CTA Rail Ridership Sets New Record High in 2015

The number of rides taken on CTA trains in 2015 jumped to a new record high of more than 241 million, the highest recorded level for rail ridership and topping last year’s record.

The CTA also announced today that total bus and rail rides combined rose by 1.4 million rides to more than 515 million last year, and 2015 was the eighth straight year in CTA history that the agency’s bus and rail system provided more than 500 million rides during the year.

The CTA ridership increases are an outgrowth of the extraordinary transit investment made by Mayor Rahm Emanuel since 2011. More than $5 billion of projects have been completed, are under way or are planned for the CTA to modernize and improve service to customers.

“The historic levels of CTA train ridership demonstrate the success that our investment in transit is paying dividends for riders,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Rail transportation is an increasingly attractive option for customers because we’re committed to operating a world-class transit system that efficiently links residents to professional and educational opportunities, while creating local jobs that sustain our local economy.”

“We continue to see record demand for safe, reliable and affordable transit in Chicago, at the same time the CTA continues to execute Mayor Emanuel’s historic transit investment to modernize the CTA and enhance service for customers,” said CTA president Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “I’m pleased that these accomplishments have been made as we’ve continued to keep fares low and maintain financial stability at CTA.”

Transit modernization accomplishments in 2015 include:

• Opening the new Cermak-McCormick Place Green Line station on the Near South Side
• Introducing the Ventra App, the first multi-transit system app in the U.S. that allows fare purchases for CTA, Metra and Pace
• Launching Loop Link service to improve bus service and traffic flow in the Loop
• Reinstating express bus service on Ashland and Western avenues, two of CTA’s busiest bus routes
• Adding full 4G wireless service to CTA’s entire subway system on the Red and Blue lines
• Completion of the Purple Line Express Improvement Project and the Ravenswood Connector Rehabilitation Project to increase service speed, reliability and comfort and eliminate slow zones
• Continuation of CTA’s ongoing replacement and overhaul of nearly all of CTA’s bus and rail fleets to provide CTA with the youngest fleet in a generation
• Adding more CTA Bus and Train Tracker displays at shelters and rail stations for customer convenience
• Continuation of the Wilson Station Reconstruction and 95^th Street Terminal projects, and commencement of the new Washington/Wabash Station construction project.

Total CTA ridership

For the year, CTA total ridership reached 515,964,831, a 0.4 percent increase from 2014. Total rail ridership grew 1.6 percent during 2015 compared with 2014 and bus ridership dipped modestly by 0.6 percent, particularly affected by the extreme weather during February 2015 and construction projects.

This historic rail ridership in 2015 occurred during an unusual year that saw total transit ridership affected by a number of extraordinary circumstances -- including one of the worst snowstorms and some of the coldest temperatures in Chicago history, as well as the temporary shutdown of Yellow Line service from an embankment collapse caused by a nearby construction project.

Additionally, a long-time migration by CTA riders to rail from bus transportation continued in 2015, a trend seen nationwide among many transit agencies. Bus ridership performed largely as expected, remaining close to 2014 levels, as downtown construction and weather affected ridership.

Rail ridership

The CTA’s total rail ridership in 2015 increased to 241.7 million, a 1.6 percent increase from 2014 and topping by 3.5 million rides the record rail ridership set in 2014. The CTA has continued to see a long-term shift in rail ridership similar to other large transit agencies. Highlights:

• The largest growth in rail ridership was on the Green Line South between the Cermak/McCormick Place and Garfield stations. That ridership increase of 11.2 percent was aided in part by opening of Cermak/McCormick Place in February 2015. That station had more than 390,000 station entries in 2015.
• Other lines that had high ridership growth include the Blue Line O’Hare branch, which rose 5.3 percent; the Blue Line subway, which increased 4.6 percent; and the Red Line subway, which increased 4.3 percent from the previous year.

Improvements to CTA’s rail system include:

• Station improvements: Unprecedented rail investment/modernization in last five years. Nearly one-third of all CTA rail stations received or will receive some form of significant improvement work to full reconstruction.
• Technology investment: New Train Tracker and Bus Tracker signs make commuting easier and more predictable.
• New CTA stations: New stations including Cermak/McCormick Place (2015), Morgan (2012) and Oakton (2012) have attracted new riders in areas of growing population.
• New rail cars – more than 700 new rail cars added to CTA’s rail fleet, providing a more comfortable, reliable ride.
• Restoring Yellow Line service following the collapse of a rail embankment that was caused by a nearby construction project.

Bus ridership

Bus ridership was largely stable in 2015, declining slightly by 0.6 percent from 2014’s ridership levels to 274.3 million. Highlights:

• Ridership increased on several routes, including routes in Evanston, near Midway International Airport and on the Far South Side.
• Bus ridership was significantly affected by the bitter cold and snowy weather experienced in February 2015, when a blizzard hit Chicago and some of the city’s coldest temperatures on record were recorded.
• Downtown construction affected bus ridership during several months of 2015.

CTA in 2015 made a number of improvements to bus service, including:

• Starting express bus service on Ashland and Western avenues, two of CTA’s busiest bus routes, and improving local Ashland and Western service by consolidating some bus stops
• Launching Loop Link service to improve bus service and traffic flow in the Loop
• Adding more than 400 new buses and completing the overhaul of more than 1,000 buses to make them like new
• Adding more CTA Bus Tracker displays at shelters and rail stations for customer convenience