City Announces Extended Routes, Service for South Side Bus and Rail Lines

For all his warts, Mayor Emanuel has a strong record on improving public transportation, including initiatives like the South Red Line reconstruction, the Loop Link bus rapid transit corridor, the Your New Blue rehab, and several completed and in-progress station construction projects. Today’s announcement that several South Side bus and rail lines will have more frequent service and/or extended routes also appears to be a step in the right direction.

Six bus routes and two branches of the south Green Line are affected:

• The 95th Street bus, which will combine separate east and west segments to create a continuous route
• The #4 Cottage Grove bus, which will extend south from 95th Street to 115th Street
• The #71 71st Street bus, which will extend all trips from 73rd to 112th and Torrence, and see increased frequency
• The #26 South Shore Express, which will see earlier and later service
• The #34 Michigan and #119 Michigan/119th bus routes, which will see increased frequency during midday and evening hours

Having a continuous route down 95th seems logical, since this is one of the city’s major thorughfares, with plenty of retail and other destinations. Extending the Cottage Grove bus will improve access to the Pullman National Monument.

The mayor also announced that the Cottage Grove and Ashland/63rd branches of the Green Line will see increased frequency during the morning and evening rush hours.

“With this expansion, the CTA is continuing the important work of connecting more residents to jobs and economic opportunities,” Emanuel said in a statement. “This announcement builds on the strides we have made to improve connections to and from downtown.”

Announcements of new initiatives on the South and West Sides have become more common this year as the mayor seeks to repair his image in the wake of the Laquan McDonald case. However, Emanuel continues to show more interest in leveling the playing field for residents of underserved communities, including better transit access to jobs and schools, that can only be a good thing for the city.