Nineteen bus routes to see additional service, meeting the agency’s goal to provide pre-pandemic scheduled service hours by the end of the year
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) riders will see more scheduled bus service across the region, beginning with the start of service on Sunday, December 22— the final step in meeting the agency’s goal of providing pre-pandemic scheduled service hours by the end of 2024. Nineteen bus routes are receiving additional service under the winter schedule, as the CTA continues to add more bus operators -- the result of the agency’s aggressive recruiting and hiring efforts.
“Our ability to provide pre-pandemic service marks not a finish line but a milestone in providing the exceptional bus service our riders deserve,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “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.”
The bus network will be returning to pre-pandemic service levels with some strategic adjustments at the route level to better meet changing ridership patterns. CTA will continue to analyze ridership trends and mobility patterns to determine additional service adjustments that can better meet evolving ridership.
The following routes will see weekday increase in service:
- #2 Hyde Park Express
- #4 Cottage Grove
- #6 Jackson Park Express*
- #15 Jeffery Local
- #26 South Shore Express
- #28 Stony Island
- #35 31st/35th
- #56 Milwaukee
- #67 67th-69th-71st
- #80 Irving Park*
- #84 Peterson*
- #86 Narragansett/Ridgeland
- #120 Ogilvie/Streeterville Express
- #121 Union/Streeterville Express
- #135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express
- #136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express
- #143 Stockton/Michigan Express
- #151 Sheridan**
- #201 Central/Ridge*
*The #6, #80, #84, # 151, #201 will also receive Saturday service increases.
**The #151 Sheridan will also receive Sunday service increase.
These latest changes to the bus schedules are implemented as part of CTA’s quarterly scheduling process for bus operators.
The CTA has seen an increase in ridership on routes that have received more service throughout the year. Ridership on routes that already received additional service in 2024 were up 14 - 15% year-over-year in October, while routes that did not receive service adjustments have also increased, but at a lower rate of 10% during the same period.
On the rail side, CTA met its goal of meeting pre-pandemic scheduled service levels in November. Those changes included adding service along all eight rail lines, across all days of the week.