9/4/03
Chicago Transit Authority is adjusting service on five bus routes to better serve the needs of customers along the routes. The changes are expected to provide better service between where people live and where they want to go. The route modifications were approved today by the Chicago Transit Board at its monthly meeting.
?These changes demonstrate that the CTA listens to its customers," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?It is another step in our commitment to providing service that is on time, clean, safe and friendly."
The changes, which will take effect later this month, are the result of ridership, travel pattern analysis and customer need. CTA will increase service hours on three existing routes: #170 University of Chicago/Midway, #171 University of Chicago/Hyde Park and #172 University of Chicago/Kenwood. Two routes that have been experimental will be made permanent: #X80 Irving Park Express and #168 UIC/Pilsen Express.
#170 University of Chicago/Midway
#171 University of Chicago/Hyde Park
#172 University of Chicago/Kenwood
Hours on these three existing routes will be expanded to better serve students living in a University of Chicago dormitory that will open later this fall at 59th and Harper. This service is associated with the ongoing partnership between the CTA and the University of Chicago.
The #170 which runs weekdays only year-round will expand its service hours one hour later in the evening to 7 p.m. during the academic year from September through mid-June.
Sunday/holiday hours on the #171 during the academic year will be extended to 7 p.m. from 4:30 p.m.
Sunday/holiday hours on the #172 during the academic year will be extended to 7 p.m. from 5:30 p.m.
#X80 Irving Park Express
The #X80 Irving Park Express bus route that started as an experiment in June 2002 will be made permanent. The #X80 provides quicker service for customers traveling between the lakefront; Red, Brown and Blue Line stations along IrvingPark; and the Harlem-Irving Plaza. Ridership along the Irving Park corridor has increased four percent since the experiment was implemented. CTA expects ridership to increase further once the redevelopment of the Harlem-Irving Plaza is completed.
#168 UIC/Pilsen Express
Another experimental route, the #168 UIC/Pilsen Express, that operates between the UIC-Halsted Blue Line station and the United Parcel Service (UPS) facility in Hodgkins will be made permanent. The route began as an experiment in December 2001 under CTA's Corporate Connections Program, which enables CTA to partner with businesses and tailor its service to accommodate those businesses and their employees.
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