CTA Run Numbers Don't Mean Diddly-Squat

Chicago Transit Authority trains all have an automated announcement that states "welcome aboard red line run number 802" or some other number. I've always wondered what that meant - thinking that it could actually be valuable information to know that might somehow make my daily commute more efficient.

You'll see the run number in the front window of each train (opposite the happy conductor in our picture). They're everywhere, right?

I thought - maybe the run number is the time of day that the train is supposed to arrive at the Howard station that I pick it up at - or another stop? Maybe the run number is the amount of time taken to go from one end to the other - or between a certain set of stops? Maybe it's an estimate of the amount of people that are on the train.

I figured - at the very least it had to be something relevant to the passengers on the train - given that it is announced on every train, at every stop.

Wellllllll no. Actually, the run numbers, in the convoluted explaination you'll find in that link, are just a set of routes that the train operators get to bid on every quarter - in order that they can jockey for the best routes for eating lunch at a decent hour, or walking their kids to school.

OK - so I believe this system is necessary. But really - couldn't the CTA change the announcement to, say, the time the train is expected to reach the Loop or another key location?