The most popular CTA commute routes in Chicago in 2026 based on real rider data. See the top origin-destination pairs for trains and buses across the city.
Where are Chicago CTA riders actually going? Not just which lines they ride, but which specific stop-to-stop routes they take the most.
We pulled data from 23,000+ tracked rides on Transit Stats and ranked the most common origin-destination pairs. The results paint a clear picture of how Chicagoans move through the city on public transit.
The Top 15 CTA Commutes in 2026
- Addison to Lake (Red Line): 117 rides
- Bryn Mawr to Belmont (Red Line): 111 rides
- Grand to Belmont (Blue Line): 107 rides
- Belmont to Grand (Red Line): 106 rides
- Merchandise Mart to Belmont (Purple Line): 97 rides
- Sox-35th to Bryn Mawr (Red Line): 92 rides
- Sheridan & Wellington to LaSalle & Adams (134 Stockton-LaSalle Express bus): 92 rides
- Bryn Mawr Red Line to Peterson & California (84 Peterson bus): 91 rides
- Sheridan & Broadway to Sheridan & Kenmore (151 Sheridan bus): 90 rides
- Lake to Addison (Red Line): 85 rides
- Peterson & California to Bryn Mawr Red Line (84 Peterson bus): 85 rides
- Roosevelt to Roosevelt & Jefferson (12 Roosevelt bus): 83 rides
- Belmont & Washtenaw to Belmont Red/Brown/Purple Line (77 Belmont bus): 82 rides
- Roosevelt & Jefferson to Roosevelt (12 Roosevelt bus): 79 rides
- Bryn Mawr to Sox-35th (Red Line): 79 rides
The Red Line Dominates CTA Commute Patterns
8 of the top 15 commute pairs are on the Red Line. That tracks with what we already know about overall CTA ridership statistics. The Red Line carries more riders than any other Chicago L train line, and its north-south route through the city connects residential neighborhoods to the Loop and major employment centers.
What’s interesting is that many of these top pairs are mirror routes. Addison to Lake is #1, and Lake to Addison is #10. Bryn Mawr to Sox-35th is #6, and Sox-35th to Bryn Mawr is #15. These are daily commuters taking the same route to work and back.
CTA Bus Commutes Tell a Different Story
The bus routes in the top 15 are more neighborhood-focused. The 84 Peterson shows up twice (both directions between Bryn Mawr Red Line and Peterson & California), which is a textbook last-mile connection. Riders are taking the Chicago L train for the long haul and then hopping on the 84 bus to get home.
The 77 Belmont pair from Belmont & Washtenaw to the Red/Brown/Purple Line station tells the same story from the west side of the neighborhood. People are using east-west bus routes to connect to north-south train lines.
The 134 Stockton-LaSalle Express pairing (Sheridan & Wellington to LaSalle & Adams) is a direct commuter route. It takes North Side residents straight to the financial district without transferring.
Belmont Is the Center of Everything
Belmont shows up in 5 of the top 15 commute pairs. It’s a destination from Grand, Bryn Mawr, Merchandise Mart, and Washtenaw. It’s an origin for trips to Grand. This confirms what our CTA stop data already showed: Belmont is the single busiest hub in the CTA network for Transit Stats users.
The convergence of three L lines (Red, Brown, Purple) plus major bus routes like the 77 Belmont makes it a natural transfer point for riders coming from all directions.
What the Longest CTA Commutes Look Like
The data also shows which CTA lines carry riders the farthest per trip:
- Orange Line averages 6.4 miles per ride (Midway Airport corridor)
- Blue Line averages 5.9 miles per ride (O’Hare corridor)
- Purple Line averages 5.3 miles per ride (Evanston express)
- Red Line averages 4.5 miles per ride
- Brown Line averages 3.5 miles per ride
The Orange and Blue Lines lead because they serve the two airports and stretch deep into the suburbs. Brown Line rides tend to be shorter because the line winds through dense North Side neighborhoods where stops are closer together.
For buses, the 192 University of Chicago Hospitals Express tops the list at 9.4 miles per ride, followed by the J14 Jeffery Jump at 7.6 miles. Express bus routes naturally cover more ground since they skip stops along the way.
How We Got This Data
This data comes from Transit Stats, a free CTA tracker app that lets Chicago riders track every Ventra card ride and see personal analytics. Thousands of riders have logged more than 23,000 trips, creating one of the most detailed rider-level datasets of CTA usage available. Check out our full CTA ridership data breakdown and CTA rush hour analysis for more insights.