Chicago Pumps the Brakes on BRT

Chicago City Council members say the city may not see true bus rapid transit (BRT) anytime soon, but “Instead, officials with the CTA and the Chicago Department of Transportation told the Committee on Pedestrian and Public Safety they are also exploring smaller efforts to improve bus travel, such as traffic signals that wait for buses to pass and ways for buses to skip ahead of traffic.”

In an article for the Chicago Sun-Times, David Struett writes, “This is a “dual-track” mindset that the CTA has recently taken up to try to improve bus travel as the agency waits for longer-term federal funding for bigger projects, said Molly Poppe, CTA’s chief of planning and innovation.”

Dedicated bus lanes in some parts of the city sped up bus arrival times by 12 to 21 percent. The city is studying the potential for more bus improvements via its Better Streets for Buses project. 

“One improvement is traffic signal priority, a technology that delays a green light from turning red if it senses a CTA bus nearby is running late. The city has installed this at 130 intersections, and plans to install 49 more in 2025, said Vig Krishnamurthy, managing deputy commissioner at CDOT.”