CTA trims, even as other cities rebuild transit levels
CHICAGO -- Louciana Johnson thought his corporate wellness job’s move to Merchandise Mart downtown would ease his commute, allowing him to take the Brown Line instead of paying for ride-shares.
Johnson remembered trains once arriving nearly back to back during rush hour. If one train was too crowded, it was easy enough to wait until a less crowded train arrived.
But that is no longer the case. Early one recent morning, Johnson, 43, arrived at the Western Brown Line station to find train trackers that provided only an approximation of wait times, and the approximation was wrong. After waiting nearly 20 minutes, worried about running late to meet a client, he left and took a ride-share downtown instead — something he said has become a common occurrence.
Johnson is now considering moving his job to Evanston. The struggle to get downtown, combined with fewer potential clients in Loop offices, isn’t worth it. If he has to take a ride-share anyway, it’s easier for him to justify paying for a 15-minute ride to the nearby north suburbs, he said.
“It’s gotten ridiculous,” he said. “I am still trying to figure out at this point how the Brown Line can work in people’s travel schedules. It makes no sense.”
CTA riders across the city have . But Johnson’s commute might be particularly frustrating: Weekday Brown Line schedules were cut by 32% compared with pre-pandemic schedules, more than any other train line, a
