Waste of Money

There seems to be so much of it lately. Hopefully, someone is taking notes so when Rahm pleads poverty, we can stuff it right back down his throat:

• The CTA is installing the first of 400 LED signs at 20 percent of all bus shelters serving 80 percent of all riders who use them to bring Bus Tracker information to commuters when and where they need it most.

  The signs will carry four lines of text with information about the next four buses due to arrive at that location and, ultimately, other important transit alerts. Visually-impaired riders will hear an audio alert after pressing a button.

  The signs face outward so approaching bus passengers can see the information and hustle over to catch an arriving bus. Motorists with decent eyesight will also know when to change lanes.

  The electronic signs will be purchased and maintained with a $3.8 million mix of CTA, RTA and federal congestion funds.

And what's the matter with just looking down the block to see when a bus is coming?

• Emanuel declared an end to the days of commuters “standing in the middle of the street craning their neck to look down and try to figure out, `Are those lights a bus?’”

  He added, “We finally have the technology to do what’s right to serve the commuter.”

Ummmm, silly question, but is anyone going to get anywhere any faster by knowing when a bus is 10 minutes away? What's the point? $3.8 million in pretty lights for what purpose? Is this merely enriching that connected French company that got the crooked contract in the first place?

Business as usual.