Biography
Jon Hilkevitch has been the Chicago Tribune's transportation reporter since 1997. He is responsible for covering every mode of ...
52% of low-income, minority CTA riders paying more
May 20, 2013
As South Side and south suburban Chicago Transit Authority riders figure out the best way to get to work and other activities Monday without Red Line Dan Ryan service, a new analysis shows that the CTA's fare increases for one-day and seven-day passes have hit minority and low-income customers hardest.
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Gary taking a new tack to expand, land business for its airport
May 13, 2013
For many years, Gary/Chicago International Airport has offered its services as a reliever airport to help ease flight-delay pressures at Chicago's two airports.
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Analyzing the effects of shutting Red Line for 5 months on South Side
May 6, 2013
The Chicago Transit Authority's next big project and its impact on riders were the focus of conversation Friday afternoon at Carter's Barbershop in the city's North Lawndale neighborhood.
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Indiana E-ZPass users may face extra fee on Illinois Tollway
April 29, 2013
Indiana drivers who use E-ZPass transponders to pay tolls electronically on the Illinois Tollway might soon be charged an extra fee to balance out what Illinois officials see as a long-unresolved fairness issue.
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Brace for delays at O'Hare
April 22, 2013
Delays may average 50 minutes per flight at O'Hare International Airport this week because of fewer air traffic controllers in the tower until the federal budget sequestration is resolved, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Legislation proposed for speed limit laws near schools
April 15, 2013
There is no mistaking Illinois for Kansas when it comes to driver behavior around children, state Rep. Elaine Nekritz says.
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CDOT tries coordination to ease road work headaches
April 8, 2013
Resurfacing a street or replacing a cracked sidewalk, then digging up the work a short time later to install new utility lines followed by making the paving repairs again — and perhaps even a third time — is a time-honored Chicago tradition.
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Don't be fooled. CTA changes take effect
April 1, 2013
Spring is in the air, and starting Monday so are service changes affecting some CTA bus routes and the Blue Line.
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Chicago man starts petition drive against new Ventra fare-payment card
March 25, 2013
Springlike weather is arriving late this year, but it's shaping up to be a long, hot summer for the Chicago Transit Authority.
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CTA's Ventra fare system a tool of mass confusion
March 18, 2013
The Chicago Transit Authority soon will launch a new fare-payment system that affects almost every CTA and Pace rider, although transit officials have yet to fully explain how it will work.
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CTA hearing sets sights on switch to Ventra card
March 11, 2013
A public hearing will be held Monday night about an upcoming fare-payment system that offers new options for CTA and Pace customers, but also contains costly penalties — most notably a $3 cash CTA rail fare — that transit riders can avoid, with a little effort.
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Joe Orr Road project may pave way for south suburban economic boon
March 4, 2013
A $40 million roadway expansion is under way in southeast Cook County that will culminate in a new connection between Illinois and Indiana, and officials say the project provides a possible template for marrying transportation and economic development priorities across the two states.
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States driven toward 'zero death' crash goal
February 18, 2013
It's a long-shot safety campaign known in shorthand as "zero deaths."
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State hits brakes on city plans for protected bike lane
February 11, 2013
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to install 100 miles of protected bicycle lanes in Chicago by 2015 is running into a speed bump thrown down by the state.
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Commuter savings on the rise
February 4, 2013
Savings have been kicked up another notch for participants in the commuter benefits program, which can put hundreds of dollars back in your pocket each year in connection with the costs to ride the CTA, Metra, Pace and the South Shore Line to work, or to vanpool or pay for parking.
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CTA website offers why 'things go wrong'
January 28, 2013
The CTA is going all out on defense in the hope it makes up for inconsistent offense.
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I-190 shoulder a favorite way station for motorists awaiting O'Hare arrivals
January 21, 2013
It's a frequent scene just outside O'Hare International Airport, almost as common as seeing airplanes land and take off.
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CTA's off-peak riders yearn for decrowding of their own
January 7, 2013
When it comes to CTA train sizes, which range from two to eight cars, riders forced to squeeze their way aboard even during non-rush hours are wondering about the long and short of it all.
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Getting Around: New book is pulling for Chicago's cable-car era
December 31, 2012
Public transportation became an absolute necessity for Chicago around 1860, when the city's population had ballooned to more than 112,000 from about 30,000 only 10 years earlier.
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Getting Around: Chicago made big progress improving crosswalks in 2012
December 24, 2012
Worn-out crosswalk striping and other poorly visible pavement markings have impaired safety in recent years on Chicago streets, where about 3,000 vehicle-pedestrian accidents occur annually, but the problem is starting to disappear, according to city officials.
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CTA's plan to relieve overcrowding goes into full swing
December 17, 2012
"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work." — Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912)
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Study: Squeeze on spending could lead to mass-transit meltdown
December 10, 2012
If you are a CTA or Metra rider who is miffed about paying more to ride buses and trains next year, those higher fares represent only one relatively minor worry for Chicago-area transit customers, according to a new study by DePaul University.
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Challenge is launched to reduce single-occupancy commuting
December 3, 2012
A new commuter challenge might be just the ticket if you are driving to work nearly every day and see the pros increasingly outweighed by the cons.
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Mark your calendar: Transit dates to watch in the coming weeks
November 26, 2012
Major events are circled on the Getting Around transportation calendar as 2012 crosses over into 2013, and the first big one is scheduled to take effect by Friday, when drivers flock back to Lower Wacker Drive.
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Getting Around: Answering questions about CTA construction and idling buses
November 19, 2012
What the "L" is taking so long at CTA's Loyola station? That and other reader annoyances and curiosities from the Getting Around mailbag.
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Lower Wacker Drive to reopen soon
November 12, 2012
Lower Wacker Drive, the best shortcut through downtown Chicago, will reopen to traffic at the end of November, while other changes are set for this week as the $300 million Wacker Drive reconstruction heads toward completion in December, officials said.
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Challenging Illinois toll violations shifts to the fast lane
November 5, 2012
Each month, hundreds of vehicle owners make the trek to Illinois Tollway headquarters in Downers Grove or phone the tollway's busy customer service center to make their case against toll violations and fines for which they believe they are not legally responsible, toll authority officials say.
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New taxi app fixing some issues before rollout
October 29, 2012
A taxi-tracking service that started last year in London, where it takes two to four years to learn everything the famous "black cab" drivers need to pass a licensing test, will make its U.S. debut in Chicago on Thursday.
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Designers seek input of riders to develop useful transportation apps
October 22, 2012
George Aye and Sara Cantor Aye want to help improve the experience of using mass transit in the Chicago area, and they are appealing for your participation.
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Getting Around: How much are you willing to pay to avoid traffic?
October 15, 2012
A campaign being launched Monday is aimed at building political and public support for finally taking strong action against traffic congestion in the Chicago area after years of mulling possible solutions while bemoaning the bumper-to-bumper march toward gridlock.
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Transportation in a disaster zone
October 8, 2012
If catastrophe struck the Chicago area, many thousands of evacuees would require transportation out of the disaster zone and a place to receive medical care, food and temporary shelter.
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CTA inspection reports show needed repairs in subways
October 1, 2012
Burned-out lights, broken handrails and cracks in emergency-escape catwalks that pose a tripping hazard are among more than 260 defects CTA safety inspectors have found in the subways of the Red and Blue lines.
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Jet-setters eager to get glimpse of new Learjet 85
September 24, 2012
As the debut of the newest iPhone creates a giant buzz among the general public, Chicago's most elite jet-setters are agog over a different sort of consumer toy.
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Reader wants to put a stop to red-light ticket
September 17, 2012
The photo on the $100 ticket isn't all that's fuzzy regarding red-light camera violations, one driver complains, while another wants to ban trucks from using the Circle Interchange or make them pay a hefty toll.
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Another seating issue arises for new CTA trains
September 10, 2012
The CTA could go a long way toward addressing public unhappiness over the "New York-style'' seating on Chicago's new rail cars if only CTA officials would consider doing what New York transit officials did many years ago.
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CTA cracks down on tardy, absent workers
September 3, 2012
Taking a tougher stance on chronic labor problems, the CTA has fired 63 bus and rail workers this year through Aug. 20 for repeatedly showing up late to work, compared with only nine terminations for the same violation in all of 2011, according to records obtained by the Tribune.
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CTA passengers uncomfortable in new 'L' cars
August 27, 2012
More than 100 of the CTA's new rail cars are in service on the Pink and Green lines, and the Red Line is due to get them starting in November, followed by the Purple, Yellow and Orange lines, according to transit officials.
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CTA's bus rapid transit won't be so rapid
August 20, 2012
CTA planning manager Joe Iacobucci is the first to acknowledge at the transit agency that "if you ask the average person in Chicago what BRT is, you get a blank look."
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Railroad police on high alert as Sept. 11 anniversary approaches
September 5, 2011
Railroad police are on high alert for suicide bombers at Union Station in Chicago as the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks approaches this week, authorities said.
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O'Hare runway construction: Flying into a danger zone
March 28, 2011
The almost-completed first phase of O'Hare International Airport's expansion had close calls that could have resulted in fatal airplane crashes, according to a Tribune investigation of incidents filed with the Federal Aviation Administration.
