05/19/99
The Chicago Transit Board today approved an additional six month trial period for both the X21 Cermak Express Bus and the X49 Western Express Bus routes, and also modified the #129 West Loop / South Loop Bus route to better serve the growing development of the South Loop.
"We have seen encouraging growth in ridership this past year, " said CTA Chairman Valerie Jarrett. ?We will continue to monitor ridership trends throughout our system to adjust our service to best meet the demand."
Buses on the X21 Cermak Express route make limited weekend stops along Cermak from the Blue Line terminal at 54th Avenue in Cicero to McCormick Place on King Drive at 24th Place. The X49 operates on weekdays, providing express bus service across the west side of the city from Berwyn Avenue to 95th Street on Western Avenue.
After the first six months of the pilot program, these express buses have improved the speed of passenger travel on both Cermak and Western. Response from both riders and operators has been very positive as well. In order to understand the full potential of express bus service however, another six months of study is warranted before a decision is made on whether these express routes should be made permanent.
In other board action, the X129 West Loop / South Loop Bus will be re-routed to better serve the growing development of the South Loop. Service will be extended from 16th Street to 18th Street between State and Indiana. Also at this time, the route will be moved off of LaSalle and extended onto State and Dearborn for northbound a.m. service while using only Clark and State for southbound travel during p.m. service.
CTA President Frank Kruesi said, "The CTA is committed to making our service on-time, clean, safe and friendly, and customers are responding. Today's improvements are more examples of how we are answering our customer's needs. "
For details about CTA routes and schedules, contact 836-7000 (all local area codes).
Contact: Media Relations312-222-6106
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