Service increases begin on 19 CTA bus routes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Transit Authority has begun running on new schedules that restore bus service to pre-pandemic levels.
The new schedules began on Sunday, in what the CTA described as the final step in its goal of returning service to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year.
"Our ability to provide pre-pandemic service marks not a finish line but a milestone in providing the exceptional bus service our riders deserve," CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said in a news release. "In 2025, we will be expanding on this milestone and looking to make further improvements to our service. The work of providing world-class transit service means there will always be improvements to be made."
A total of 19 bus routes are getting additional services:
- #2 Hyde Park Express (runs between 60th Street/Cottage Grove Avenue and Navy Pier, using DuSable Lake Shore Drive)
- #4 Cottage Grove (runs between 115th Street/Cottage Grove Avenue and Columbus Drive/Randolph Drive)
- #6 Jackson Park Express (runs between 79th Street/South Shore Drive and Wacker Drive/Columbus Drive, using DuSable Lake Shore Drive)
- #15 Jeffery Local (runs between 103rd Street and Stony Island Avenue and 47th Street/Dan Ryan Expressway)
- #26 South Shore Express (runs between 103rd Street/Stony Island Avenue and Chicago Avenue/Fairbanks Court, using DuSable Lake Shore Drive)
- #28 Stony Island (runs between 103rd Street/Stony Island Avenue and 47th Street/Lake Park Avenue)
- #35 31st/35th (runs between 36th Street/Kedzie Avenue and 35th Street/Cottage Grove Avenue)
- #56 Milwaukee (runs between the Jefferson Park Blue Line station and Madison/Wabash)
- #67 67th-69th-71st (runs from Ford City Mall and 67th Street/South Shore Drive)
- #80 Irving Park (runs between Irving Park Road/Harlem Avenue and Irving Park Road/Broadway)
- #84 Peterson (runs between Central Avenue/Caldwell Avenue and Bryn Mawr Avenue/Sheridan Road, primarily using Peterson Avenue)
- #86 Narragansett/Ridgeland (runs between the Ridgeland Green Line station in Oak Park and Devon Avenue/Milwaukee Avenue)
- #120 Ogilvie/Streeterville Express (runs between the Ogilvie Transportation Center and McClurg Court/Huron Street)
- #121 Union/Streeterville Express (runs between Union Station and McClurg Court/Huron Street)
- #135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express (runs from Clarendon Avenue/Sunnyside Avenue southeast to Adams Street/Wacker Drive, and Franklin Street/Jackson Boulevard northwest to Wilson Avenue/Clarendon Avenue, using DuSable Lake Shore Drive)
- #136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express (runs from Sheridan Road/Devon Avenue southeast to Adams Street/Wacker Drive, and from Franklin Street/Jackson Boulevard northwest to Devon Avenue/Sheridan Road, using DuSable Lake Shore Drive)
- #143 Stockton/Michigan Express (runs between Sheridan Road/Belmont Avenue and Michigan Avenue/Ida B. Wells Drive, using DuSable Lake Shore Drive)
- #151 Sheridan (runs between Union Station and Devon Avenue/Clark Street, using Michigan Avenue, Inner Lake Shore Drive, Stockton Drive, and Sheridan Road)
- #201 Central/Ridge (runs between the Howard Red/Purple/Yellow Line station to Old Orchard Road in Skokie, using Ridge Avenue, Church Street, and Central Street in Evanston)
The CTA noted that the No. 6, 80, 84, 151, and 201 buses will also see Saturday service increases, and the 151 will see Sunday service increases as well.
Some bus routes will have revised winter schedules based on changing ridership patterns.
The CTA said it has seen an increase in ridership on routes that have more service throughout the year. Ridership on routes that already received more service this year were up 14% to 15% year-over-year in October 2024 compared with October 2023—while routes on which service was not increased saw a ridership jump of only 10%.
On the train side, the CTA met its goal of meeting pre-pandemic service schedules in November. Service was added to all eight rail lines every day of the week.
This all comes as the CTA celebrates a record-breaking year. The transit authority added more than 200 rail operators and hired more than 1,000 new bus operators this year.