Chicago Bus Ridership

Created by Ruben Gallardo

Map Explanation

The map shows all of Chicago's bus routes. Playing the animation or searching a specific month and year changes a route's color based on whether ridership that month is above, below, or near the 12-month moving average. The monthly ridership dataset spans from January 2001 to September 2024.

Find a Specific Bus Route

The graph below updates if a specific route is clicked on the map itself or searched in the textbox below. Find out if ridership on your favorite bus route is back to pre-pandemic levels or if it already was a ghost of its former glory in April 2020.

Note from Developer: This project was inspired by the growing threat of climate change and renewed efforts to build a Bus Rapid Transit route on Western Avenue (Bus Route Numbers: 49 & X49). To cut carbon emissions, Chicago needs more buses and less cars on the road. I hope this map reaches decision makers in Chicago's City Council and those at the CTA to help inform future improvements to the bus system.

Data Source: Chicago Transit Authority (2024) - Bus Routes Ridership - Daily Totals by Route
Licensed under a Limited, Non-Exclusive Developer License Agreement. Use of this data does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by the Chicago Transit Authority.

Map Legend

Color Scale

The map shows how monthly CTA bus ridership compares to a 12-month moving average for each route.

The color scale smoothly transitions from red to green to highlight routes with notable ridership changes. Click on a specific route in the map to see its ridership trends graphed in the side panel.