Judge Judy.
Judge Mathis.
Judge Joe Brown.
Sure, these TV judges have name recognition, but they lack the authority to rule on wrongdoing related to routes and “L” lines.
That’s Judge GP’s jurisdiction. So I’ve donned my black robe and will preside over commuter cases that recently entered my inbox.
MIA mp3 player
The case: A Little Village rider is mightily miffed and e-mailed “Going Public” about a missing mp3 player, which he said he lost on a northbound No. 50-Damen bus last month. When Andrew Smith, 26, realized the player fell off during his travels, he contacted the Kedzie bus garage to see if it had been turned in.
He was greeted by a woman who snappily told him it had not, Smith wrote. When Smith asked if she could contact the bus operator to see if the player was still on the bus, she said it wasn’t possible, he said. After two more calls to the garage, a nicer garage employee finally told Smith he had been contacting the wrong garage all along.
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The ruling: Judge GP understands that CTA bus operators cannot balance the acts of fielding calls about riders’ missing items while driving their routes. One exception is in emergencies, including missing medication, according to CTA spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall. She said in those cases a bus supervisor might be sent to look for the item while the bus is en route. In non-urgent situations, the agency — which lacks a central lost-and-found — directs riders to 1-888-YOUR-CTA or [email protected] to track down their items. But why didn’t the woman who answered the phone at Kedzie at least inform Smith that he was contacting the wrong garage? Sounds like she was too busy being rude.
The penalty: This unsympathetic employee deserves to be banned from using phones — including her personal ones — for at least a week. Perhaps this isolation will teach her to mind her mass transit manners.
Battle of the bugs
The case: Recently, a rider wrote in to complain about some extra passengers on his route: roaches. The rider, who had been onboard a No. 75-74th-75th bus, wanted to know what the CTA was doing to get rid of the public transit pests.
But it didn’t end there. Burbank rider Carol Parks wrote in to rebut the original rider’s comments, saying commuters often toss their trash inside “L” cars and buses, therefore creating breeding grounds for bugs. “We are the culprits,” Parks wrote. The CTA regularly fumigates its vehicles, but that can’t counteract riders who consider buses and “L” cars prime places for meals on wheels.
The ruling: If you don’t want to share a seat with a critter, avoid eating on CTA vehicles or properly discard trash after your snack attack.
The penalty: Heedless CTA snackers must eat their treats off a bus or train floor for a week.