CTA to Halt No. 11 Lincoln Bus East of Western Avenue
Starting in June 2016, the CTA began a trial run for extended service of the No. 11 Lincoln bus. The extended route runs from Fullerton Avenue to the Western Avenue Brown Line stop, but starting Sept. 1 the CTA will end this service route, according to the Chicago Tribune.
This bus route — which services North Side neighborhoods including Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, and Lakeview — used to run regularly. The CTA first cut this service line in 2012, but pressure from residents and Alderman Ameya Pawar (47th Ward) led to the soon-to-end pilot run.
The CTA is citing lack of ridership for the cancellation. The transit organization hoped to see 1,500 riders take advantage of this bus route, but found an average ridership of 500 people per day, according to the report. A number of residents have pointed to the bus’s limited service hours — 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays — as the reason for low ridership.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the trial service run will cost the CTA $932,000 by the time it comes to an end in September. CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase told the Chicago Tribune that an extension of hours would do little to help matters. Instead, extending service would up the CTA’s costs to $248,000 per year and increase ridership by 1,000 people per day.
Chase pointed to alternate transportation in the area, including the CTA Brown Line, according to the report.