CTA bus and rail service is a convenient and affordable option this weekend to get to events throughout the city including Lollapalooza in Grant Park, Chicago Bears Family Day at Soldier Field, the Cincinnati Reds versus the Cubs games at Wrigley Field, Sade concerts at the United Center and Joel Osteen at U.S. Cellular Field.
All weekend, longer trains will operate until 11:30 p.m. on the Pink, Green and Orange lines. On the Blue and Red lines, extra service will operate until 11:30 p.m. and longer trains will operate until midnight.
Longer trains will operate on the Brown Line from the Loop until 11:30 p.m. all weekend and more frequent service will be provided on Friday, August 5 and Sunday, August 7.
Service hours on the Yellow Line will be extended to 1 a.m. leaving from Howard station, while Purple Line trains will operate on a normal schedule throughout the weekend.
More capacity will be provided on several bus routes serving Grant Park, Soldier Field and Wrigley Field. Specific event service details are:
Lollapalooza
Fans are encouraged to take CTA when heading to Lollapalooza at Grant Park from Friday, August 5 through Sunday, August 7. In addition to extra rail service, the CTA will provide extra bus service to accommodate concert-goers.
Bus Service
The #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express bus route will have increased frequency of service from 9 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. on Friday, August 5, operating approximately every 10 minutes.
Bus Reroutes
From 6:30 p.m. Thursday, August 4 until approximately noon Monday, August 8, #2 Hyde Park, #6 Jackson Park Express, #10 Museum of Science & Industry, #14 Jeffery Express, #26 South Shore Express and #X28 Stony Island Express buses will be detoured due to street closures for the set-up, duration and clean-up of Lollapalooza 2011.
Streets that will be closed during this time are: Columbus Drive between Roosevelt and Monroe, Jackson Drive between Columbus and Michigan, Congress Parkway between Columbus and Michigan and Balbo Drive between Columbus and Michigan.
Northbound #2 and #10 buses will travel over their regular routes along Columbus to Roosevelt then will operate via Roosevelt, Michigan to Balbo and then resume their regular routes. Southbound #2 and #10 buses will travel the reverse route.
Northbound #6, #14, #26 and #X28 buses will operate over their regular routes along Columbus to Roosevelt then will travel via Roosevelt to Michigan and then resume their regular routes north of Balbo. Southbound #6, #14, #26 and #X28 buses will travel the reverse route.
Customers should allow extra travel time.
Bears Family Night
Fans can take CTA for festivities at Soldier Field on Friday, August 5 for Bears Family Night. Gates open at 5 p.m. and practice begins at 7 p.m.
The #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express bus route will increase the frequency of service between 9 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Friday, August 5. Buses will operate approximately every 10 minutes.
Hours of operation will be extended on the #130 Museum Campus route from 6 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. Buses will operate approximately every 12-15 minutes between Museum Campus and Washington/Clinton.
Customers also can travel to Soldier Field via Red, Orange or Green line trains and exit at Roosevelt. The station is located at Roosevelt and State, a few blocks west of the stadium.
Chicago Cubs versus Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field
The Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds this weekend with game time at 1:20 p.m. on Friday, August 5 and Sunday, August 7 and at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday, August 6.
Fans heading to Wrigley Field can board Red Line trains from stations in the State Street subway downtown, or from Howard, where fans can connect from Purple or Yellow Line trains serving the northern suburbs.
Several CTA bus routes also provide convenient service directly to Wrigley Field:
- #8 Halsted buses operate north on Halsted from 79th Street to Broadway/Waveland;
- #22 Clark buses operate north through the Loop on Dearborn and south on Clark from Howard;
- #152 Addison buses operate on Addison from Cumberland on the west to Lake Shore Drive on the east. Additional service will be provided on the #152 route as crowds warrant, starting approximately two hours before game time and operating until one hour after games end;
- #154 Wrigley Field Express buses operate for weekend games for fans who wish to combine driving and public transit to travel to the games. #154 buses provide direct service to Wrigley Field from parking lots at DeVry University on Rockwell, a quarter-mile west of Western and a quarter-mile south of Addison. Service begins three hours before each game and runs until two hours after weekend games end. A $6 fee includes parking at DeVry and round-trip bus transit for a carload of fans.
In addition, customers who do not park at DeVry but wish to ride to Wrigley Field will be able to board the bus and travel to the ballpark by paying for a round trip regular CTA bus fare. Bus customers who use CTA fare media pay $2.00 for each way (total $4 roundtrip). For customers who pay cash, the fare is $2.25 ($4.50 roundtrip).
Sade Concert
Sade will perform at the United Center each night beginning Friday, August 5 through Sunday, August 7. The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. each evening.
CTA’s #19 United Center Express, #20 Madison and #50 Damen bus routes provide direct service to the stadium.
#19 buses will leave every 12-15 minutes from Michigan and Randolph beginning 90 minutes before the start of each concert. After each concert, #19 buses will await customers on the north side of the United Center eastbound on Madison near Gate 3 and will depart approximately every 15 minutes for one hour.
NEW: Temporary Changes in Service for #19 Buses
Due to the closure of some downtown streets for Stage II of the Wacker Drive construction project, the following service changes are in effect along the #19 route:
Eastbound #19 buses are no longer being rerouted and have resumed traveling east on Washington over the regular route. The following changes have been made to bus stops served by eastbound buses:
- Monroe/Canal: the temporary eastbound far side stop has been removed from service.
- Washington/Canal: buses have resumed serving the eastbound near side stop.
- Washington/Franklin: the eastbound near side stop has been temporarily relocated to a far side stop.
- Washington/State: buses have resumed serving the eastbound far side stop.
Westbound #19 buses are being detoured and are traveling over the regular route along Madison to Franklin then operating via Franklin to Randolph and resuming the regular route.
The following changes have been made to stops served by westbound buses:
- Madison/Wacker: the westbound far side stop has been temporarily removed from service.
- Madison/Clinton: the westbound near side stop has been temporarily removed from service.
- Randolph/Wacker: buses are serving the westbound near side stop.
- Randolph/Canal: buses are serving the westbound near side stop.
- Randolph/Jefferson: buses are serving the new westbound near side stop.
In addition to the #19, #20 and #50 bus routes, customers also can reach the United Center via the Green and Pink lines. Both routes stop at the Ashland/Lake station which is just a few blocks east of the United Center. Fans exiting at the Ashland/Lake station can transfer to #9 Ashland buses or simply walk a few blocks to the stadium.
The Blue Line is also an option to get to the United Center. The Illinois Medical District station on the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line is a few blocks south of the United Center, so riders may walk from the station to the United Center.
Joel Osteen
Joel Osteen’s America’s Night of Hope tour will be in Chicago on Saturday, August 6 at U.S. Cellular Field. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the event begins at 7 p.m.
The Red Line provides service to the Sox-35th St. station, just a short walk to U.S. Cellular Field. There are free connections from the Purple and Yellow lines at Howard and from all elevated lines in the Loop or from Brown Line trains at Belmont and Fullerton.
Green Line trains also provide service, stopping at the accessible Green Line 35th–Bronzeville-IIT station located just a few blocks from U.S. Cellular Field.
Attendees can also transfer from the Green Line to #35 35th St. buses which stop in front of the ballpark. Green Line trains operate from 63rd/Ashland and East 63rd/Cottage Grove, and Harlem/Lake in Oak Park.
Orange Line customers can reach the ballpark via the 35th/Archer station with a transfer to the #35 35th St. buses. #35 35th St. buses stop at stations on the Green, Orange and Red lines at 35th St.
Park & Ride Facilities
To avoid traffic congestion, customers can combine the convenience of driving with the economical savings of public transit by using CTA Park & Ride facilities. Parking is available for approximately 6,000 cars at CTA’s 17 Park & Ride facilities, mainly at rail terminals, throughout the CTA system.
Park & Ride stations are listed on CTA’s system map and on the CTA’s website at
http://www.transitchicago.com/parking/. Customers may also obtain information on Park & Ride facilities by calling 312-836-7000.
CTA Fare Information
Bus customers who use CTA fare media pay $2.00 to ride. For rail customers or customers who pay cash on the bus, the fare is $2.25. Customers who use CTA fare media may transfer for a 25 cent fee. Transfers are not available for customers paying fares in cash.
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