Seniors Lobby CTA To Save Lincoln Avenue Bus Route On North Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Senior citizens on Chicago's North Side are desperate to keep their bus route, and they are not giving it up without a fight.
The route in question is a portion of the Lincoln Avenue No. 11 bus route.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.
Seniors say the portion of this route now on the endangered list keeps them connected to city life. They took their concerns to a CTA hearing Monday night.
They were dressed in yellow T-shirts that said "It's our lifeline," and they were organized and determined.
Winnie Thivel and dozens of her neighbors walk two blocks to get to the Lincoln avenue bus stop from her senior center.
But unless something changes, come Sunday, bus service between the Western Avenue Brown Line station and Fullerton Avenue will end -- sort of like taking the filling out of an Oreo.
CTA President Forest Claypool says it will save $1.5 million and ease crowding on other lines.
"The people who used to take the No. 11 bus will still have multiple options available to them," agency spokesman Brian Steele says.
But seniors say without the No. 11 bus, getting around will be tough.
"Making an extra connection will be very different and add, especially in the winter, 20 minutes or a half-hour," CTA rider Ken Gevis says.
So, 47th Ward Ald. Ameya Pawar hopes to convince CTA board members to find another way.
"Just give us a little more time," he says.
While most people at the hearing were there to save the No. 11 bus, others were protesting fare hikes for daily, weekly and monthly passes and the lack of service in certain sections of the city.
