Top 5 reasons we love the CTA

1.Awesome announcements While it’s true that the CTA got rid of our beloved meta-announcement: “This is Grand,” there’s some consolation yet to be found on the El platform. Our new favorite words come from the woman who nasally announces, “Customer assistance is needed at the kiosk,” pronouncing that last word “key-ASK.” That lady, with that unstoppable accent, is keeping it Calumet, for real.

2.Bike racks on buses Our lives changed when all buses were fitted with bike racks; they’re so commonplace now it almost seems silly to celebrate them. But the racks are safe, quick and easy to use. How many times can you say that about our public transit system?

3.The slice-of-life effect Riding the eastbound Green Line from Oak Park remains our favorite trip on the El. From tony ’burb, to blue-collar West Side, to distressingly chic clubs, to expansive parks and finally to Loop office towers, it’s a half-hour mobile civics lesson on the economic segregation of our fair city.

4.Silly stop names The 70 Division bus has perhaps the greatest stop name of all time: Hooker. It’s childish, true, but nothing makes us giggle more than pulling up and hearing the announcer state, “Hooker,” just as a lone, wizened old man climbs up the steps.

5.Competitive commute There’s no doubt the CTA has slowed down of late, and there’s not much reason to cheer being stuck in a dark tunnel crunched up against some stranger. But put us out on the Red Line in between Dan Ryan lanes, or on the Blue Line in the middle of the Kennedy, and the thrill of passing all those slow pokes in their “express lanes” makes us forget all that discomfort, if just for a while.