Washington/Wells station ridership decreased by 93.8 percent during April compared to the previous year, according to the Chicago Transportation Authority. The CTA calculates ridership by counting the customers who board a transit vehicle (bus or rail). The station that saw the largest decrease in ridership was Merchandise Mart station with 97.7 percent drop.
Train transit experienced an 87.7 percent decline in ridership overall during the month. Bus ridership across the city during the same month saw a decrease of 70.7 percent year over year. The bus route that saw the largest decrease was the Stockton/LaSalle Express with a decrease of 98.7 percent.
So far, the CTA has made no service cuts even with the decrease in ridership. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago’s suburbs has seen a 97 percent 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.
| Rank | Station | Ridership decline year over year (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merchandise Mart | 97.7 |
| 2 | Southport | 96.1 |
| 3 | Quincy/Wells | 95.4 |
| 4 | Monroe (Blue Line – Dearborn Subway) | 95.2 |
| 4 | Armitage | 95.2 |
| 6 | UIC-Halsted | 95.1 |
| 7 | Fullerton | 94.5 |
| 7 | Clark/Lake | 94.5 |
| 9 | Damen (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 94.4 |
| 10 | Harrison | 94.3 |
| 10 | Washington | 94.3 |
| 12 | Grand (Red Line – North Side) | 94.2 |
| 13 | Addison (Red Line – North Side) | 94.1 |
| 13 | Monroe (Red Line – State Street Subway) | 94.1 |
| 15 | Washington/Wells | 93.8 |
| 16 | Grand (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 93.7 |
| 16 | Irving Park | 93.7 |
| 18 | California | 93.6 |
| 19 | Division | 93.5 |
| 19 | Damen (Brown Line) | 93.5 |
| 19 | Addison (Brown Line) | 93.5 |
| 22 | Noyes | 93.4 |
| 23 | Western | 93.3 |
| 23 | LaSalle | 93.3 |
| 25 | Chicago (Blue Line – O’Hare) | 93.2 |
| 25 | Rockwell | 93.2 |
| 27 | Diversey | 92.9 |
| 27 | LaSalle/Van Buren | 92.9 |
| 29 | Adams/Wabash | 92.8 |
| 30 | Jackson (Red Line – State Street Subway) | 92.7 |
| 30 | Logan Square | 92.7 |
| 32 | Wellington | 92.6 |
| 32 | State/Lake | 92.6 |
| 34 | Morgan | 92.5 |
| 35 | Lake | 92.4 |
| 36 | Oak Park (Green Line – Lake Street) | 92.2 |
| 36 | Clinton (Green Line – Lake Street) | 92.2 |
| 38 | Francisco | 92.1 |
| 38 | Montrose | 92.1 |
| 40 | Paulina | 92 |
| 40 | Chicago (Brown Line) | 92 |
| 40 | Belmont | 92 |
| 43 | Washington/Wabash | 91.2 |
| 44 | Clinton (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 91.1 |
| 45 | Oak Park (Blue Line – Forest Park) | 91 |
| 45 | Sheridan | 91 |
| 45 | Chicago (Red Line – North Side) | 91 |
| 45 | Foster | 91 |
| 45 | Sedgwick | 91 |
| 45 | Jackson (Blue Line – Dearborn Subway) | 91 |
