Taste of Chicago Bike Blackout

yep, taste of chicago is upon us again.

but all that means to me is that Metra is on its bike blackout again. from Wednesday July 11th, through Sunday the 15th, no bike are allowed on any train, no exceptions. no, no, no...  even if the train is thoroughly empty and able to accommodate said bikes.

each year i take pics of all the availability to accommodate bikes, but metra only accepts snail-mailed correspondence, an active conversation doesnt seem possible.

 

i do commend metra for getting rid of every other bike blackout.

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Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on July 11, 2012 at 4:51am

Thanks. This is what it looks like right now, and will look like until Monday:

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 11, 2012 at 6:46am

No,  you can't...

There is noting like a company telling you they don't want your money.

All the billboards in the world for Metra "service" isn't going to help increase ridership when they tell said "riders" they can't board. 

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on July 11, 2012 at 8:24am

The website was designed to show the answer to the pressing question as quickly as possible and in different ways (with color, with a time graph, and with a textual message). 

I'm a critic of Metra's advertising. I don't think of their billboards over the highways communicate what Metra does, or how it benefits those reading the billboards. It also doesn't communicate how the reader can "follow up" or take action. The billboards' messaging make too many assumptions that I think apply to a very small portion of the population. They assume that you 1) know what Metra is (a passenger train that departs every 20 to 200 minutes), 2) know where to board, and 3) know where it can take you.

For example, "The way to really fly". Is Metra an airline? Or is it a train (as indicated by the drawing of an older locomotive) that takes me to places that airlines fly?

Another example, "Easy come, easy go". I'm not sure what this means. 

If I do know what Metra is, and I do know where to board, and where it will take me, these messages might make a little more sense. They'll possibly remind me that I could have taken Metra for this trip. But they don't help me figure out the next step. They list a URL. Perhaps it could say, "Find schedules at your nearest station by visiting MetraRail.com/findme" and the website would bring the user straight to a page that lists the nearest station and the next departure time. I don't know...

Permalink Reply by igz on July 11, 2012 at 8:56am

it took a year before i grasped Metra and its potential.  i started working in Wood Dale and did the dreaded commute for that year. 1-3 hours to go 18 miles. 290? Milwaukee to Irving Park? Grand till you cant go no more? None of those work well.  (turns out that the fastest way is Chicago Ave to 25th Ave, to Des Plaines River Rd, to Grand, to Franklin, to Irving Park, to Wood Dale Rd - 50 minutes).

then, someone mentioned Metra after i complained about my commute in my 13 mpg ford f150 for the millionth time. i looked into it and discovered that the station i needed was a mile from my house, and let me off 2 miles from the office. holy revelation! i no longer brought home the road rage, i read a few books, enjoyed a few beers, made new friends (Sarah Urbansky, Amber K, Paul Bracht, Andrew Haala to name a few), saved a metric fuck-ton on gas, and reinvigorated my bike commuting lifestyle.  ive been a year round bike commuter for 4 years now. (tho i do enjoy a motorcycle lately).

but i did not learn this through any Metra campaign.  it seems like you need to be a born into it local to get it, but ive since discovered even most locals dont get it, dont understand the system maps, dont know where the stations are, dont give a fuck. even the person suggesting it didnt know, just knew it existed and was an option since the previous suggestion of CTA wasnt viable. once i became a Metra rider, i understood the messages more, but most of the time, they are preaching to the choir - these campaigns are hung on the train station walls or in the cars themselves. 

Permalink Reply by Kevin K on July 16, 2012 at 5:09pm

Side note:  Earlier this spring it was pouring rain after work, so I decided to throw my bike on the front of the 147 bus to get home from downtown.  After I put my bike on the rack and I'm paying for the bus, the driver (a man about 40 year old) goes, "You know we hate those things, right?"  "Hate what?"  "Bikes on the bus.  Slows us down."

I was a bit shocked he had the balls to say that, right to my face, but I bit my tongue and didn't say anything.  But since when are CTA bus drivers so concerned about getting around on-time, anyhow?  You get paid by the hour, not the trip.

Moreover, why did he feel it necessary to tell me that?  Rude.

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