West Cook News

43rd ridership decreased by 6 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 Evanston Circulator route saw the largest increase in ridership with a 327.7 percent rise.

Bus and train traffic took a serious hit during the pandemic. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago's suburbs, saw a 97% 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.

However, the CTA claimed ridership had rebounded 56 percent in the first six months of 2021. CTA's president Dorval R. Cart Jr. said weekday ridership has doubled since the initial shutdown.

Rank	Route	Ridership increase from 2021 to 2022 (%)
1	Evanston Circulator	327.7
2	U. of Chicago/Kenwood	242
3	U. of Chicago/Hyde Park	162.6
4	Stockton/LaSalle Express	160
5	Clarendon/LaSalle Express	157.1
6	Ogilvie/Streeterville Express	138.3
7	Navy Pier	133.2
8	Bronzeville/Union Station	104
9	Stockton/Michigan Express	101.4
10	Streeterville/Taylor	100.4
11	LaSalle	96.7
12	Union/Streeterville Express	92.5
13	Hyde Park Express	88.7
14	Sheridan/LaSalle Express	88.2
15	Clarendon/Michigan Express	81.1
16	Water Tower Express	78.8
17	Addison	78.6
18	Central/Ridge	77.6
19	Narragansett/Ridgeland	77.5
20	U. of Chicago Hospitals Express	72.5
21	Damen	69.9
22	Sedgwick	67.5
23	West 65th	65.3
24	Harrison	57.2
25	South Damen	54.4
26	Western Express	53
27	Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Exp	50
27	Montrose	50
29	California/Dodge	45.7
30	Blue Island/26th	41.8
31	Sheridan	40
31	Clark	40
33	Broadway	39.2
34	Ashland Express	38.5
35	West 63rd	38.1
36	East 103rd	37.5
37	55th/Austin	36.5
38	Archer	36.1
39	Outer DuSable Lake Shore Expr	34.5
40	Belmont	33.5
41	Foster	33
41	Pershing	33
43	Chicago	31.7
44	North Western	30.4
44	South Pulaski	30.4
44	Fullerton	30.4
47	Vincennes/111th	29.6
48	69th-UPS Express	29.4
49	California	29.2
50	31st	28.8
51	Archer/Harlem	28.3
52	Kimball-Homan	28
52	Jackson	28
52	Lincoln	28
55	Lawrence	27.2
56	Northwest Highway	26.9
57	North Cicero/Skokie Blvd.	26.6
58	Peterson	26.1
59	Grand	23.9
60	Higgins	23.8
61	51st	23.3
62	Irving Park	22.9
63	Laramie	22.7
64	Milwaukee	22.6
65	Devon	21.5
66	Armitage	21.2
67	Jeffery Manor Express	21.1
68	South Shore Express	20.8
69	31st/35th	19.8
70	Wallace-Racine	19.5
71	Central	19.3
72	Halsted/95th	18.8
73	Wentworth	18
73	Halsted	18
73	59th/61st	18
76	Diversey	17.2
77	Austin	16.4
78	16th/18th	13.5
78	Division	13.5
80	Jackson Park Express	13
80	Skokie	13
82	55th/Narragansett	12.4
82	North	12.4
84	Western	12
84	Jeffery Jump	12
86	Kedzie	10.5
87	Harlem	10.4
88	King Drive	10.3
89	West Lawrence	9.8
90	47th	9.1
91	Pullman/115th	8.9
92	74th-75th	7.3
93	State	6.9
94	Roosevelt	6.6
94	Garfield	6.6
96	Pulaski	6.2
97	Cermak	5
98	Lunt	4
99	111th/King Drive	2.5
100	South Kedzie	2.4
101	Jeffery Local	1.7
102	87th	1.5
103	South Shore Night Bus	1.3
104	Ashland	1.2
105	63rd	0.9
106	Madison	0.8