Ridership Rising for Route 201 Bus for Northwestern Students, Staff

Evanston, IL - Ridership on the Route 201 bus, which offers free rides for Northwestern University students and staff during the school year, has increased 19 percent, according to Evanston Now.

The increase in ridership includes 10,000 new rides a month, more than three times the number of riders on the school’s shuttle bus, said Chicago Transit Authority spokesman Jeffrey Tolman to the Daily Northwestern, Evanston Now reported.

The Route 201 bus is part of a 5-year agreement that began July 2015 between the Chicago Transit Authority and Northwestern University. The university agreed to reimburse the CTA for the cost of $2 fares for Northwestern riders, who must show a valid university photo identification card to ride the bus for free during the school year, according to a July Northwestern news release about the agreement.

The agreement states riders will be charged the standard CTA bus fare for service in July and August, and students will be able to use the Ventra U-Pass for discounted travel during the summer.

The 201 bus route replaced the Ryan Field Shuttle to reduce traffic congestion with the consolidation of redundant transit options, and it also offers extended hours from September to June, the release states.

The No. 201 bus route runs from the CTA Howard bus and rail terminal to the Northwestern campus, with stops in the Evanston business district, at Ryan Field and down Central Street to the Westfield Old Orchard shopping mall in Skokie, the release states.

Service on the No. 201 route is provided weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Photo courtesy of Northwestern University.