CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority in 2014 saw its highest level of train riderships in more than 50 years, the CTA said in a statement.
The CTA saw a hike in train riders last year as more than 238 million rode the "L" — the highest level of rail ridership since the CTA started tracking ridership in 1961, officials said.
The CTA's total rail ridership increased by nearly 4 percent from 2013. Last year's record-setting ridership exceeded the previous record set in 2012 by more than 7 million riders.
"Theses historic increases in rail ridership prove that our investments in the CTA are starting to pay dividends for residents in every neighborhood," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. "While we have made progress, there is more work to do so now is the time to keep our momentum going so we can drive ridership higher and make sure that Chicago remains economically competitive in every neighborhood for years to come."
The CTA's trains and buses provided more than 514 million rides combined last year, even though bus ridership fell by 8.0 percent. The CTA attributed the lower bus ridership to the extreme weather last winter.
"The record demand for rail service continues as the CTA continues to make the unprecedented transit investments initiated by Mayor Emanuel to improve and modernize our system," CTA president Forrest Claypool said. "We've been able to make these extensive improvements while still holding the line on base fares while adding service to meet demand."
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