The CTA calculates ridership by counting the customers who board a transit vehicle (bus or rail).
Cermak station saw the largest increase in ridership with a 38.6% rise.
Rail and bus traffic took a serious hit during the pandemic. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago's suburbs, saw a 97% decrease in ridership according to the Active Transportation Alliance. According to the Federal Transit Authority, Chicago's public transportation sector received $1.43 billion in bailout funds from the CARES act to combat the decrease in ridership.
While ridership hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, CTA's president Dorval R. Cart Jr. said weekday ridership has doubled since the initial shutdown and continues to increase.
| Rank | Station | Ridership increase from 2021 to 2022 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cermak | 38.6 |
| 2 | Morgan | 33.3 |
| 3 | Quincy/Wells | 27.6 |
| 4 | LaSalle/Van Buren | 27.4 |
| 5 | Addison (Red Line - North Side) | 26.5 |
| 6 | Merchandise Mart | 25.1 |
| 7 | Washington/Wells | 25 |
| 7 | Adams/Wabash | 25 |
| 9 | Kildare | 23.9 |
| 10 | Montrose (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 23.8 |
| 11 | Ashland (Green Line - Lake Street) | 23.3 |
| 12 | Rockwell | 23 |
| 12 | Clinton (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 23 |
| 14 | Southport | 22.3 |
| 15 | Monroe (Blue Line - Dearborn Subway) | 20.1 |
| 16 | Clinton (Green Line - Lake Street) | 19.7 |
| 17 | Grand (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 17.8 |
| 18 | Jackson (Blue Line - Dearborn Subway) | 17.7 |
| 19 | Chicago (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 17.3 |
| 20 | Halsted (Orange Line) | 16.9 |
| 21 | Paulina | 16.8 |
| 22 | Logan Square | 16.4 |
| 22 | Chicago (Brown Line) | 16.4 |
| 24 | State/Lake | 16.2 |
| 25 | Western (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 16 |
| 25 | Irving Park (Brown Line) | 16 |
| 25 | Ridgeland | 16 |
| 28 | Montrose (Brown Line) | 15.4 |
| 29 | Cermak-Chinatown | 15.2 |
| 30 | Belmont (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 14.6 |
| 31 | Wellington | 14.3 |
| 32 | Armitage | 13.9 |
| 33 | Division | 13.8 |
| 34 | Harold Washington Library | 13.5 |
| 35 | LaSalle | 13.4 |
| 36 | 43rd | 13 |
| 36 | California (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 13 |
| 36 | Francisco | 13 |
| 36 | Midway Airport | 13 |
| 40 | Addison (Brown Line) | 12.2 |
| 41 | Jarvis | 11.9 |
| 42 | Sedgwick | 11.7 |
| 43 | O'Hare Airport | 11.6 |
| 44 | Pulaski (Pink Line) | 11.1 |
| 44 | Western (Orange Line) | 11.1 |
| 44 | Ashland (Orange Line) | 11.1 |
| 47 | Thorndale | 10.8 |
| 48 | Argyle | 10.2 |
| 48 | Jackson (Red Line - State Street Subway) | 10.2 |
| 48 | Jefferson Park | 10.2 |
| 51 | Addison (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 9.7 |
| 51 | 35th/Archer | 9.7 |
| 53 | Kostner | 9.5 |
| 53 | Kimball | 9.5 |
| 53 | Western (Brown Line) | 9.5 |
| 56 | Harrison | 9.4 |
| 57 | Damen (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 9.3 |
| 57 | Kedzie (Orange Line) | 9.3 |
| 59 | Roosevelt | 8.8 |
| 59 | Diversey | 8.8 |
| 59 | Clark/Lake | 8.8 |
| 62 | Oakton | 8.2 |
| 62 | Rosemont | 8.2 |
| 64 | Linden | 8.1 |
| 65 | North/Clybourn | 7.8 |
| 65 | California (Green Line - Lake Street) | 7.8 |
| 67 | Granville | 7.6 |
| 68 | Damen (Brown Line) | 7.4 |
| 69 | Wilson | 7.3 |
| 70 | Cumberland | 7.1 |
| 70 | Kedzie (Pink Line) | 7.1 |
| 72 | Howard | 7 |
| 72 | Monroe (Red Line - State Street Subway) | 7 |
| 72 | Western (Pink Line) | 7 |
| 72 | Sheridan | 7 |
| 72 | Pulaski (Orange Line) | 7 |
| 72 | Washington | 7 |
| 72 | Oak Park (Green Line - Lake Street) | 7 |
| 72 | Fullerton | 7 |
| 72 | Chicago (Red Line - North Side) | 7 |
| 72 | Belmont (Red Line - North Side) | 7 |
| 82 | 18th | 6.1 |
| 83 | Morse | 6 |
| 83 | Central (Green Line - Lake Street) | 6 |
| 83 | 54th/Cermak | 6 |
| 83 | Racine | 6 |
| 83 | Kedzie (Brown Line) | 6 |
| 83 | Lake | 6 |
| 83 | Laramie | 6 |
| 83 | Washington/Wabash | 6 |
| 91 | Austin (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 5.4 |
| 92 | 47th (Green Line - South Elevated) | 5.3 |
| 93 | 95/Dan Ryan | 5.1 |
| 94 | Dempster | 4.9 |
| 94 | South Boulevard | 4.9 |
| 96 | Irving Park (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 4.7 |
| 97 | Grand (Red Line - North Side) | 4.5 |
| 98 | Kedzie (Green Line - Lake Street) | 4.2 |
| 99 | Oak Park (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 4.1 |
| 100 | Cicero (Pink Line) | 4 |
| 100 | Central (Purple Line - Evanston) | 4 |
| 100 | Clark/Division | 4 |
| 103 | Kedzie-Homan | 3.3 |
| 104 | Harlem (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 3.2 |
| 105 | Loyola | 2.9 |
| 105 | UIC-Halsted | 2.9 |
| 105 | California (Pink Line) | 2.9 |
| 108 | Austin (Green Line - Lake Street) | 2.4 |
| 109 | Ashland/63rd | 1.7 |
| 110 | Bryn Mawr | 1.6 |
| 111 | Medical Center | 1.3 |
| 112 | Noyes | 1.1 |

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