For all the gripes about the Chicago Transit Authority — service disruptions, price hikes and delays — some of the biggest rage-inducers come from the passengers themselves.
A photo of a pretty egregious breach of "L" etiquette drew hundreds of comments after Reddit user nik27 posted proof of one woman's bad behavior Wednesday.
Several commenters noted the train car in the picture — where a young woman can be seen taking up three seats with her belongings as she kicks back to read a magazine — appeared empty.
The distinction sparked healthy debate as to whether being a CTA space hog is acceptable under any circumstance (Chicagoist Editor-in-Chief Chuck Sudo, who noted the photo Wednesday offered "You could just sit on her purse and smash what's inside. Your choice.")
The agency's official stance on turning the train or bus into a personal living room/closet is really more a tip on how to be a good CTA neighbor:
"Keep packages, bags or luggage on your lap or between your feet on buses and trains to avoid blocking aisles."
Stroller and cart-pushers are asked to fold their behemoths (at least in a CTA car, everything that's not a single human being seems like a hulking waste of space) if the train or bus gets crowded.
Cyclists, meanwhile, can't even tote their bike on board an "L" train during weekday rush periods (7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.), on July 2 or 4, or when trains are full; on top of that, only two bikes are allowed per car (which only seems to ever be an issue in the grossest of Chicago's weather).
According to the agency's complete ordinance, it's technically against the rules to "sleep or doze" on the CTA if doing so creates a hazard or "interferes" with the operation of the CTA.
While the Reddit call-out sparked another chorus of complaints against rude CTA riders, the "People of the CTA" Facebook page has long documented the most annoying, hilarious, disgusting and straight-up bizarre behavior of the system's passengers.
One photo from "People of the CTA" has reached such heights in popularity, it's currently being sold as a t-shirt by Local Apparel.
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