The CTA calculates ridership by counting the customers who board a transit vehicle (bus or rail).
LaSalle/Van Buren station saw the largest increase in ridership with a 39.9% rise.
Rail and bus traffic took a serious hit during the pandemic. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago's suburbs, saw a 97% decrease in ridership according to the Active Transportation Alliance. According to the Federal Transit Authority, Chicago's public transportation sector received $1.43 billion in bailout funds from the CARES act to combat the decrease in ridership.
While ridership hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, CTA's president Dorval R. Cart Jr. said weekday ridership has doubled since the initial shutdown and continues to increase.
Train Stations with Largest Increases in Ridership
| Rank | Station | Ridership increase from 2021 to 2022 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LaSalle/Van Buren | 39.9 |
| 2 | Quincy/Wells | 35.8 |
| 3 | Washington/Wells | 32.5 |
| 4 | Morgan | 32.2 |
| 5 | Montrose (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 30.4 |
| 5 | Kildare | 30.4 |
| 7 | Clinton (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 30.3 |
| 8 | Merchandise Mart | 29.1 |
| 9 | Halsted (Orange Line) | 27.2 |
| 10 | Ashland (Green Line - Lake Street) | 26.5 |
| 11 | Adams/Wabash | 26.1 |
| 12 | Monroe (Blue Line - Dearborn Subway) | 24.6 |
| 13 | State/Lake | 24.5 |
| 14 | Clinton (Green Line - Lake Street) | 22.5 |
| 15 | Chicago (Brown Line) | 21 |
| 15 | Jackson (Blue Line - Dearborn Subway) | 21 |
| 15 | Southport | 21 |
| 18 | Cermak | 19.4 |
| 19 | Central (Purple Line - Evanston) | 18.2 |
| 20 | Ridgeland | 18 |
| 20 | Rockwell | 18 |
| 20 | Rosemont | 18 |
| 20 | Midway Airport | 18 |
| 24 | Chicago (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 17.4 |
| 24 | Paulina | 17.4 |
| 24 | Harold Washington Library | 17.4 |
| 27 | Clark/Lake | 16.9 |
| 28 | Cumberland | 16.8 |
| 29 | Grand (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 16.6 |
| 30 | Western (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 16.5 |
| 31 | Wellington | 16.2 |
| 31 | Western (Orange Line) | 16.2 |
| 33 | Armitage | 15.9 |
| 34 | Kedzie (Pink Line) | 15.5 |
| 35 | LaSalle | 15.2 |
| 36 | Irving Park (Brown Line) | 14.9 |
| 36 | Sedgwick | 14.9 |
| 38 | Kostner | 14.8 |
| 38 | Francisco | 14.8 |
| 40 | Belmont (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 14.7 |
| 41 | Pulaski (Pink Line) | 14.6 |
| 42 | Oakton | 14.5 |
| 43 | 95/Dan Ryan | 14.4 |
| 44 | Jefferson Park | 14.3 |
| 44 | Ashland (Orange Line) | 14.3 |
| 46 | California (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 14.2 |
| 46 | California (Green Line - Lake Street) | 14.2 |
| 48 | Roosevelt | 14.1 |
| 48 | Logan Square | 14.1 |
| 50 | UIC-Halsted | 13.8 |
| 50 | 47th (Green Line - South Elevated) | 13.8 |
| 50 | Addison (Brown Line) | 13.8 |
| 53 | Oak Park (Green Line - Lake Street) | 13.7 |
| 54 | Central (Green Line - Lake Street) | 13.3 |
| 55 | 54th/Cermak | 13.2 |
| 56 | Jarvis | 12.9 |
| 56 | Washington | 12.9 |
| 56 | 43rd | 12.9 |
| 59 | Cicero (Pink Line) | 12.8 |
| 60 | Kedzie-Homan | 12.6 |
| 61 | Montrose (Brown Line) | 12.5 |
| 62 | Wilson | 12.3 |
| 63 | Diversey | 12 |
| 63 | Kedzie (Orange Line) | 12 |
| 63 | 35th/Archer | 12 |
| 63 | Kimball | 12 |
| 67 | Division | 11.4 |
| 67 | Laramie | 11.4 |
| 69 | Austin (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 11.3 |
| 70 | Cermak-Chinatown | 11.2 |
| 71 | Granville | 11.1 |
| 72 | Dempster | 11 |
| 72 | Pulaski (Orange Line) | 11 |
| 72 | Western (Pink Line) | 11 |
| 72 | Austin (Green Line - Lake Street) | 11 |
| 76 | 18th | 10.2 |
| 77 | California (Pink Line) | 10.1 |
| 78 | Howard | 9.9 |
| 79 | Western (Brown Line) | 9.8 |
| 79 | Washington/Wabash | 9.8 |
| 81 | O'Hare Airport | 9.4 |
| 81 | Harlem (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 9.4 |
| 83 | Oak Park (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 8.8 |
| 84 | Addison (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 8.7 |
| 85 | Lake | 8.6 |
| 86 | Damen (Brown Line) | 8.3 |
| 87 | Belmont (Red Line - North Side) | 8.2 |
| 87 | Damen (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 8.2 |
| 87 | Kedzie (Brown Line) | 8.2 |
| 90 | Argyle | 8 |
| 90 | Monroe (Red Line - State Street Subway) | 8 |
| 90 | Medical Center | 8 |
| 90 | 51st | 8 |
| 90 | Halsted (Green Line - Ashland/63rd Branch) | 8 |
| 90 | Thorndale | 8 |
| 90 | Garfield (Green Line - South Elevated) | 8 |
| 97 | Fullerton | 7.4 |
| 98 | Polk | 7.3 |
| 99 | Linden | 7.1 |
| 100 | Western (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 6.9 |
| 101 | Sheridan | 6.8 |
| 102 | Damen (Pink Line) | 6.5 |
| 103 | 87th | 6.4 |
| 104 | South Boulevard | 5.3 |
| 105 | Central Park | 5.2 |
| 106 | Harlem (Green Line - Lake Street) | 5.1 |
| 107 | Kedzie (Green Line - Lake Street) | 5 |
| 107 | North/Clybourn | 5 |
| 107 | Jackson (Red Line - State Street Subway) | 5 |
| 107 | Garfield (Red Line - Dan Ryan) | 5 |
| 111 | Irving Park (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 4.4 |
| 112 | Cicero (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 4 |
| 112 | Ashland/63rd | 4 |
| 112 | Addison (Red Line - North Side) | 4 |
| 115 | Dempster-Skokie | 3.3 |
| 116 | Chicago (Red Line - North Side) | 3.2 |
| 117 | Morse | 2.8 |
| 118 | Clark/Division | 2.3 |
| 119 | Bryn Mawr | 2.1 |
| 120 | 35-Bronzeville-IIT | 1.5 |
| 121 | Loyola | 1 |
| 121 | Cicero (Green Line - Lake Street) | 1 |
| 121 | Grand (Red Line - North Side) | 1 |
| 124 | 47th (Red Line - Dan Ryan) | 0.3 |
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