Transport Chicago’s “Year of the Bus” panel discussed CTA service upgrades that contributed to increased ridership
Last week, urban planners, architects, engineers, politicos and transportation enthusiasts gathered on the 15th floor of the downtown Voco Hotel for the 2026 Transport Chicago conference. It was an optimistic day of celebrating transit wins; recounting successes in accessible and sustainable mobility; and envisioning a more connected Chicagoland.
I attended a morning session entitled “Year of the Bus.” A panel of CTA staffers detailed bus service improvements that were rolled out last year. This included the Frequent Network: twenty routes with buses scheduled to arrive every ten minutes or sooner. Dimitris Nioras, senior manager of service planning, said transit agency aimed to blanket as much of the city as possible in the initial rollout of the Frequent Network, creating a grid such that 70 percent of Chicagoans would live within a half mile of a frequent route.
Amy Conrad, who manages bus scheduling, talked through the challenges of ensuring the frequency of service, particularly bus bunching, when multiple buses scheduled to arrive ten minutes apart all show up at the same time, often after a frustratingly long wait for the first one. Conrad said more efficient scheduling has alleviated this issue somewhat, but bunching continues to be a problem they are “working with other agencies,” such as the Chicago Department of Transportation, to address.
The CTA also adjusted a few key bus routes in 2025, including the busy Pulaski Road corridor. Southbound riders on the 53 Pulaski bus were forced to transfer to the 53A South Pulaski route at 31st Street, and vice versa. According to the data, about 350 riders made that transfer each day. Many of these riders are workers at distribution centers south of the Sanitary and Ship Canal and students commuting from the West and Northwest sides to Richard J. Daley College, 7500 S. Pulaski Rd.
The CTA extended the 53 route south five miles to connect with the Orange Line’s Pulaski Station and introduced overnight service. This extended route better served and connected the high-density neighborhoods of Little Village and Archer Heights.
Similar consideration was given to the California Avenue corridor, which had a more than mile long gap in service near the river and along Horner Park. The 93 California/Dodge route was extended north to Evanston and south to the Blue Line Logan Square Station. Service planner Trevor Preddy said this entailed installing 29 new bus stops across four ward. That required a complex tangle of considerations from ward approvals to upgrades so all stops would be accessible for bus ramps, to coordination with the City to install new bus stop signs without damaging buried infrastructure like gas lines.
The 75 74th-75th route was also extended west from Damen to the Western Avenue bus terminal. Preddy said this was logistically complicated because the terminal was already near capacity with other routes. Rescheduling and route adjustments ultimately made the extension possible.
Preddy, who oversees multiple bus terminals, talked about the difficulty of finding suitable spaces for buses to stop, turn or layover. For one, terminal land is not owned by CTA, so property owners must approve any changes. The site must have restrooms available to bus operators and the lots need to be big enough for buses to turn around. Preddy added that “buses eat concrete alive,” so owners must be okay with frequent repaving by the CTA to maintain the property. There is only so much land that meets these requirements and a quick nod was given to “the Ford City problem.” That refers to Ford City Mall, currently a terminal for the 79 79th route. A judge recently ordered the mall to close on June 22 due to fire safety concerns.
The CTA also extended service hours to busy routes. These include the 18 16th – 18th to better serve nightlife in Pilsen; the 147 Outer DuSable Lake Shore Express; and the 157 Streeterville/Taylor. More routes are slated for extended hours later this year.
A high-level summary showed the improvements resulted in increased ridership across the board. More than 1,600 additional rides on the Pulaski bus traveled through 31st Street than transferred before the route extension. About 1,100 new rides per day have been taken on the California/Dodge south of Lawrence Avenue, and over 450 new rides on average take place each day on the 75 route west of Damen. The Frequent Network created double digit ridership growth overall, with the biggest gain on Sundays.
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