HYDE PARK — The Chicago Transit Authority is considering cutting service on the route No. 10 bus line after the Museum of Science and Industry decided to stop subsidizing the route.
The bus line has carried riders from Downtown to the museum at 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive for more than 10 years, but the museum is saying the route is now too expensive for it to continue subsidizing.
“It is actually not a standard practice for cultural institutions to pay for their own public transit route, but we funded it for many years to keep that option for our guests,” said Renee Mailhiot, a spokeswoman for the museum.
She said it had long been part of the museum’s plans to make sure it was easy for guests to get to the museum, but rising costs have prompted the museum to take a pass on renewing its contract with CTA.
“Unfortunately, the rising cost of maintaining that transit option has become a substantial expense,” Mailhiot said. “In 2015, MSI paid more than $110,000 — and has paid nearly $65,000 in 2016 through April — to the CTA to keep the No. 10 bus operating.”
Ridership has declined by more than 50 percent on the route since it peaked in 2009.
Those who do ride the No. 10 tend to use it more between Memorial Day and Labor Day than during the rest of the year. The route averages 1,811 rides on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day and 1,253 rides on weekends during the rest of the year, according to Jeffery Tolman, a spokesman for the CTA.
CTA is now considering keeping the route for just the summer months between Memorial and Labor days, Tolman said.
He said the CTA board would consider keeping the route running on that more limited schedule. The CTA will present that option at an upcoming public hearing and the full board will vote on it at a later date.
The museum will continue to be accessible by public transit via the No. 2 and No. 6 bus lines and the Metra Electric Line stop at 57th Street, all of which stop within two blocks of the museum.
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