Already an extremely busy connecting point for several bus services, the CTA’s 95th St Red Line station saw ridership increase 2 percent in 2006 over the prior year, to 4.32 million customers, says CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney.
The CTA is currently taking one of the first steps toward a possible extension of the Red Line to South 130th Street, through the Roseland and West Pullman neighborhoods. “We’ve applied for funding from the federal government to do that, and we’ve been designated as eligible for what’s called the ‘New Starts’ funding,” Gaffney said.
“It’s a competitive process,” Gaffney went on. “We have to follow a number of procedures that they lay out, and one of them is to do something called an alternatives analysis, where we look at what we’re proposing, as well as what some of the other options are to meet that same need. And we’re having public meetings … on Tuesday and Wednesday to get input on that.”
A terminal at 130th could allow for smooth bus-to-rail connections for 12 CTA bus routes and four Pace routes. It would also connect the Red Line with the Metra South Shore Line and Metra’s proposed Southeast service commuter rail.
