#62 Archer Bus

If you’re looking to get to McKinley Park from the South Loop, check it out…

Just got off of the #62 bus 5:40 p.m. on Sunday 1÷12÷14 at the end of the line in River North. My bus driver was a real jerk and kept telling me that I need to pay more attention after I apologized and inquired about whether he had any type of transfer as I had paid cash to get on the wrong bus. Told him I could not believe that the city didn’t provide something to be given by a bus driver to riders in my position. He just kept telling me that I need to pay more attention. I got on a #36 bus and spoke to a nice bus driver and she said yes they do have specific transfers for people who did what I did and they are called Emergency Transfers. She understood my situation and did not charge me. What a jerk. While I am at it Mr. Bus Driver, don’t let people off in front of iced over snow as it is unsafe to traverse.

Whenever I’m downtown, and I want to go home, I catch this bus by Harold Washington Library and take it to the Halsted Orange Line stop to get on either the #8 or 44 bus. I love the quick, quiet rides I get from this bus. I recommend it in addition to the Orange Line, but on weeknights when the library closes at 9, the trains have four cars instead of eight and that’s not rolling with me, so I get on the #62. It’s usually not crowded, regardless of what time of day I take it, so, like I said before, I really recommend it.

Ah, to think I have good memories of using this bus route, back when I used to visit a friend just over the Chicago/​Summit border. Generally stays on schedule, runs fairly late from Archer/​Harlem (1am-​ish?), and is 24 hours from Cicero Ave.(western overnight terminus is Midway Orange Line stop) to downtown. Overnight, it detours on Halsted inbetween Archer and Roosevelt, and Roosevelt inbetween Halsted and State to make up for the elimination of owl service on the #8 and #12 routes a decade ago. And it passes through some pretty decent and underrated neighborhoods, such as Garfield Ridge and McKinley Park.
Definitely up there with #49 Western as one of the better owl service bus routes I’ve taken, the very infrequent times I’ve ridden buses late at night.

«You’re there when I need you, making you want me somehow… I think I need you now…»
And boom, there you are, coming up Archer, my coach and nine, whisking me to and from work. By far, the most on time bus route I use. I love it.

I get on right after putting 5 dollars on my fare card. I put my card in the thing, it takes it, rejects it, screen says $ 3.25 remaining.
I go to sit down. Bus driver yells «you in the leather jacket, come back here!»
I go back up. She says to me an a accusatory tone: «You need to rescan your card!»
So I don’t really think and rescan it. Screen says $ 1.50 remaining.
I try to calmly explain what happened, she won’t let me get a word in at all. She’s right I’m wrong. She even keeps laughing at everything I say.
I ask her name and she won’t tell me. Just keeps laughing. Like I would lie about something like this. When I asked what bus number it was she gestured for me to get off the bus and see from the outside instead of just telling me. I eventually stopped arguing with this woman and decided I would call the CTA.
On the way home she picked me up going the other way and greeted me with a «What are you doing back on here?»
«Going home,» I said.
«Did you make that phone call yet?»
«No.»
Why would she worry if I made that call if she was in the right?
I almost never complain to management even when someone is rude. I don’t want someone to get in trouble or possibly lose their job over something petty, but this was exceptional. Not only did my money get stolen because of her incompetence, this was the rudest someone has treated me in recent memory. So I complained the next day, gave all the necessary info.
They were able to look up my card and prove I was right. They sent me a refund. I am going to take the bus again for no reason other than to scan that refund card and tell the bitch how I got it (I’m sure she knows about it).
Or maybe she’s finally fired.
F U lady. You suck and yer fat and ugly. Good night.