisor. I really didn't want to bag it at the head of the platform and carry the bike several cars forward to the first open car due to my sore knee. I finally started bagging it there. By the time I got it bagged, the conductor came back from the waiting room and said "go ahead." Then I hobbled down the platform carrying the bagged bike.

I've had problems like this on occasion on other lines, but never on the Rock Island, which is usually one of the most accommodating lines. I WILL be writing a letter of complaint. It's bad enough that they backtracked on this unannounced blackout, worse that they are ignorant of something that has been policy and not been an issue on this line in the 7 years I have been taking a folder on the Rock Island. F&*k the ignorant rent-a-cops doing security. The fact that a CONDUCTOR was part of the ignorance and didn't immediately correct the rent-a-cops is ludicrous.

They've done unannounced blackout dates for years, so I was expecting that at least some of them would be trying to do it this weekend, even though I saw a message on the Metra Electric's electronic sign board at 115th/Kensington station earlier in the week saying that bikes WOULD be allowed this weekend. I watched it scroll by 3 times before I believed what it said, then thought it would end up being a joke on all of us.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

Hey all, it looks like they've corrected the error but just in case, we put in a call to see if we can get any additional info.
For now, looks like bikes are good for this Labor Day/Jazz Fest Weekend!
Will keep in touch if any feedback surfaces.

Thanks much,
Ethan, with Active Trans

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 5, 2010 at 10:28pm

Which line?

Bob Maher said:

I tried to take a bike on Metra last night but was told, "No bikes this Saturday or Sunday."

Suck.

Not too bad for me - I biked the 10 miles back home and drove in, but there were two other cyclists who were stuck for the night.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 6, 2010 at 12:36am

Pat Quinn got us bikes on Metra.
Maybe it's time to try to get him involved again.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 6, 2010 at 6:58am

When you have your meeting, please include this issue. The numbers printed on the schedules for bikes allowed on a given run assume that there are at least 3 ADA accessible cars OPEN and available for passenger use on that train. On most off-peak runs on the Rock Island in the last year or so, there is usually only ONE accessible car open. That means there is capacity for 5 bikes instead of the publicized number of 15.

On Sunday 9/4, when hordes of people were going downtown for Jazz Fest, shopping, etc., the trains I rode each had ONE accessible car open. On a weekend, that means that bikes, wheelchairs, strollers, luggage, etc. are all competing for those two accessible areas on one car. Occasionally the conductors will open an additional accessible car. More often they don't.

On most holiday or festival weekends, I don't enjoy riding the trains with or without a bike. The number of open cars tends to be small enough relative to demand that it's a loud, crowded and thoroughly unpleasant trip, making the red line look more attractive even with the current rough track conditions on the south side.

Please mention that, with the crowded weekend conditions created by the small number of open cars, it's fairly common for conductors to be unable to collect fares from a large percentage of passengers - at least on the Rock Island.

Metra is hurting itself by being cheap with the reduced number of conductors and open cars. I have to wonder how much they're losing from all those uncollected fares.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

Potentially, that's what Phil Pagano told us in the meeting. We'll be following-up/meeting with new people soon and will keep plugging away.
Thanks, Ethan, with Active Trans

bicycle_poet said:

I think it probably has to do with the length of the platforms, not the engines. They can (and sometimes do) run two engines, but adding engines isn't an issue because engines don't have to park next to the platform -- cars (including bike cars) do.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

Not because they don't want it to happen, but because their current engines are maxed out at 12 cars (I think...it's whatever the most number of cars per train is right now).

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Permalink Reply by RP on September 6, 2010 at 9:23pm

Found myself down in Beverly at the end of a long day of exploring, and was going to take Metra back from 91st Street. I listened to the station speaker no less than four times, talking about Jazzfest: a long schpiel about no alcohol on trains after 7pm, then a few very short syllables which, by the third listen, I was pretty sure said "and bikes are allowed".

Nevertheless, when the train arrived, the conductor was all like NO BIKES. And I'm all like WHAAAAAT.

And then I'm all like, screw you, Metra. The Red Line takes me straight home anyway without any transfers anyway. And where else am I likely to have a rambling conversation with some loud angry dude about his crackhead girlfriend?

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on September 6, 2010 at 9:27pm

Boarded the 6ish train to Chicago at Homewood tonight. At least 2 bikes were already aboard in the car we got in. I bungeed mine next to those 2 and my 3 riding partners secured theirs to the other side of the car.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 6, 2010 at 11:01pm

Are you talking about today (Monday)?

I ended up traveling without the bike (Milwaukee North to Northbrook).
Didn't see any on the train.
Also noticed an odd lack of vigilance on the part of the employees in terms of collecting fares.

RP said:

Found myself down in Beverly at the end of a long day of exploring, and was going to take Metra back from 91st Street. I listened to the station speaker no less than four times, talking about Jazzfest: a long schpiel about no alcohol on trains after 7pm, then a few very short syllables which, by the third listen, I was pretty sure said "and bikes are allowed".

Nevertheless, when the train arrived, the conductor was all like NO BIKES. And I'm all like WHAAAAAT.

And then I'm all like, screw you, Metra. The Red Line takes me straight home anyway without any transfers anyway. And where else am I likely to have a rambling conversation with some loud angry dude about his crackhead girlfriend?

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 6, 2010 at 11:19pm

Was the train crowded?

When I got on Friday I politely asked some out of town folks to move from the bike area and that there were plenty of seats (it actually did look like many were filled but I knew it wasn't at capacity yet). They looked at the conductor and said, " What do you want us to do?" He said, well it is the bike area, but made sure to rudely tell me to calm down since they were from out of town and that if it gets crowded I will have to get off. I was super peeved. It never got close to capacity (3 people at least had bags on their seats next to them). And 5 minutes later they announced that the had opened up another car.....

RP said:

Found myself down in Beverly at the end of a long day of exploring, and was going to take Metra back from 91st Street. I listened to the station speaker no less than four times, talking about Jazzfest: a long schpiel about no alcohol on trains after 7pm, then a few very short syllables which, by the third listen, I was pretty sure said "and bikes are allowed".
Nevertheless, when the train arrived, the conductor was all like NO BIKES. And I'm all like WHAAAAAT. And then I'm all like, screw you, Metra. The Red Line takes me straight home anyway without any transfers anyway. And where else am I likely to have a rambling conversation with some loud angry dude about his crackhead girlfriend?

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 6, 2010 at 11:25pm

Just wondering if these disturbing tales are of any use in terms of the upcoming sit-down-- Ethan, would you prefer to have these accounts e-mailed to you?

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