Some of you may remember from an earlier rant about my transit card magically, and without my knowledge, switching from a monthly pass to a pay-per-ride, ultimately running out of funds. At last update the card was suspended and could not be reactivated until August. The day before it was to reactivate the CTA permanently canceled my card because there had been no activity for over a month. The fuck?! There was no activity because you suspended it idiots! I only found out about this because my employer sent my payment and the CTA emailed me as there was no active card to put the money on. I spent two fucking hours on the phone with CTA customer "service" fighting to get my payment back. Long story short: CTA reactivated my card as a pay-per-ride & added my funds; I contacted HR to stop all future disbursements and as of last week have joined the ranks of Metra riders.

~ Metra bad: must leave home earlier in the morning to ensure arriving at work on time; get home 1/2 hour later; less reading time; less frequent trains than CTA; will still need to use CTA to go further into city (rarely)

~ Metra good: no smelly passengers, cars, or stations; no panhandlers, buskers, hawkers, or scam artists; polite, personable employees; comfy seats; 1-hour total walking time eliminates need to squeeze in aerobic exercise on work days; cheaper, quieter & faster than CTA; don't have to deal with the damn CTA

In conclusion, up yours CTA!