The Chicago Transit Authority plans to increase the the number of daily Purple Line train runs but eliminate the overnight Route 201 bus service in Evanston.
The changes are part of a crowding reduction plan developed with Northwestern University’s Transportation Center to comprehensively restructure CTA routes and schedules based on changing ridership patterns.
The Route 201 “Owl” service runs in overnight hours when Purple Line trains are out of service. It travels from Central to Howard Streets along Ridge and Chicago avenues.
The CTA says on weekdays an average of only 46 riders take the 201 overnight bus, or about five people on each run.
The CTA will hold a public hearing on the changes at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, at CTA headquarters, 567 W. Lake St. in Chicago.
The CTA Board is scheduled to vote on the plan Sept. 12. Approved changes would take effect Dec. 16. The public can comment on the plan online.
Evanston owl service
It was about 1997 when CTA dropped overnight Purple Line service (which required only one operator) and replaced it with bus service (which required two drivers, thus was more expensive). The reason was not to save money, evidently, but to make Evanston share the sacrifice of other areas where service was being cut.
You are forgetting the eight
You are forgetting the eight workers required to man the stations when the train operates.