Guest Blogger: How AVAS Has Failed CTA Riders and Workers

Guest blog by David Marden 

The CTA’s AVAS (Automatic Vehicle Activity Supervisor) system—specifically the metric requiring bus operators to depart terminals on time with no more than 30% delayed exits—is not a valid or equitable measure of operator performance. 

Instead of improving service reliability, this metric has been weaponized by management to generate point-based violations that lead to progressive discipline, including suspension and termination. The metric disproportionately penalizes newer, less senior operators, ignores degraded recovery time, and undermines safety and operational reality.

Core Problem: AVAS as a Punitive, Not Performance-Improving, Tool

One-Size-Fits-All Threshold (30%) – The same 30% allowable delayed departure rate applies regardless of route length, number of terminal visits, or operational complexity.

• Example (Senior Operator): Route 155 (short, high-frequency) → 20+ terminal exits per shift → easier to absorb delays and stay under 30%.
• Example (Newer Operator): Route 22 or 151 (1.5+ hours each way, heavy ridership, traffic, dwell time).

 → only 6 terminal exits per shift → even 2 delayed departures can exceed 30%, triggering automatic violations.

Discrimination by Route Assignment

Newer operators, by union contract and seniority rules, receive longer, more unpredictable routes. AVAS mathematically guarantees they will fail the 30% benchmark, while senior operators on shorter routes are statistically insulated. This is not a measure of performance—it is a measure of route assignment.

Recovery Time Erosion: Forcing Failure

Management has systematically reduced recovery time at end-of-route terminals. Recovery time is essential for:

• Restroom breaks
• Reporting mechanical issues
• Adjusting for traffic-induced lateness

Without adequate recovery, operators begin their next trip already late, guaranteeing AVAS violations. Newer operators—who already struggle to manage timing—are most affected. The result: operators are forced to rush or skip safety protocols to meet an unachievable metric.

Weaponization via the Point System

AVAS scores feed directly into CTA’s progressive discipline point system:

• Accumulated AVAS violations → counseling → written warning → suspension → termination.
• No adjustment for route length, terminal count, or recovery time.
• Management uses AVAS as a low-effort, automated tool to issue violations, bypassing supervisory discretion and human context.

Union Recommendation: Press “Personal” After Every Trip

The AVAS system includes a “Personal” button that, when pressed at the end of each trip, negates the AVAS violation for that departure.

For their safety and health, we must direct all operators to press “Personal” at the end of every single trip, without exception.

Rationale

• AVAS lacks operational validity. Management has been unwilling to adjust for route difficulty or recovery erosion. We should not legitimize a broken metric by playing by its rules.
• Pressing “Personal” is contractually permissible as per Article 1.1 and directly protects operators from discipline.
• Refusing to press “Personal” gives management a weapon that causes stress, endangers jobs, and contributes nothing to safety or rider experience.

Bottom Line

The number one priority is safe operation and getting passengers where they need to go—not feeding a punitive, mathematically biased, and weaponized metric.

We do not need to give management additional tools that:

• Discriminate against new operators
• Reward short, seniority-protected routes
• Ignore lost recovery time
• Create fear, rushing, and preventable risk

Action Items:

1. Immediately communicate to all members: Press “Personal” after every single trip.
2. File a contractual challenge to AVAS’s 30% threshold as discriminatory and unrelated to safety (See Attachment Q below or at this link).
3. Demand restoration of recovery time and route-specific benchmarks.

Remember: Compliance with an unfair system is not professionalism—it is surrender of safety and job security.

The opinions expressed by guest bloggers here or in Shop Talk newsletter are not necessarily the opinion or sanctioned policies and actions by Brother Eric Curtis Muhammad Basir, ATU Local 308 members, elected leadership or stewards. In the spirit of the First Amendment and the ATU Obligation, all CTA workers and supporters are welcome to submit content of any point-of-view for this blog. Real identities will be hidden upon request.