CTA Winter Bus Pick 12/22/24

[renardo870]

Good day, good people. I was just wondering what routes will have service changes and or service improvements for the Winter 2024 Pick?

[TaylorTank1229]

On 12/10/2024 at 1:21 PM, renardo870 said:

Good day, good people. I was just wondering what routes will have service changes and or service improvements for the Winter 2024 Pick?

According to alerts on the CTA website, seem routes #84, #120 & #121 will be getting adjustments to their service hours (although it’s nothing big).

#120 & #121 is getting earlier NB AM trips, starting 40-45 earlier, and later SB PM trips ending 20 minutes later.

#84 is getting later weekday evening hours to “better connect to Metra trains at Peterson/Ridge”. Although it’s only getting at extra 5 minutes of operation time in both directions… like only 5 minutes (where it probably should’ve been like an extra hour).

[Busjack]

11 hours ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

84 is getting later weekday evening hours to “better connect to Metra trains at Peterson/Ridge”. Although it’s only getting at extra 5 minutes of operation time in both directions… like only 5 minutes (where it probably should’ve been like an extra hour).

You need a Pace perspective to figure this out. For instance Highland Park and Wilmette routes had a note on the schedule that certain buses meet Metra trains. In the HP case, the trains arrived at :35 and the buses came about :25 and departed around :38. (Schedules now are slightly different.)

At Peterson-Ridge, Metra is inbound at :28 and outbound at :45. Assuming the 84 timepoint at Ridge-Clark (and at Western), the westbound trips are a couple of minutes too early for inbound riders.

[renardo870]

Service increased on 19 selected  bus routes. 

https://www.transitchicago.com/cta-fully-restores-bus-service-to-pre-pandemic-levels/

 

[strictures]

Of course no extra service on the 22 Clark, which really needs it!

https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2024/12/18/cta-bus-service-schedule

The Chicago Transit Authority plans to increase bus service to pre-pandemic levels starting Sunday.

The CTA’s winter schedule adds more weekday buses on 19 lines and additional weekend buses on six lines, the agency announced Wednesday.

The CTA has been increasing the frequency of its trains and buses since the COVID-19 pandemic sent ridership tumbling. The agency has struggled to hire and retain operators but has doubled its hiring efforts in the last year.

CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said the new schedule fulfills his goal of returning to pre-pandemic service levels by the end of 2024.

“Our ability to provide pre-pandemic service marks not a finish line but a milestone in providing the exceptional bus service our riders deserve,” Carter said in a news release.

The CTA said the new winter schedule includes “strategic adjustments” to “better meet changing ridership patterns.” Carter has previously said fewer people travel during the rush periods and more people travel at off-peak hours, as well as on weekends.

The CTA said it returned train service to pre-pandemic levels in November.

Ridership on the CTA is still low compared with five years ago. Average weekday ridership on the CTA this summer was about 67% of what it was in 2019, according to an agency report on ridership in July.

The CTA said these bus routes will see more weekday service:

    No. 2 Hyde Park Express
    No. 4 Cottage Grove
    No. 6 Jackson Park Express*
    No. 15 Jeffery Local
    No. 26 South Shore Express
    No. 28 Stony Island
    No. 35 31st/35th
    No. 56 Milwaukee
    No. 67 67th-69th-71st
    No. 80 Irving Park*
    No. 84 Peterson*
    No. 86 Narragansett/Ridgeland
    No. 120 Ogilvie/Streeterville Express
    No. 121 Union/Streeterville Express
    No. 135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express
    No. 136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express
    No. 143 Stockton/Michigan Express
    No. 151 Sheridan
    No. 201 Central/Ridge

The Nos. 6, 80, 84, 151 and 201 will also receive Saturday service increases. The No. 152 Addison will also receive a Sunday service increase.

 

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

1 hour ago, strictures said:

Of course no extra service on the 22 Clark, which really needs it!

https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2024/12/18/cta-bus-service-schedule

The Chicago Transit Authority plans to increase bus service to pre-pandemic levels starting Sunday.

The CTA’s winter schedule adds more weekday buses on 19 lines and additional weekend buses on six lines, the agency announced Wednesday.

The CTA has been increasing the frequency of its trains and buses since the COVID-19 pandemic sent ridership tumbling. The agency has struggled to hire and retain operators but has doubled its hiring efforts in the last year.

CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said the new schedule fulfills his goal of returning to pre-pandemic service levels by the end of 2024.

“Our ability to provide pre-pandemic service marks not a finish line but a milestone in providing the exceptional bus service our riders deserve,” Carter said in a news release.

The CTA said the new winter schedule includes “strategic adjustments” to “better meet changing ridership patterns.” Carter has previously said fewer people travel during the rush periods and more people travel at off-peak hours, as well as on weekends.

The CTA said it returned train service to pre-pandemic levels in November.

Ridership on the CTA is still low compared with five years ago. Average weekday ridership on the CTA this summer was about 67% of what it was in 2019, according to an agency report on ridership in July.

The CTA said these bus routes will see more weekday service:

    No. 2 Hyde Park Express
    No. 4 Cottage Grove
    No. 6 Jackson Park Express*
    No. 15 Jeffery Local
    No. 26 South Shore Express
    No. 28 Stony Island
    No. 35 31st/35th
    No. 56 Milwaukee
    No. 67 67th-69th-71st
    No. 80 Irving Park*
    No. 84 Peterson*
    No. 86 Narragansett/Ridgeland
    No. 120 Ogilvie/Streeterville Express
    No. 121 Union/Streeterville Express
    No. 135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express
    No. 136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express
    No. 143 Stockton/Michigan Express
    No. 151 Sheridan
    No. 201 Central/Ridge

The Nos. 6, 80, 84, 151 and 201 will also receive Saturday service increases. The No. 152 Addison will also receive a Sunday service increase.

 

There’s another thread that’s about the winter pick.

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, strictures said:

Of course no extra service on the 22 Clark, which really needs it!

https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2024/12/18/cta-bus-service-schedule

The Chicago Transit Authority plans to increase bus service to pre-pandemic levels starting Sunday.

The CTA’s winter schedule adds more weekday buses on 19 lines and additional weekend buses on six lines, the agency announced Wednesday.

The CTA has been increasing the frequency of its trains and buses since the COVID-19 pandemic sent ridership tumbling. The agency has struggled to hire and retain operators but has doubled its hiring efforts in the last year.

CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said the new schedule fulfills his goal of returning to pre-pandemic service levels by the end of 2024.

“Our ability to provide pre-pandemic service marks not a finish line but a milestone in providing the exceptional bus service our riders deserve,” Carter said in a news release.

The CTA said the new winter schedule includes “strategic adjustments” to “better meet changing ridership patterns.” Carter has previously said fewer people travel during the rush periods and more people travel at off-peak hours, as well as on weekends.

The CTA said it returned train service to pre-pandemic levels in November.

Ridership on the CTA is still low compared with five years ago. Average weekday ridership on the CTA this summer was about 67% of what it was in 2019, according to an agency report on ridership in July.

The CTA said these bus routes will see more weekday service:

    No. 2 Hyde Park Express
    No. 4 Cottage Grove
    No. 6 Jackson Park Express*
    No. 15 Jeffery Local
    No. 26 South Shore Express
    No. 28 Stony Island
    No. 35 31st/35th
    No. 56 Milwaukee
    No. 67 67th-69th-71st
    No. 80 Irving Park*
    No. 84 Peterson*
    No. 86 Narragansett/Ridgeland
    No. 120 Ogilvie/Streeterville Express
    No. 121 Union/Streeterville Express
    No. 135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express
    No. 136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express
    No. 143 Stockton/Michigan Express
    No. 151 Sheridan
    No. 201 Central/Ridge

The Nos. 6, 80, 84, 151 and 201 will also receive Saturday service increases. The No. 152 Addison will also receive a Sunday service increase.

 

The question is what does CTA mean by prepandemic levels of service?  Before the pandemic,  the 151 operated out of two garages.  Will CRA revert back to that?   Doubt it.  

[Sam92]

19 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

The question is what does CTA mean by prepandemic levels of service?  Before the pandemic,  the 151 operated out of two garages.  Will CRA revert back to that?   Doubt it.  

I think they will since 151 is mentioned to get weekend increases and that demand mostly came from south of Belmont. 

[strictures]

14 hours ago, artthouwill said:

The question is what does CTA mean by prepandemic levels of service?  Before the pandemic,  the 151 operated out of two garages.  Will CRA revert back to that?   Doubt it.  

No, the 151 still does run out of two separate garages.  The Clark/Devon runs come from North Park [P] & the Belmont/Halsted runs come from Kedzie [K].

[artthouwill]

11 minutes ago, strictures said:

No, the 151 still does run out of two separate garages.  The Clark/Devon runs come from North Park [P] & the Belmont/Halsted runs come from Kedzie [K].

If I remember correctly,  there was a severe reduction of K operated trips with a lot of the Belmont short turns being eliminated.   Its not that they were ever totally eliminated,  but drastically reduced.  So the question is whether the K operated trips return to  prepandemic levels?

As for the 22, I honestly don't know if adding a bunch of buses * assuming they were available to add) would solve the problem or just add more buses into the same problem.  

The other thing is that CTA would probably be more likely to try to fix problems south of Belmont and you are looking for increased service north of Foster.   

[strictures]

On 12/19/2024 at 9:42 AM, artthouwill said:

As for the 22, I honestly don't know if adding a bunch of buses * assuming they were available to add) would solve the problem or just add more buses into the same problem.  

The other thing is that CTA would probably be more likely to try to fix problems south of Belmont and you are looking for increased service north of Foster.   

Service north of Foster is often atrocious, with 45 minute waits for a bus or even longer a few times. I've lived just off of Clark since streetcar days & the only time the 22 has run properly was during the Belmont & Fullerton L station rebuilds, when they added a lot of buses to the 22.  So adding a bunch of runs would definitely go a long way to fixing it.