07/30/99
In order to accommodate customers, CTA Chairman Valerie Jarrett said today that while the city's heat emergency remains in effect the CTA will waive its normal rules which prohibit beverages on vehicles, and she is encouraging customers to board with water or other cool, non-alcoholic drinks.
The CTA joins with other city agencies in advising customers to exercise caution during this extreme heat wave. Air conditioning or cool water are important for people who, due to age or medical conditions, have more difficulty regulating their body temperatures to shed excess heat.
Approximately 50 percent of CTA's 1878 buses are air-conditioned. And the entire rail fleet of 1150 cars is air-conditioned. However, CTA officials cautioned that in this extreme heat, even air conditioned vehicles can become hot.
A 15 minute power outage that occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m. on the Brown line is expected to cause some rush hour delays to Brown Line service. There have been scattered reports of other heat-related malfunctions on buses and trains today, such as over-heated engines or malfunctioning cooling systems. However, repairs are being made quickly and they are not expected to have a major impact on rush hour service.
