(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago Transit Authority says it has reached a ridership milestone. The CTA has been trying to grow ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic had many people working from home.
The CTA said that for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the average weekday ridership is up to one million.
The CTA provided nearly 28 million bus and train rides in the month of May.
There have been 22 days this year in which ridership was more than a million rides. Twelve of those happened last month.
That includes the final Friday of May, which saw the highest Friday ridership since the start of the pandemic. Ridership on Fridays typically has been 5% lower than other weekdays, as people continued the work-from-home trend that began during the pandemic.
All last year there were 27 days in which ridership exceeded one million rides.
When compared to March, the month of May saw a 10% increase in ridership in bus routes where service had been increased. On other bus routes there was a 3% increase in ridership.
The CTA hired 1,000 new bus drivers last year, pushing the bus staffing closer to optional levels.
The CTA plans on hiring 100 new train operators, which is double that of new hires for train operators last year.
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