The Grievances of the 22 Clark Bus

[jajuan]

On 2/19/2026 at 8:58 AM, strictures said:

The main reason for bunching on Clark is the lack of buses, not too many buses!

Mid-day 147 service can really be bad, often 20 minute waits on Michigan for a NB 147.

All mid-day 151s should go to Devon/Clark, not Belmont/Halsted, as almost no one rides west of LSD then. That gets rid of the 20 minute gaps in service north of Belmont mid-days.

Um the 22 has 23 buses in place still right now as I write while the evening rush is on course to winding down towards mid-evening levels of service for the system as a whole. That's two more than the 21 still operating on the 82, which is now a FBN route and a few miles longer than the 22. That's by no means a lack of buses. As mentioned before me, Clark is a narrow main street operating on a diagonal of various angles against the main grid. Those two factors contribute to the bunching problem that CTA has had little success correcting despite all the several attempts at fixing it. But I do agree with you that the city's traffic engineers don't help. Besides the issue you pointed out with the timing of the traffic signals, there are the recent installations of protected bike lanes on different stretches of North Clark Street mucking things up because they didn't adequately measure out lane widths to provide enough space for buses in opposing directions to pass each other without slowing down to a crawl. Then there's the issue with trucks blocking part or the full width of lanes for delivery drop offs. 

[Sam92]

15 hours ago, jajuan said:

Um the 22 has 23 buses in place still right now as I write while the evening rush is on course to winding down towards mid-evening levels of service for the system as a whole. That's two more than the 21 still operating on the 82, which is now a FBN route and a few miles longer than the 22. That's by no means a lack of buses. As mentioned before me, Clark is a narrow main street operating on a diagonal of various angles against the main grid. Those two factors contribute to the bunching problem that CTA has had little success correcting despite all the several attempts at fixing it. But I do agree with you that the city's traffic engineers don't help. Besides the issue you pointed out with the timing of the traffic signals, there are the recent installations of protected bike lanes on different stretches of North Clark Street mucking things up because they didn't adequately measure out lane widths to provide enough space for buses in opposing directions to pass each other without slowing down to a crawl. Then there's the issue with trucks blocking part or the full width of lanes for delivery drop offs. 

I was just debating about bike lanes in other places and I told them I'm not against bike lanes by don't interfere with bus service especially if your goal is to get people out of cars. I would sacrifice Sheffield to the Bikers if it meant they would leave main ARTERIAL roads alone. Sheffield connects to Clybourn which gets you as far as division if that's not enough idk what to tell people 🥴🙄

[Sam92]

15 hours ago, jajuan said:

 As mentioned before me, Clark is a narrow main street operating on a diagonal of various angles against the main grid. 

You're up north, what are 22 riders normally doing? We could probably save CTA however many they're paying these consultants for the Clark street study lmao

[artthouwill]

18 hours ago, jajuan said:

Um the 22 has 23 buses in place still right now as I write while the evening rush is on course to winding down towards mid-evening levels of service for the system as a whole. That's two more than the 21 still operating on the 82, which is now a FBN route and a few miles longer than the 22. That's by no means a lack of buses. As mentioned before me, Clark is a narrow main street operating on a diagonal of various angles against the main grid. Those two factors contribute to the bunching problem that CTA has had little success correcting despite all the several attempts at fixing it. But I do agree with you that the city's traffic engineers don't help. Besides the issue you pointed out with the timing of the traffic signals, there are the recent installations of protected bike lanes on different stretches of North Clark Street mucking things up because they didn't adequately measure out lane widths to provide enough space for buses in opposing directions to pass each other without slowing down to a crawl. Then there's the issue with trucks blocking part or the full width of lanes for delivery drop offs. 

Also consider crazy intersections like Clark/Belmont and its proximity to Clark/Halsted.  There is also Clark/Diversey/Broadway.    Clark is the main north south commercial artery south of Belmont and is also the easternmost south of Diversey and north of Devon.  Having 50 buses running the entire length of the route will solve nothing.  Maybe extend the 36 to Howard and bring back the Waveland/Halsted short turns  could give some 22 passengers an alternative that might reduce some dwell times  but traffic wise, the only possible solution might be to eliminate the Clark portion of the 22 south of Bryn Mawr.   Run the route along Ashland and Clybourn  to Division and back on Clark.   Passengers north of North Ave can use the 151, 156, 36, or the Red Line.  You can also create a 42 Halsted from Clarendon =Lawrence  via Halsted and Lincoln and Wisconsin to Clark.   Clark between Bryn Mawr and Armitage just doesn't work for that length. 

[Sam92]

15 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Also consider crazy intersections like Clark/Belmont and its proximity to Clark/Halsted.  There is also Clark/Diversey/Broadway.    Clark is the main north south commercial artery south of Belmont and is also the easternmost south of Diversey and north of Devon.  Having 50 buses running the entire length of the route will solve nothing.  Maybe extend the 36 to Howard and bring back the Waveland/Halsted short turns  could give some 22 passengers an alternative that might reduce some dwell times  but traffic wise, the only possible solution might be to eliminate the Clark portion of the 22 south of Bryn Mawr.   Run the route along Ashland and Clybourn  to Division and back on Clark.   Passengers north of North Ave can use the 151, 156, 36, or the Red Line.  You can also create a 42 Halsted from Clarendon =Lawrence  via Halsted and Lincoln and Wisconsin to Clark.   Clark between Bryn Mawr and Armitage just doesn't work for that length. 

This is why Im wondering about the trip patterns. We can all agree very few are using the 22 from Devon to downtown or so. If it's like #9 where it's short trips to transfer to another route then maybe split it to tailor to local ridership and let Red Line and the Express buses handle the long haul trips. Here's something I was thinking... The areas VERY DENSE so maybe reroute via Racine to around DePaul. It would give a straighter alignment and maybe provide some crowd relief from other routes in the area by handling more local ridership.

[jajuan]

6 hours ago, Sam92 said:

You're up north, what are 22 riders normally doing? We could probably save CTA however many they're paying these consultants for the Clark street study lmao

Well depending on the time, day, connecting service from the 22 and how far south, a lot of folks use 36, 136, 147, 151, or the Red Line. Since I'm commuting daily between home and the UIC area, my personal choice for an alternate during PM rush is the 7 or Pink Line into downtown, the 136 or 147 and then the 84. Matter of fact, that becomes my primary choice during spring and summer to avoid the madness that happens on Clark after Cubs home games during baseball season. 

[strictures]

2 hours ago, Sam92 said:

This is why Im wondering about the trip patterns. We can all agree very few are using the 22 from Devon to downtown or so. If it's like #9 where it's short trips to transfer to another route then maybe split it to tailor to local ridership and let Red Line and the Express buses handle the long haul trips. Here's something I was thinking... The areas VERY DENSE so maybe reroute via Racine to around DePaul. It would give a straighter alignment and maybe provide some crowd relief from other routes in the area by handling more local ridership.

Except lots of us are using it all the way.

Why?

Because we don't want to ride the very dangerous Red Line! The most crime ridden L line in the city, plus all the mentally ill homeless using it as their shelter.

Plus, with the L so erratic at times, the time including transfers from buses to the L, means the trip takes the same amount of time.  No matter what happens on the bus, it can't get stuck behind another stalled bus, it can just go around it, the L trains can't!  It takes about an hour to go all the way from Devon to The Loop, that's also how much time it takes to take a Broadway to Granville, walk to the Granville station & then ride the L to the Loop, plus Clark also is just more convenient than State St.

I'm really getting fed up with all the so-called experts on Clark who never actually ride it! And that stupid beyond belief bike lane south of Devon, narrowing the street to just one lane in each direction, has traffic backed up a half mile to Pratt every rush hour for at least two hours at a time..  

[strictures]

22 hours ago, jajuan said:

Um the 22 has 23 buses in place still right now as I write while the evening rush is on course to winding down towards mid-evening levels of service for the system as a whole. That's two more than the 21 still operating on the 82, which is now a FBN route and a few miles longer than the 22. That's by no means a lack of buses. As mentioned before me, Clark is a narrow main street operating on a diagonal of various angles against the main grid. Those two factors contribute to the bunching problem that CTA has had little success correcting despite all the several attempts at fixing it. But I do agree with you that the city's traffic engineers don't help. Besides the issue you pointed out with the timing of the traffic signals, there are the recent installations of protected bike lanes on different stretches of North Clark Street mucking things up because they didn't adequately measure out lane widths to provide enough space for buses in opposing directions to pass each other without slowing down to a crawl. Then there's the issue with trucks blocking part or the full width of lanes for delivery drop offs. 

Tell me, how many ride the 82, versus the 22? I'm betting the 22 has double the number of riders, so it should have double the number of buses!

[Busjack]

3 hours ago, strictures said:

Tell me, how many ride the 82, versus the 22? I'm betting the 22 has double the number of riders, so it should have double the number of buses!

You can look that up in the Ridership Report yourself. And if I remember correctly, your complaint was that they ran once every 45 minutes when they were scheduled every 3 to 14, so unless your complaint is now that there are more than 125 passengers at one instant on a 60 foot Clark bus, your question is irrelevant.

[sht6131]

3 hours ago, strictures said:

Tell me, how many ride the 82, versus the 22? I'm betting the 22 has double the number of riders, so it should have double the number of buses!

Jan 26 numbers,

weekday 22-12,220, 82-12,010 Sat. 22, 11,070, 82-7,626, Sunday 22 8042, 82-6230,

You would have lost the bet lol. I doubt if the numbers would double in three months to the present.

[MetroShadow]

6 hours ago, strictures said:

Except lots of us are using it all the way.

Why?

Because we don't want to ride the very dangerous Red Line! The most crime ridden L line in the city, plus all the mentally ill homeless using it as their shelter.

Plus, with the L so erratic at times, the time including transfers from buses to the L, means the trip takes the same amount of time.  No matter what happens on the bus, it can't get stuck behind another stalled bus, it can just go around it, the L trains can't!  It takes about an hour to go all the way from Devon to The Loop, that's also how much time it takes to take a Broadway to Granville, walk to the Granville station & then ride the L to the Loop, plus Clark also is just more convenient than State St.

I'm really getting fed up with all the so-called experts on Clark who never actually ride it! And that stupid beyond belief bike lane south of Devon, narrowing the street to just one lane in each direction, has traffic backed up a half mile to Pratt every rush hour for at least two hours at a time..  

So it's either slow traffic on Clark (and you're still only as fast as the uber in front of you) where there's buses galore (and not spaced out enough) and stuck in traffic, or take the red line to it's 'crime-infested' despite its speed. 

Traffic was bad before the bike lanes were installed. Makes zero difference now. 

[strictures]

8 hours ago, MetroShadow said:

So it's either slow traffic on Clark (and you're still only as fast as the uber in front of you) where there's buses galore (and not spaced out enough) and stuck in traffic, or take the red line to it's 'crime-infested' despite its speed. 

Traffic was bad before the bike lanes were installed. Makes zero difference now. 

No, it wasn't that bad before the stupid bike lanes.  Once again. the so-called experts that never, ever ride the 22!  Ubers have nothing to do with the traffic on Clark, nothing. The worst problems are the idiot double parkers, like the armored truck that did that on the 2500 block last week, when there was an empty space 75 feet ahead of that.  it took 7 minutes to go one block because of that jerk.

Once again, all Clark needs are more bus runs, preferably artics!  And every time I ride, I see a driver give at least one person a free ride when they claim they don't have the money!  

[Busjack]

4 hours ago, strictures said:

Once again, all Clark needs are more bus runs, preferably artics! 

@sht6131 shouldn't have done your work for you, but did. Since your hypothesis that 85 had half the riders was FALSE, putting more buses would just exacerbate the problem, if in fact it exists.

Also, putting on more buses has nothing to do with the fare evaders.

This is now defying all logic.

[Sam92]

1 hour ago, strictures said:

 

Once again, all Clark needs are more bus runs, preferably artics!  

You mean like the artics that have been added to weekends starting in 2010, AM and PM rush during the decrowding then the ones pulled from 135/136 for the 4pm vs waiting till later for them to come from 147? 🥴

[sht6131]

3 hours ago, Busjack said:

@sht6131 shouldn't have done your work for you, but did. Since your hypothesis that 85 had half the riders was FALSE, putting more buses would just exacerbate the problem, if in fact it exists.

Also, putting on more buses has nothing to do with the fare evaders.

This is now defying all logic.

I did it because 82 is my favorite route. when I hear or see it mentioned  my ears pop up.

[YoungBusLover]

5 hours ago, strictures said:

No, it wasn't that bad before the stupid bike lanes.  Once again. the so-called experts that never, ever ride the 22!  Ubers have nothing to do with the traffic on Clark, nothing. The worst problems are the idiot double parkers, like the armored truck that did that on the 2500 block last week, when there was an empty space 75 feet ahead of that.  it took 7 minutes to go one block because of that jerk.

Once again, all Clark needs are more bus runs, preferably artics!  And every time I ride, I see a driver give at least one person a free ride when they claim they don't have the money!  

Pre rush hour before opening day tomorrow and the amount of gaps in service are noticeable. However, Clark doesn't need more than 30 buses at a time during the rush periods. The bigger issue is the operators that have to navigate the street properly during crucial parts of the day. Just like any other street if the right amount experience isn't out there the street will fall apart fairly quickly. Traffic control and inexperienced operators don't mix well and when you work a street like Clark you have to understand how to navigate it which then leads me to my next point about traffic control. I'll just be honest Northside motorists are some of the most brain dead individuals I've come across since working for the CTA, they lack situational awareness for everyone around them when comes to the simple skills of Driving 101 factor in the lack of prioritized zones for buses at major intersections and inefficient intersection  light cycles you're in for a major clusterf*** . 

[MetroShadow]

6 hours ago, strictures said:

No, it wasn't that bad before the stupid bike lanes.  Once again. the so-called experts that never, ever ride the 22!  Ubers have nothing to do with the traffic on Clark, nothing. The worst problems are the idiot double parkers, like the armored truck that did that on the 2500 block last week, when there was an empty space 75 feet ahead of that.  it took 7 minutes to go one block because of that jerk.

Once again, all Clark needs are more bus runs, preferably artics!  And every time I ride, I see a driver give at least one person a free ride when they claim they don't have the money!  

Hard disagree. Run the same amount of buses, but mostly artics (almost similiar to the pattern now). If this is a problem, use other methods and routes. 

Or work in operations and activate "active route management" policies. Adding more buses is a band-aid for a GSW.

[strictures]

16 hours ago, MetroShadow said:

Hard disagree. Run the same amount of buses, but mostly artics (almost similiar to the pattern now). If this is a problem, use other methods and routes. 

Or work in operations and activate "active route management" policies. Adding more buses is a band-aid for a GSW.

Once again, I will repeat, that when the CTA added buses to Clark during the Belmont station rebuild, the buses ran great, no huge delays, ever!  That's all it needs, more buses, not bizarre reroutes some have proposed, just add another ten runs!

[Javi75]

3 hours ago, strictures said:

Once again, I will repeat, that when the CTA added buses to Clark during the Belmont station rebuild, the buses ran great, no huge delays, ever!  That's all it needs, more buses, not bizarre reroutes some have proposed, just add another ten runs!

Do you have any alternatives the 22? There isn’t too much more CTA can do given the circumstances on Clark street. 

[MetroShadow]

4 hours ago, strictures said:

Once again, I will repeat, that when the CTA added buses to Clark during the Belmont station rebuild, the buses ran great, no huge delays, ever!  That's all it needs, more buses, not bizarre reroutes some have proposed, just add another ten runs!

 

1 hour ago, Javi75 said:

Do you have any alternatives the 22? There isn’t too much more CTA can do given the circumstances on Clark street. 

Precisely. Outside of adding queue lanes or TSP (Division to Devon), there's not much. Costs way too much money to simply add buses, outside of occasional trippers and whatever staffing is available and on the Extra Board. 

[Elkmn]

On 3/25/2026 at 9:22 AM, strictures said:

No, it wasn't that bad before the stupid bike lanes.  Once again. the so-called experts that never, ever ride the 22!  Ubers have nothing to do with the traffic on Clark, nothing. The worst problems are the idiot double parkers, like the armored truck that did that on the 2500 block last week, when there was an empty space 75 feet ahead of that.  it took 7 minutes to go one block because of that jerk.

 

Woah! Don't blame the bike lanes, those are great for traffic calming, and for car-free mobility in general! I agree with your complaints on double parked cars though. The city should do something about that.

[Sam92]

6 hours ago, strictures said:

Once again, I will repeat, that when the CTA added buses to Clark during the Belmont station rebuild, the buses ran great, no huge delays, ever!  That's all it needs, more buses, not bizarre reroutes some have proposed, just add another ten runs!

That was in 08. 

With in the 18 years between then and now you still ignore the fact that buses were added along with longer articulated ones at that so obviously just adding buses isn't working 🙄. Heck the peak runs start exactly in the spots we say they should (Belmont) and still problems 

[Sam92]

1 minute ago, Elkmn said:

Woah! Don't blame the bike lanes, those are great for traffic calming, and for car-free mobility in general! I agree with your complaints on double parked cars though. The city should do something about that.

They should be put on side streets not main roads. If bus riders feel that their bus is slowed down they will seek other options and everyone isn't physically fit to switch to biking. So that means more ubers also double parking. Bike infrastructure should compliment the rest of the transit here not impede on it the way it has been 🤷

[Elkmn]

1 minute ago, Sam92 said:

 Bike infrastructure should compliment the rest of the transit here not impede on it the way it has been 🤷

Exactly!

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, Sam92 said:

Bike infrastructure should compliment the rest of the transit here not impede on it the way it has been 🤷

Bike Lane: "Hey bus, your wrap is really sexy. I really love the one with Howard Ankin"☺️