CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A Chicago City Council committee on Monday looked into what it will take to improve Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus service on Chicago streets, and the answer appeared to be a partnership.
There's no denying the complaints about ghost buses such, but CTA Chief Planning Officer Molly Poppe said riders are, in fact, coming back to the buses.
“Bus ridership has recovered a lot better than rail,” Poppe said. “We have seen a little over 70% of bus riders have come back to the system. It’s actually 95% of pre-pandemic levels on the weekend.”
Officials with the CTA and the Chicago Department of Transportation, though, said they are working on ways to further improve bus service and its on-time record.
Moving buses faster through traffic is key, said CTA Vice President for Strategy Cara Bader. She told the Council hearing the CTA's dedicated bus lanes and platforms on Loop Link routes along Michigan, Madison, Clinton and Canal are working.
“Travel time improved by as much as 12% during key times of the day for transit vehicles on those routes, and ridership growth outpaced other routes,” Bader said. “It’s important to acknowledge that, at the time that Loop Link was implemented, the greater traffic speeds in the area were decreasing.”
Bader pointed to the so-called “Better Streets for Buses Plan,” in which CTA bus service would be improved through CDOT projects to upgrade Chicago’s street, traffic signal and sidewalk infrastructure.
“When the conversation opens on, ‘How do we bring [Bus Rapid Transit], or something like [Bus Rapid Transit] to Chicago,’ the Better Streets for Buses framework really is the opener for that discussion,” she said.
The planning is underway, but the complaints continue.
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