#146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express

Oh, One-​Forty-​Six.
You’re the Jekyll & Hyde of CTA bus routes. Heading to Montrose Beach last summer, I saw you come up to State & Lake. You crawled along Michigan Avenue and gave me a few blissful minutes of travel on LSD. Then, you reverted back to your old self after exiting on Belmont. You save your passengers the displeasure of walking an extra 300 feet to their destination by having 16 stops per mile, but cause everyone else on the bus to have a longer journey. You travel at a measly 6 mph down the inner Drive. But hey, at least you got me close to my destination, and you were clean.

Few things can get me to write about a transit system — but this is the third transit review I’ve written regarding the CTA!
I’ve only taken the 146 out and back to the museum campus once, while visiting your fair city. Clean, quick, efficient… those terms all come to mind regarding the 146. The only shot of local color came in the afternoon, after a LONG day at the museum. Having been in the queue for two full double-​buses, we finally got on the next one. The driver noticed a young man in a motorized wheelchair, and politely commanded everyone else to get out of the way while he deployed the ramp and allowed the young man and his family to get on — and then allowed the throng of humanity to continue boarding. I was lucky enough to snag a seat near the front, because it allowed me to witness what happened 10 or so blocks later…
At a regular stop, there were a number of riders waiting to board the bus — including a woman that was also on a motorized wheelchair. The driver repeated his instructions to the others waiting to board, and allowed her to get on first. …but that’s when things started to unravel. She claimed she couldn’t get past the young man in his wheelchair, although he was apparently scooted over as far as he could go, and was secured properly. Instead of waiting for assistance or reasoning things out, she decided to ‘floor it’ and ram on past him — and she did — taking a piece that attached a wire harness to his chair in the process, and interlocking her wheels with his. To this, she spouted venom…
…and along came the driver, who helped to extricate her (as she continued to rant) and then he retrieved the pieces of the young man’s chair, and handed them to his father. Grace under fire. The driver kept good humor and a positive attitude throughout the ordeal. Kudos to the 146 driver!

The 146 is my favorite form of Chicago Public Transportation. If I ever have the immediate choice and a little bit of extra time, I take the 146 as opposed to the redline or anything else to get me up North.
Nice, smooth ride especially when it goes express. Before then, it’s just fun to people-​watch. Unfortunately, the people who usually get on the 146 are pretty sane so it’s more fun to people watch facing the outside.
It is the CTA, so I can’t give it any more than 4 stars. As another reviewer said, I’ve had good drivers and bad drivers and this review is based solely on the time I usually wait for the bus and how smooth the ride is.

As with anywhere in customer service, it is the people who make or break the customers experience. The CTA buses are no different. Some buses have pleasant drivers and some have jerks. I don’t think it is fair for a reviwer to review a business harshly because of the moron customers that are there, so I will not speak so the horrid little boy that was hitting things with a plastic bottle.
As for the 146 bus, I like most of the drivers. I use the 146 often as I go back and forth to my boyfriends. In the evening, when I use it the most, they are always on time and steady. I have seen them in clusters and have nevr understood why, but that is just the way it is. That is why I gave it a four. There is definately room for improvement.

Oh, One-​Forty-​Six.
I think it’s sweet how you travel in pairs. It’s so chivalrous of you to wait for each other at every bus stop. It’s very gallant that you say, ‘Why, after you!’ when your partner lags behind.
Now cut it out.