Why Public Transit?

1.  Small Business thrives near transit stations.  When built within the urban milieu, mass transit brings consumers in large numbers to stations that can be surrounded by small businesses. As most agree independent business is the backbone of our economy and therefore Chicagoans must push for action to make life easier for the entrepreneur.  Public transit is ideal for small companies, without the cash flow of giant corporations.  Unlike automobile traffic that engenders big box chains that can afford enormous parking lots, mass transit brings walking customers form store to store without the extra cost of parking.   These consumers also come in large numbers supporting a multitude of unique ventures that may not have enough audience elsewhere.  The Brown Line illustrates this best, almost every station sits among a number of neighborhood shops from bakeries to taverns.  While other lines may lack these adjacent amenities this comes from a separation from the neighborhoods they serve.  The expressway lines i.e. the Blue and Red lines are examples of this.  However every transit line and bus route brings people together and this represents a potential resource that small business should tap.

Purpose

"I am an American, Chicago born," - Augie March via Saul Bellow.

This blog is dedicated to all RTA riders and all who care for the welfare of our global city. Public transit is essential to ensure Chicago will be an elite city. While other sites may be forums for voicing displeasure, this site will concentrate on the solutions for solving the issues of the CTA. As any rider can point out the CTA faces a multitude of difficulties, however this site will look forward always, grasping the big view and will not right off a city permanently for temporary dilemmas. Effective public transit is the key to urban life. History has shown that cities with a mobile population thrive in political, cultural and business circles. A snapshot of the world's financial and cultural centers i.e. New York City, Tokyo and London reiterates this notion. These places have extensive networks of subways and buses that allow a populace to flow freely allowing for quicker commerce, in a limited space. As more recently built American cities have shown, a more automobile friendly city leads to traffic, pollution and a general banal lifestyle. Therefore the citizens of Chicago must demand a better transit system not only to take its place on the world scene but to allow transit to improve our quality of life.