The Associated Student Government Analytics Committee received two years of funding to continue the Chicago Express Pilot program, a shuttle that takes students from Northwestern to various locations in Chicago on Saturdays.
The program initially received one year of funding in 2023, according to Jacob Atkins (Weinberg ’24), a former member of ASG Analytics who helped implement the Chicago Express. He said the idea for the shuttle stemmed from discussions within the committee about how to increase student engagement within Chicago.
“The city is a really great resource for students but it’s hard to access, especially on weekends where there’s a lot of gaps in the Metra schedule,” Atkins said. “The CTA, specifically the Purple Line, is quite unreliable for students and they don’t trust it.”
The committee presented data about the project in April 2023 to the Office of Budget and Planning, including student interest in visiting Chicago, preferred destinations and the reliability of transit, which led to the first round of funding for the shuttle service.
After launching the shuttle, Atkins said the committee collected ridership data, made adjustments to the shuttle’s schedule and re-presented their findings to administration in spring 2024 – resulting in an additional two years of funding starting Fall Quarter.
The shuttle runs on select Saturdays throughout the quarter. The schedule, including specific dates of operation, can be found on NU’s Transportation & Parking website and through the TripShot tracker app.
The service connects students with popular Chicago destinations including the Magnificent Mile, NU’s Chicago campus and Millennium and Grant Parks. Students can ride the shuttle for free by presenting their Wildcard upon boarding.
Weinberg sophomore Michelle Zhou said she rode the Chicago Express to “get out of the Evanston bubble.”
“I like taking the Chicago Express because first of all and most importantly of all, it’s free,” said Zhou. “Second of all, it’s pretty efficient because there’s not too many stops so you can get downtown in about the same amount of time that you could if you were actually driving.”
Zhou said she enjoys taking the shuttle downtown to explore new coffee shops and visit one of her favorite stores, Brandy Melville. She said she hopes the shuttle expands to include more neighborhoods and suburbs of Chicago, giving students access to a wider range of locations outside of the downtown area.
Weinberg sophomore and ASG Analytics co-chair Roberto Borsetti said the committee plans to grow the program gradually as ridership increases.
“From our highest peak day in Fall Quarter compared to Spring Quarter, in Spring Quarter we saw a 50% increase in ridership,” said Borsetti. “It’s evident that students are using it … and we hope it’s only going to increase from there as more students are receptive to this program and utilize it to go down to Chicago.”
Borsetti said the committee is gathering more student feedback to assess whether students would like the shuttle to run on more days besides Saturday or visit additional destinations.
The shuttle has been a great alternative for students financially, but also is a reliable and safe option, Borsetti said. He added that it allows students to explore areas beyond Evanston.
“(The Chicago Express) makes it far more convenient for students to go down to Chicago and also get to know more about the region that they’re a part of,” said Borsetti. “This is a big part of being a Northwestern student, but it’s also being mindful that there is a greater Chicago area around us.”
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