CTA ridership is up more than 20% since May 1 as Chicagoans return to trains and buses, and it continues to grow steadily, officials say. But ridership still remains at less than half of pre-pandemic levels.

       Since January, overall ridership has gone up 56% to 4 million rides a week, according to the CTA, rising as the city and state reduced restrictions related to COVID-19.

       Before the pandemic, there were around 1.5 million riders on a given day, which plummeted to near 250,000 during the pandemic. Now ridership is back up to around 600,000 riders a day, according to CTA spokesperson Catherine Hofinski.

       Riders wait for a CTA Red Line subway train in the Loop on May 18, 2021. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

       She said the CTA has worked to bring people back with a campaign it called “When You’re Ready, We’re Ready,” featuring improved sanitation and fare deals.

       In May, the agency announced an initiative to increase ridership through sanitary improvements like power washing and more frequent cleaning, as well as repairs and painting. It also reduced fares on daily and multiday passes.

       The CTA expects an even greater uptick in the fall as students return to school, Hofinski said.

       A CTA commuter prepares to board his bus at Madison Street near State Street in downtown Chicago on May 26, 2021. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

       Many residents stopped riding the trains and buses during the pandemic out of concerns about COVID-19, because many downtown events and attractions were closed and because many students and employees were learning or working from home. The CTA said the largest increase in rides since May 1 was on buses and trains to and from the Loop.

       All CTA stations, trains and buses require passengers to have on masks at all times, per the federal mandate, until at least September, according to Hofinski.

       Hofinski anticipates ridership will keep increasing as more people get vaccinated and businesses, workplaces and schools continue to open back up.

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