10/14/04
At its monthly meeting today, the Chicago Transit Board approved extensions of experiments for bus route service enhancements in West Rogers Park, Evanston, Skokie, along the South and North Lake Shore Drive corridors and on a route serving a South Side manufacturing campus.
Bus route improvements for West Rogers Park, Evanston and Skokie were originally implemented in June 2003 and a second experiment began in April 2004 to test additional modifications to some routes. The enhancements were designed to provide faster links to and from downtown Evanston and allow faster and more convenient travel between Evanston and surrounding areas. They also offer improved connections between CTA bus and rail lines, better coordination between CTA, Metra and Pace, and better suit Evanston's changing demographic and business climate.
The affected routes in Rogers Park, Evanston and Skokie are: #11 Lincoln, #93 California/Dodge, #96 Lunt, #200 Main Shuttle, #201 Central/Ridge, #202 Main/Emerson, #203 Ridge/Grant, #204 Dodge, #205 Chicago/Golf and #206 Evanston Circulator.
Similarly, the changes implemented along the South and North Lake Shore Drive corridors were designed to benefit customers by improving bus operations, providing additional transit choices and improving travel times. This experiment was launched in August 2003 with a second experiment beginning in April 2004 to test revised routings on some routes.
The affected routes along the South Lake Shore Drive Corridor are: #1 Indiana/Hyde Park, #2 Hyde Park Express, #X3 King Drive Express, #4 Cottage Grove, #X4 Cottage Grove Express, #6 Jackson Park Express, #14 Jeffery Express, #15 Jeffery Local, #26 South Shore Express, #27 South Deering, #28 Stony Island Local, #X28 Stony Island Express, #47 47th, #51 51st and #71 71st/South Shore.
The affected routes along the North Lake Shore Drive Corridor are: #134 Stockton/LaSalle Express, #135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express, #136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express, #143 Stockton/Michigan Express, #144 Marine/Michigan Express, #145 Wilson/Michigan Express, #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express, #147 Outer Drive Express, #148 Clarendon/Michigan Express, #151 Sheridan and #156 LaSalle.
Additionally, a second 180-day experimental period will be implemented on the #X99 Chicago Manufacturing Campus Express that serves a manufacturing campus on the Southeast Side. The route, launched in May 2004, serves eight stops between the 95th Street Red Line station and the Chicago Manufacturing Campus at 126th/Avenue O.
A second experimental period will enable CTA staff to continue to monitor and analyze the route and permit additional customer feedback. The campus houses manufacturers that supply parts to a nearby Ford plant.
For details about all CTA service, call 836-7000 (all local area codes) or visit the CTA web site at www.transitchicago.com.
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