The CTA's next rail car order will not repeat the mostly center-facing seating configuration that has proved unpopular among many commuters who ride on the new fleet that's still being delivered, transit officials said Thursday in revealing a preferred new interior look for future cars.
The decision to abandon the bowling alley-style seating, which created wider aisles designed to accommodate "crush loads'' of standing passengers during rush hours, was made after listening to riders and studying other options, officials said.
They added that the former CTA management that seven years ago ordered the agency's 5000 Series cars, manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, did not confer with customers or give enough thought to comfort and passenger flow before picking almost all center-facing seats.
Some center-facing seats, perhaps laid out in short rows of two- and four-seat combinations near the doors, will be retained on a future car order that also will contain traditional Chicago-style seating, according to CTA officials, who released a diagram of what they called a more "customer-friendly'' proposal.
"The CTA not only conducted extensive field research, we also went to the people who ride the system every day for their feedback," CTA President Forrest Claypool said.
The most common complaints from riders about the center-facing seats are that seated passengers are crammed shoulder to shoulder and thigh to thigh while also being eye-level to the crotches and buttocks of standing passengers; that in crowded conditions, standing passengers tend to accidentally step on the feet of those seated; and that views out the windows are blocked by bodies.
CTA research, based on observations aboard trains, also showed that the legs of passengers seated in the center-facing seats disrupt passenger flow, yet some customers think the center-facing seats are safer because there is no one standing behind them.
The CTA advised manufacturers that are preparing bids for the next-generation rail cars, called the 7000 Series, to focus their proposals on a "hybrid seating design'' consisting of both transverse seating - forward- as well as reverse-facing seats - and some aisle-facing seats, officials said.
Some of the older CTA rail car models contain pairs of aisle-facing seats near the doorways.
It will be left to the competing manufacturers to execute final designs that are functional and aesthetically pleasing, but CTA officials said the winning proposal will offer aisle-facing seats in the front of the car (near the operator's cab) to maximize standing space.
The middle of the car will feature "an asymmetrical mix'' of forward-, rear- and aisle-facing single seats and seat pairs, similar to the current 3200 Series cars that operate on the Brown and Orange lines, officials said.
The rear of the car will provide "the maximum number of forward-facing seats in area that will not impede passenger flow,'' the CTA said.
The 7000 Series configuration recommended by the CTA would have 53 percent forward- or- rear-facing seats and 47 percent aisle-facing seats. Each car would have two locations for wheelchairs.
About 90 percent of the seats on the 5000 Series are aisle-facing. Of the 38 seats, there are four forward-facing seats that can be folded up to accommodate two wheelchairs.
The diagram that the CTA released Thursday showed individual, or scoop, seats for the side-by-side aisle-facing seating. In contrast, New York City subway trains are outfitted with aisle-facing benches that offer more personal space and do not define how much room each rider takes up.
The scoop seats on the 5000 Series cars are 17.5 inches wide, which assumes 17.5 inches is a comfortable seat width for everyone.
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority stopped installing individual scoop seats for its aisle-facing configuration in the early 1980s, based on passenger feedback, officials said.
The manufacturers' bids on CTA 7000 Series cars are due in October. The transit agency announced over the winter that it plans to spend as much as $2 billion on as many as 846 rail cars over roughly 10 years, depending on funding. The first order would be for 100 cars, which could start arriving in Chicago around 2016, officials said.
CTA officials, who said they expect to award a contract by January, are currently receiving a total of 714 5000 Series cars through 2015 under a $1.14 billion contract awarded in 2006 to Bombardier. To date, more than 290 cars are in service on the Pink, Green and Red lines.
Acquiring the 7000 Series could reduce the average age of the CTA's fleet to less than 10 years by 2022, officials said.
The CTA's decision to shelve the all center-facing seats on the 7000 Series car order was reached after conducting a customer survey that solicited opinions about seating preferences as well as observations by CTA officials of rider behavior, CTA spokesman Brian Steele said.
Factors included rider comfort for both sitting and standing passengers; whether seats in the closely spaced center-seating format were being used efficiently or left empty; the ease and speed of passengers entering and exiting the cars; and the length of time a train stood at a station, officials said.
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