The CTA recently announced it's launching a "Frequent Network" with ten-minute or shorter headways all day, seven days a week. The initiative includes 20 high-ridership bus lines citywide dubbed "Frequent Routes," starting with eight lines mostly located on the South Side. Some transit advocates say they're excited about the new initiatives, and have their fingers crossed that the increased service will be dependable, and free from the much-loathed "bus bunching" phenomenon.
According to the transit agency, the ten-minutes-or-less wait times will be a thing from 6 a.m to 9 a.m. Monday to Friday, and between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends, with new schedules starting on Sunday, March 23. (That happens to be my 54th birthday, so maybe I'll mark the occasion by checking out the shorter headways on the #54 Cicero bus, which is part of the initial launch.)
Here are the eight lines which will get beefed up on the 23rd:
- J14 Jeffery Jump
- #34 South Michigan
- #47 47th Street
- #54 Cicero
- #60 Blue Island/26th
- #63 63rd Street
- #79 79th Street
- #95 95th Street
According to the transit agency, the J14, #34, #47, #60, and #95 will get a 25 percent or greater increase in service. As part of the plan, several routes with see more buses completing the entire route, and fewer runs turning around before the arrive at the terminal.
Here are the Frequent Routes planned for the rest of the year:
Summer
Fall
Winter
"A reliable and equitable public transit system is key to building strong communities, and we are committed to increasing Chicagoans' access to the CTA so they can get to wherever they need to go," said Mayor Brandon Johnson in a statement. "We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Frequent Network and fulfill the promise of increasing CTA bus service, especially for those who need it most."
"This improvement in frequency is a transformative investment in our bus service and brings 10-minute or better service within a short walk of 2.3 million residents in our area all day, every day,” stated CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen. "This is just one example of how strong transit funding availability allows us to provide the level of service our customers want to see."
Active Transportation Alliance Executive Director Amy Rynell also gave the program a thumbs-up. "Buses are the backbone of our public transit system, and CTA's decision to boost service frequency on key routes is a vital step forward," she said in a statement. "We're thrilled to see CTA delivering on what riders are asking for: more frequent and reliable bus service. This move could make public transportation a more viable choice for many thousands while helping build a more equitable, sustainable future for our city."
The CTA says all 20 bus lines will get more service in 2025, with the most service upgrades taking place in the middle of the day, evenings, and weekends. According to the agency, these lines will get their highest scheduled service level since 2010, when there were service cuts as a belt-tightening measure.
They say that after the eight Frequent Routes are up and running, 35 percent of Chicagoans will live within half a mile, a roughly ten-minute walk, from one of the lines. After all 20 lines are supersized by the end of the year, 70 percent of the transit system's service area will be within a half mile of a Frequent Route.
The groundwork was laid for the Frequent Network by the CTA’s Bus Vision Study framing report, produced in December 2023 by nationally known transit planning guru Jarrett Walker's firm. The study looked at the current stated of the system's bus service, and suggested service upgrades to improve conditions for riders, especially lower-income residents and people of color. The next step in the Bus Vision project is to collect more input from riders about what they'd like to see from the routes in terms of frequency, hours of operation, routing, and more.
The CTA's press release lauded system's bus schedule returning to pre-COVID strength last year, in theory, with some route adjustments based on changing ridership patterns in the post-pandemic era. The agency also said that in the future, it plans to apply the Frequent Network principal to shortening waits for 'L' trains.
The grassroots transit advocacy group Commuters Take Action (CTAction) applauded the news. "We welcome the upcoming improvements to CTA’s bus schedules," they said in a statement. "Availability of frequent and predictable transit service is the backbone of any modern metropolis. [Both CTAction and the Active Transportation Alliance made spinal references in their statements.] Having ten-minute service on major bus routes is an important step toward attracting more riders back to transit."
However, CTAction cautioned that sometimes CTA schedules are only as good as the paper they're printed on – issues with "ghost" runs that never materialize have been a major issue since COVID hit Chicago. "Bus bunching, inconsistent dispatching, and other operational inefficiencies have plagued the CTA’s bus system for too long," the group said. "We hope that the agency can deliver its frequent bus network by not just throwing more buses at the problem but by also addressing the core reasons for why bus service is sporadic in practice." Dedicated lanes that help keep buses from getting stuck in driver-generated traffic jams, preferably camera-enforced, would help keep arrival times more predictable.
CTAction concluded, "We wish for riders to see 'Due, 10min, 20min, 30min' on their bus trackers instead of the dreaded occurrences like '22min, 25min, 26min, 30min.'"
Hopefully the CTA will have a bunch of success with this new initiative, in the form of very little bunching.
Read the CTA announcement here.
Check out the Bus Vison Study framing report here.
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