Quincy/Wells station ridership decreased by 91.5 percent during January compared to the previous year, according to the Chicago Transportation Authority.
The CTA calculates ridership by counting the customers who board a transit vehicle (bus or rail). The station that saw the largest decrease in ridership was Merchandise Mart station with a 91.7 percent drop.
Train transit experienced a 79.1 percent decline in ridership overall during the month. Bus ridership across the city during the same month saw a decrease of 63.6 percent year over year. The bus route that saw the largest decrease was the Stockton/LaSalle Express with a decrease of 96.1 percent.
So far, the CTA has made no service cuts, even with the decrease in ridership. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago’s suburbs, has seen a 97 percent decrease in ridership, according to the Active Transportation Alliance. According to the Federal Transit Authority, Chicago’s public transportation sector received $1.43 billion in bailout funds from the CARES act to combat the decrease in ridership.
| Rank | Station | Ridership decline year over year (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merchandise Mart | 91.7 |
| 2 | Quincy/Wells | 91.5 |
| 3 | Monroe (Blue Line – Dearborn Subway) | 90.1 |
| 4 | Jackson (Red Line – State Street Subway) | 88.9 |
| 4 | UIC-Halsted | 88.9 |
| 6 | Monroe (Red Line – State Street Subway) | 88.7 |
| 7 | Clark/Lake | 88.5 |
| 8 | Washington/Wells | 88.3 |
| 9 | Fullerton | 87.5 |
| 9 | Southport | 87.5 |
| 11 | LaSalle/Van Buren | 87.3 |
| 12 | Irving Park (Brown Line) | 86.8 |
| 13 | Montrose (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 86.7 |
| 13 | Clinton (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 86.7 |
| 15 | Damen (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 86.6 |
| 15 | Addison (Brown Line) | 86.6 |
| 17 | California (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 86.3 |
| 18 | Grand (Red Line – North Side) | 86.2 |
| 19 | Washington | 86.1 |
| 20 | Jackson (Blue Line – Dearborn Subway) | 86 |
| 20 | Racine | 86 |
| 20 | Oak Park (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 86 |
| 20 | Western (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 86 |
| 24 | Clinton (Green Line – Lake Street) | 85.4 |
| 25 | Adams/Wabash | 85.3 |
| 26 | Armitage | 85.1 |
| 27 | Lake | 84.8 |
| 28 | Rockwell | 84.6 |
| 29 | Montrose (Brown Line) | 84.2 |
| 29 | Diversey | 84.2 |
| 31 | Damen (Brown Line) | 83.8 |
| 32 | Harrison | 83.7 |
| 33 | LaSalle | 83.6 |
| 33 | Wellington | 83.6 |
| 35 | Logan Square | 83.5 |
| 36 | State/Lake | 83.4 |
| 37 | Morgan | 83.3 |
| 38 | Ridgeland | 83.2 |
| 39 | Chicago (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 83 |
| 39 | Sedgwick | 83 |
| 39 | Paulina | 83 |
| 39 | Division | 83 |
| 39 | Oak Park (Green Line – Lake Street) | 83 |
| 44 | Addison (Red Line – North Side) | 82 |
| 44 | Chicago (Brown Line) | 82 |
| 44 | Addison (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 82 |
| 44 | Cumberland | 82 |
| 44 | Francisco | 82 |
| 49 | Sheridan | 81.3 |
| 50 | Harold Washington Library | 81 |
| 50 | Noyes | 81 |
| 50 | Grand (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 81 |
| 50 | Linden | 81 |
| 54 | Foster | 80.2 |
| 55 | Belmont (Red Line – North Side) | 79.6 |
| 55 | Chicago (Red Line – North Side) | 79.6 |
| 57 | Cermak-Chinatown | 79.4 |
| 58 | Halsted (Orange Line) | 79.3 |
| 59 | Loyola | 79 |
| 59 | North/Clybourn | 79 |
| 59 | Clark/Division | 79 |
| 59 | Western (Brown Line) | 79 |
| 63 | Sox-35th | 78.3 |
| 64 | Davis | 77.9 |
| 64 | Main | 77.9 |
| 66 | 35th/Archer | 76.9 |
| 67 | Berwyn | 76.8 |
| 67 | Dempster-Skokie | 76.8 |
| 69 | Oakton | 76.7 |
| 69 | Washington/Wabash | 76.7 |
| 71 | Cermak | 76.3 |
| 72 | Argyle | 76.1 |
| 73 | South Boulevard | 76 |
| 73 | Pulaski (Orange Line) | 76 |
| 73 | Lawrence | 76 |
| 73 | Granville | 76 |
| 73 | Thorndale | 76 |
| 73 | Austin (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 76 |
| 79 | Midway Airport | 75.3 |
| 80 | Bryn Mawr | 75.2 |
| 80 | Harlem (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 75.2 |
| 82 | Ashland (Green Line – Lake Street) | 74.8 |
| 82 | 35-Bronzeville-IIT | 74.8 |
| 84 | Dempster | 74.6 |
| 84 | Belmont (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 74.6 |
| 86 | Irving Park (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 74.5 |
| 87 | Western (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 74.2 |
| 88 | Morse | 74 |
| 89 | Rosemont | 73.2 |
| 89 | Medical Center | 73.2 |
| 91 | Roosevelt | 72.6 |
| 91 | Kedzie (Brown Line) | 72.6 |
| 93 | O’Hare Airport | 72.5 |
| 94 | Wilson | 72.1 |
| 95 | Kedzie (Green Line – Lake Street) | 71.7 |
| 96 | Kimball | 71.5 |
| 97 | Jarvis | 71.3 |
| 98 | Indiana | 70.8 |
| 99 | Damen (Pink Line) | 70.6 |
| 100 | Jefferson Park | 70.5 |
| 100 | Western (Orange Line) | 70.5 |
| 102 | 18th | 70.2 |
| 103 | Kedzie (Orange Line) | 69.5 |
| 104 | 43rd | 69 |
| 104 | Polk | 69 |
| 104 | Forest Park | 69 |
| 107 | Austin (Green Line – Lake Street) | 67.9 |
| 108 | Harlem (Green Line – Lake Street) | 67.8 |
| 109 | Central (Purple Line – Evanston) | 67.2 |
| 110 | Garfield (Red Line – Dan Ryan) | 67.1 |
| 110 | Garfield (Green Line – South Elevated) | 67.1 |
| 112 | Kildare | 66.3 |
| 113 | 47th (Red Line – Dan Ryan) | 65.9 |
| 113 | 63rd | 65.9 |
| 115 | East 63rd-Cottage Grove | 65.4 |
| 116 | Howard | 64.8 |
| 116 | Kedzie-Homan | 64.8 |
| 118 | 51st | 64.7 |
| 118 | Ashland (Orange Line) | 64.7 |
| 120 | Harlem (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 64.5 |
| 120 | Central Park | 64.5 |
| 122 | 47th (Green Line – South Elevated) | 64.4 |
| 123 | 87th | 64.3 |
| 124 | California (Pink Line) | 62.9 |
| 125 | 69th | 62.8 |
| 126 | 95/Dan Ryan | 62.5 |
| 127 | 79th | 62.4 |
| 128 | Halsted (Green Line – Ashland/63rd Branch) | 62.2 |
| 129 | Cicero (Green Line – Lake Street) | 61.3 |
| 130 | Laramie | 61 |
| 130 | 54th/Cermak | 61 |
| 130 | California (Green Line – Lake Street) | 61 |
| 133 | Central (Green Line – Lake Street) | 59.9 |
| 134 | Kedzie (Pink Line) | 59.8 |
| 135 | Ashland/63rd | 59.3 |
| 136 | Cicero (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 58.9 |
| 137 | Western (Pink Line) | 58.1 |
| 138 | Pulaski (Pink Line) | 56.6 |
| 139 | King Drive | 56 |
| 140 | Kostner | 54.6 |
| 141 | Cicero (Pink Line) | 54.5 |
| 142 | Pulaski (Green Line – Lake Street) | 53.3 |
| 143 | Conservatory | 53 |
| 144 | Pulaski (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 40.7 |
