Bring on the Slowdown

We're pretty sure we're permitted to advocate for a CTA slowdown off duty from the privacy of our own homes:

• CTA bus riders will have to wait even longer to get picked up if drivers follow through on a threat to ease off their accelerators as part of a work slowdown to try to force the transit agency's leadership to make concessions in an ongoing labor impasse.

  Bus union president Darrell Jefferson said today that if there's no agreement soon to restore service cuts he will ask his membership to adhere strictly to CTA rules, including a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit. Bus drivers rarely stay below that limit now, Jefferson said, because if they did they wouldn't be able to finish their routes in a timely fashion and riders would see significantly larger gaps between buses.

  Drivers also would follow other rules to the letter, such as waiting until all riders are seated or "standing securely" before leaving a stop and sitting at intersections with stale green lights rather than driving through, Jefferson said.

Hopefully, finally, the battle to say, "Enough!" has been joined by a union that can actually do some real damage to Shortshanks. Maybe we'll start flagging down buses again to get "checks" in the middle of their runs.