West Cook News

51st ridership increased by 23.9 percent during August 2022 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 U. of Chicago/Hyde Park route saw the largest increase in ridership with a 165.6 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.

While ridership hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, CTA's president Dorval R. Cart Jr. said weekday ridership has doubled since the initial shutdown and continues to increase.

Rank	Route	Ridership increase from 2021 to 2022 (%)
1	U. of Chicago/Hyde Park	165.6
2	Clarendon/LaSalle Express	116.9
3	Bronzeville/Union Station	113.3
4	U. of Chicago/Kenwood	107
5	Stockton/LaSalle Express	88.8
6	Sheridan/LaSalle Express	77.1
7	Sedgwick	76
8	69th-UPS Express	73
9	Jeffery Manor Express	59.3
10	West 65th	57.4
11	LaSalle	57.3
12	Western Express	48.5
13	East 103rd	46.7
14	Streeterville/Taylor	45.1
14	U. of Chicago Hospitals Express	45.1
16	South Damen	42.4
17	Narragansett/Ridgeland	41.9
18	Clarendon/Michigan Express	40.6
19	Harrison	39.9
19	Wallace-Racine	39.9
21	31st	38.8
22	California/Dodge	35.8
23	Ashland Express	34.1
24	Northwest Highway	33.6
25	Archer/Harlem	33
26	Montrose	32.2
27	59th/61st	32
28	Hyde Park Express	31.3
29	Central/Ridge	30.1
30	Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Expr	27.9
31	Ogilvie/Streeterville Express	27.6
32	Pershing	26.9
33	West 63rd	26.7
34	North Central	26.3
35	Wentworth	26
35	Central	26
37	West Lawrence	24.4
38	Laramie	24.2
39	Madison	23.9
39	51st	23.9
41	Lincoln	23.5
42	Foster	23.4
43	Higgins	22.5
44	Outer DuSable Lake Shore Expr	22.3
45	South Cicero	22
45	Damen	22
47	Navy Pier	21.4
48	Halsted/95th	21.3
49	Peterson	21.2
50	Blue Island/26th	20.6
50	Jackson	20.6
52	North Western	20.5
53	Sheridan	20.4
54	Devon	20.3
55	Division	19.9
56	South Pulaski	19.8
57	Harlem	19.6
58	74th-75th	19.4
59	Jeffery Jump	19.3
60	Kedzie	19.1
61	South Shore Express	19
61	Archer	19
63	Fullerton	18.3
64	California	18.2
65	Austin	17.4
66	Pulaski	16.8
67	Cicero	16.6
68	South Halsted	16.5
68	North Cicero/Skokie Blvd.	16.5
70	Pullman/115th	16
70	North	16
70	Addison	16
73	87th	15.4
74	Skokie	15.1
75	West 103rd	14.5
76	Lunt	14.3
77	Broadway	13.5
78	Vincennes/111th	13.3
79	Halsted	13
79	Western	13
79	Diversey	13
82	Armitage	12
82	Roosevelt	12
82	111th/King Drive	12
85	47th	11
85	Grand	11
85	Cermak	11
88	Lawrence	10.4
89	Clark	10
89	Chicago	10
89	Michigan/119th	10
89	Belmont	10
93	South Kedzie	8.9
94	King Drive	8.8
95	Kimball-Homan	8.4
96	63rd	8
96	79th	8
96	Water Tower Express	8
96	43rd	8
96	31st/35th	8
96	Pullman Shuttle	8
102	Irving Park	7.4
103	16th/18th	6.3
103	South Michigan	6.3
105	67th-69th-71st	6.1
106	55th/Narragansett	5.3
107	Jeffery Local	5
107	Ashland	5
107	55th/Austin	5
110	Milwaukee	4.3
111	Stockton/Michigan Express	4.1
112	Union/Streeterville Express	3.9
113	95th	3.4
114	Jackson Park Express	2.2
115	Garfield	1.8
116	South Chicago	1.6
117	Evanston Circulator	1.5
118	State	0.9
119	Stony Island	0.1