The CTA calculates ridership by counting the customers who board a transit vehicle (bus or rail).
The Navy Pier route saw the largest increase in ridership with a 375.5 percent rise.
Bus and train traffic took a serious hit during the pandemic. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago's suburbs, saw a 97% decrease in ridership according to the Active Transportation Alliance. According to the Federal Transit Authority, Chicago's public transportation sector received $1.43 billion in bailout funds from the CARES act to combat the decrease in ridership.
However, the CTA claimed ridership had rebounded 56 percent in the first six months of 2021. CTA's president Dorval R. Cart Jr. said weekday ridership has doubled since the initial shutdown.
Rank | Route | Ridership increase from 2020 to 2021 (%) |
---|---|---|
1 | Navy Pier | 375.5 |
2 | Stockton/LaSalle Express | 340.8 |
3 | Evanston Circulator | 338.5 |
4 | Clarendon/LaSalle Express | 250.6 |
5 | Ogilvie/Streeterville Express | 245 |
6 | U. of Chicago/Kenwood | 224.7 |
7 | U. of Chicago/Hyde Park | 203.5 |
8 | Union/Streeterville Express | 200 |
9 | Stockton/Michigan Express | 184.1 |
10 | Bronzeville/Union Station | 182.8 |
11 | LaSalle | 167.3 |
12 | Water Tower Express | 155.9 |
13 | Sedgwick | 145.6 |
14 | Sheridan/LaSalle Express | 143.4 |
15 | Streeterville/Taylor | 133.8 |
16 | Hyde Park Express | 126.6 |
17 | Clarendon/Michigan Express | 120.9 |
18 | West 65th | 115.4 |
19 | Addison | 113.5 |
20 | U. of Chicago Hospitals Express | 110.3 |
21 | Narragansett/Ridgeland | 108.5 |
22 | Inner Drive/Michigan Express | 97 |
22 | Damen | 97 |
24 | 55th/Austin | 90.9 |
25 | South Damen | 85.8 |
26 | Sheridan | 78.5 |
27 | Central/Ridge | 77.7 |
28 | Montrose | 77.4 |
29 | Outer Drive Express | 75.2 |
30 | Western Express | 72.5 |
31 | Clark | 69 |
32 | Blue Island/26th | 68.4 |
33 | California/Dodge | 67.2 |
34 | Harrison | 64.3 |
35 | Broadway | 63.6 |
35 | North Cicero/Skokie Blvd. | 63.6 |
37 | Archer | 62.6 |
38 | Chicago | 62.5 |
39 | Grand | 59.5 |
40 | Milwaukee | 56.9 |
41 | South Pulaski | 56.8 |
42 | Northwest Highway | 56.6 |
43 | Foster | 56.2 |
44 | Belmont | 55 |
44 | Archer/Harlem | 55 |
46 | West 63rd | 53.8 |
47 | Peterson | 53.7 |
48 | Fullerton | 51.9 |
49 | Armitage | 51.5 |
50 | Irving Park | 49.9 |
51 | North Western | 49.6 |
52 | Pershing | 48.5 |
53 | Kimball-Homan | 48.4 |
54 | Lincoln | 48.2 |
55 | Vincennes/111th | 47.7 |
56 | 31st/35th | 47.5 |
57 | Higgins | 46.6 |
58 | California | 44.7 |
59 | Diversey | 44.4 |
60 | Ashland Express | 44.3 |
61 | Jackson Park Express | 43.2 |
62 | East 103rd | 42.7 |
63 | 51st | 40.9 |
64 | State | 40.8 |
65 | Jackson | 40.2 |
66 | Wallace-Racine | 39.6 |
67 | Wentworth | 39.3 |
68 | Lawrence | 39.2 |
69 | Harlem | 39 |
70 | West Lawrence | 38 |
70 | Devon | 38 |
72 | Division | 36.8 |
73 | Halsted | 36.2 |
74 | Central | 35.5 |
75 | South Shore Express | 35.3 |
76 | Laramie | 35 |
77 | North | 34.4 |
78 | 31st | 34.2 |
79 | Western | 33.2 |
80 | 16th/18th | 33.1 |
81 | Jeffery Manor Express | 32.5 |
82 | Skokie | 31.9 |
83 | King Drive | 31 |
83 | Garfield | 31 |
85 | 59th/61st | 29.5 |
86 | Pullman/115th | 28 |
87 | Cermak | 27.1 |
88 | Lunt | 26.9 |
89 | Jeffery Jump | 26.5 |
90 | Kedzie | 26.3 |
90 | 55th/Narragansett | 26.3 |
92 | Roosevelt | 25.8 |
93 | Pulaski | 24.9 |
94 | Madison | 23.6 |
95 | 111th/King Drive | 22.4 |
96 | 74th-75th | 21.8 |
97 | 47th | 21.4 |
98 | South Kedzie | 20.9 |
99 | Austin | 20.3 |
100 | West 103rd | 19.9 |
101 | South Chicago | 19.8 |
102 | South Halsted | 18.8 |
103 | Ashland | 17.9 |
104 | 87th | 14.5 |
105 | 63rd | 13.3 |
106 | Cicero | 13.1 |
107 | South Shore Night Bus | 12.8 |
108 | Jeffery Local | 11.8 |
109 | North Central | 11 |
109 | South Cicero | 11 |
109 | Pullman Shuttle | 11 |
112 | Stony Island | 10.4 |
113 | 79th | 10.1 |
114 | Cottage Grove | 9.8 |
115 | 67th-69th-71st | 9.7 |
115 | Halsted/95th | 9.7 |
117 | 43rd | 8.4 |
118 | 71st/South Shore | 6.6 |
119 | 95th | 3 |
119 | South Michigan | 3 |
121 | Michigan/119th | 1.9 |