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CTA Working To Reduce Frustrating 'Bus Bunching'

Several Buses Traveling Together Is Top Complaint To CTA

CHICAGO (CBS) ― It's a nightmare for CTA commuters – late buses arrive, traveling two or three in a row, after a wait that seems like forever.

Can't they just time things right?

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole travels into the frustrating world of "bus bunching."

In Chicago's rush hour CTA buses are supposed to get riders where they're going on time, but commuter Amanda Goedde doesn't count on that.

"At the end of your block you can see your bus going by, you might even see two of your bus going by," she said. "You might have to wait 20, 25 minutes for another one."

While you're standing there it can be the most frustrating thing especially if you have a meeting," Goedde added.

She is a victim of the number one complaint to the CTA: bus bunching.

"Unfortunately bus bunching has been around for a very long time," said CTA President Ron Huberman.

Random events, like traffic, long lines of passengers or people taking too long to pay help create it. These factors slow down a scheduled bus, so much that the bus behind it catches up and they then travel in a bunch along the route, creating gaps in service.

"You really can't do much about that in advance, you can do something about that in real time," said Northwestern University professor Joseph Schofer.

Schofer says global positioning system technology can be a crucial real-time tool to fight bus bunching and the CTA is already experimenting with it.

For more than a year now, GPS systems on board the CTA Route 20 buses have helped riders log onto real-time maps and arrival information. Called Bus Tracker, the pilot program can even be accessed via Blackberry at the bus-stop.

But the same system putting bus arrival times in the palm of our hands can also be a useful tool to those trying to avoid bus bunching in the first place.

"If there's a problem that looks like it is going to appear, this allows us to take more preventative action," said Wai-Sinn Chann of the CTA.

From the CTA's command center it's possible for controllers to use Bus Tracker to see gaps in service along the route, theoretically notifying field supervisors what's happening, who then can take appropriate action, for example delaying departures of buses on bunched up routes.

The program is still in its infancy, but also in recent months the CTA has given its drivers on all routes new power to navigate around a bunch.

"Drivers are now allowed to pass each other up to adjust their schedule so they do something called leap-frogging," Huberman said.

Small moves like leap-frogging have helped the CTA reduce bus bunching by 8 percent over the past few months. But the goal is double digit reductions and the CTA admits that will take time, all while commuters like Goedde are losing time at the bus stop.

"It's frustrating that your excuse for being late to work is my bus was late," she said.

GPS technology -- recorded on buses all day long -- is helping the CTA tackle this problem in another way. Data is now collected at the end of the day from five problem routes. Consultants are making recommendations on how to alter schedules to cut back on bunching. But the CTA admits it may be months before riders see significant impact at most bus stops.

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