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7/12/2021
Ridership across the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) rail and bus system has more than doubled since the start of the year and continues to grow.
Since January, overall weekly ridership has risen 56% to 4 million rides. Weekly rail ridership — which registered a sharper drop than bus ridership during the pandemic — was up 94% in mid-June compared to January's level at more than 1.6 million trips.
Ridership to and from the Loop has logged the biggest gains of any area of the city, as workers return to the office and downtown events and activities. Since May 1, rail ridership is up 53% while ridership on bus routes primarily serving the Loop is up 41%.
Although overall ridership is climbing, it's still well below pre-pandemic levels, CTA officials said in a news release.
Over the past several weeks, the agency launched "When you're ready, we’re ready!" a campaign aimed at promoting ridership. The campaign includes "Refresh & Renew," a program designed to improve more than 125 rail stations across the system by year's end.