End smoking on CTA trains
The Issue
Many Chicagoans rely on the CTA for daily transit around the city. Extremely frequently, we have to switch train cars because one or more people are smoking on the train. Sometimes we even have to switch cars multiple times in order to find a train car without smokers. For me personally, this is especially common when riding the Red Line. This is extremely frustrating because cigarette smoke can trigger headaches, make our clothes smell bad, and even cause health problems. We are fed up with tolerating this.
The purpose of this petition is to demand change from the CTA to eradicate smoking on trains. There are a number of approaches that can be used to achieve this. For example, the CTA could install smoke detectors on train cars to automatically detect smokers and then notify security to eject them from train cars when the next station is reached. Another option is that each train run could have a security person that walks between train cars (e.g. using the doors in the front and back of train cars) to detect and eject smokers. The petition's goal is not to be prescriptive, but instead to demand change and request that the CTA takes whatever steps necessary to enact it.
CTA rules already prohibit smoking on trains, but this rule is not adequately enforced. CTA itself does not attempt to detect smokers, and instead currently relies on passengers to report smokers to conductors. This is ineffective because there are a number of obstacles that prevent passengers from reporting smokers and that prevent smokers from being ejected when reported. First, the only way for a passenger to report a smoker is to use the train car's microphone to notify the conductor. Many passengers are dissuaded from this out of the reasonable fear that if the smoker overhears them, it could lead to an altercation. So, at a minimum, it's necessary for a passenger to switch train cars in order to report a smoker. Passengers are also dissuaded from reporting smokers due to concerns that the report will be ineffective or will delay travel. Due to lack of security personnel on CTA trains, the conductor is the sole rule enforcer. So, in the best case scenario, when the conductor receives a report of a smoker, they must stop the train and walk back to the smokey train car to eject the smoker, which delays the train ride. But often, even that outcome does not occur, and the only outcome is that the conductor makes an ineffective announcement over the speaker to request the smoker to stop smoking.
Additional details:
• Plan for this petition: collect as many signatures as possible within the next week or so and then send it to Mayor Johnson's office and the CTA. I'll also look into sending details to local media like Block Club, WBEZ, and the Tribune to request coverage.
• One Chicagoan's log of witnessing smokers + discussion (Chicago Subreddit)
• Another discussion of smoking on CTA trains (Chicago Subreddit)
200
The Issue
Many Chicagoans rely on the CTA for daily transit around the city. Extremely frequently, we have to switch train cars because one or more people are smoking on the train. Sometimes we even have to switch cars multiple times in order to find a train car without smokers. For me personally, this is especially common when riding the Red Line. This is extremely frustrating because cigarette smoke can trigger headaches, make our clothes smell bad, and even cause health problems. We are fed up with tolerating this.
The purpose of this petition is to demand change from the CTA to eradicate smoking on trains. There are a number of approaches that can be used to achieve this. For example, the CTA could install smoke detectors on train cars to automatically detect smokers and then notify security to eject them from train cars when the next station is reached. Another option is that each train run could have a security person that walks between train cars (e.g. using the doors in the front and back of train cars) to detect and eject smokers. The petition's goal is not to be prescriptive, but instead to demand change and request that the CTA takes whatever steps necessary to enact it.
CTA rules already prohibit smoking on trains, but this rule is not adequately enforced. CTA itself does not attempt to detect smokers, and instead currently relies on passengers to report smokers to conductors. This is ineffective because there are a number of obstacles that prevent passengers from reporting smokers and that prevent smokers from being ejected when reported. First, the only way for a passenger to report a smoker is to use the train car's microphone to notify the conductor. Many passengers are dissuaded from this out of the reasonable fear that if the smoker overhears them, it could lead to an altercation. So, at a minimum, it's necessary for a passenger to switch train cars in order to report a smoker. Passengers are also dissuaded from reporting smokers due to concerns that the report will be ineffective or will delay travel. Due to lack of security personnel on CTA trains, the conductor is the sole rule enforcer. So, in the best case scenario, when the conductor receives a report of a smoker, they must stop the train and walk back to the smokey train car to eject the smoker, which delays the train ride. But often, even that outcome does not occur, and the only outcome is that the conductor makes an ineffective announcement over the speaker to request the smoker to stop smoking.
Additional details:
• Plan for this petition: collect as many signatures as possible within the next week or so and then send it to Mayor Johnson's office and the CTA. I'll also look into sending details to local media like Block Club, WBEZ, and the Tribune to request coverage.
• One Chicagoan's log of witnessing smokers + discussion (Chicago Subreddit)
• Another discussion of smoking on CTA trains (Chicago Subreddit)
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Petition created on December 6, 2023