CTA touts record ridership since pandemic as boss feels the heat

The Chicago Transit Authority is boasting that riders are returning in droves to trains and buses, setting post-pandemic records.Ridership has increased 13% year-to-date, the CTA announced Thursday. The transit system recorded its busiest day since 2020 on May 8 with more than a million rides.But the rosy news of rebounding ridership follows growing calls for CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. to leave his post. A contingent of City Council members has signed a resolution calling for Mayor Brandon Johnson . Carter oversaw the CTA as riders fled the system during the COVID-19 pandemic as transit crime proliferated and short-staffing contributed to less frequent service. The Sun-Times reported last week that Johnson may be because the former Washington bureaucrat has helped secure federal funding for the Red Line extension project.In the news release, Carter said bus and rail service have increased as part of CTA’s “unprecedented hiring efforts.” The CTA said it plans to train up to 200 new operators, double the number it trained in 2023. CTA said it hired 1,000 bus operators in 2023 and is close to reaching optimal staffing levels, the agency said. The CTA said it has added buses to 29 routes, returning service to near pre-pandemic levels.The CTA also touted that the week of April 28 through May 4 was the second-highest ridership week systemwide since the onset of the pandemic, with 6.22 million train and bus trips. That period trailed only the the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Spring ridership is usually lower than in the fall, so the record is an indication that ridership will continue to recover, the CTA said.