Some people are never satisfied...
Daily Herald
Metra schedule doesn't suit him
By Steve Zalusky
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Metra's new schedule for its North Central service is set to begin at month's end.
But Buffalo Grove trustee Jeffery Berman is already arguing for a schedule change.
Berman said Metra has reneged on its promise to increase service on the
line from 10 to 22 trains. Instead, he said, the service will offer 20 trains.
He also said Metra has failed to address the need for additional service during rush hours and has made the rush-hour commute even less convenient for residents.
Metra spokesman Patrick Waldron said, "We would be glad to listen to what (Berman) has to say and hear his feedback."
Berman, who regularly uses the service to commute to his law practice in downtown Chicago, said his fellow riders are not happy with the changes.
"The general feeling among commuters is that they, and we, have been deceived and betrayed by Metra. The sense is we have not received nearly the benefit we should expect in return for the huge capital investment made in the double tracking expansion project," he said.
Berman said the new schedule lists 10 inbound and 10 outbound trips. But he said that at best only 18 of those trips are useful to commuters. He said one trip that won't serve commuters well is the 7:02 p.m. train from Antioch that runs nonstop to Chicago once it leaves Grayslake.
"Who needs express service at 7 p.m. from Grayslake to the Loop?" he asked.
Waldron noted that only 10 years after the service started, Metra has doubled it. In addition, he said Metra is making an effort to scatter the service throughout the day to provide more options to as many commuters as possible.
Berman said the new schedule fails to serve existing commuters and is unattractive to new riders.
Berman noted that the existing schedule includes four inbound trains with Buffalo Grove departures between 6:02 a.m. and 7:38 a.m.
By comparison, the new schedule has five inbound trains running between 5:57 a.m. and 7:27 a.m. The next one doesn't leave until 9:42 a.m.
"Anyone who needs to get a child off to school before heading downtown will still be excluded from taking advantage of this line. Anyone hoping to go downtown earlier than the current service likewise will essentially be out of luck. This is not in any appreciable way an improvement in service," he said.
Getting back home isn't any better, he said. People who now take the 6:17p.m. from Chicago will have to wait until 7 p.m. or take an earlier train at 6 p.m.
In addition, he said, Metra has added three stations to the route, thus lengthening an already long commute. As a result, he said, the average commute time from Buffalo Grove to Chicago will increase by as much as 17 minutes.
This, he said, will hardly convince Buffalo Grove residents who already drive to the Deerfield and Arlington Heights stations to take the train from Buffalo Grove.
Indeed, he said, "It is more than likely that rather than increase, North Central service ridership will actually drop, as more riders seek out better options at other stations and on other lines."
Berman said the problems must be remedied by an adjustment in the schedule.
"Anything short of the full promised expansion and improvement is a betrayal of commuters and of the North Central service communities who have invested time, effort and money in this project," Berman said.
"There is progress being made on this line," Waldron said, adding that the possibility of tweaking the schedule always exists.
Waldron added, "We have had plenty of positive feedback as well."
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--Dorian--
