This review is for the pink line 18th street station in Pilsen - it is so cool! There is beautiful artwork everywhere in the station, on the walls, stairs etc... just like the murals/graffiti in the surrounding community. Definitely check it out if you're ever making a visit for some delicious Hispanic food (recommend Carnitas Uruapan and Panadería Nuevo León nearby) and the National Museum of Mexican Art is a few blocks as well. read more

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Stayed in Little Italy for a long weekend, and this Pink train line (54th and Cermak) was the absolute perfect way to get downtown. Just a few block walk up to Polk Street (UIC Medical District). Felt very safe on the platform and on the train, well lit at night for the return trip. Trains every 8 to 10 minutes. It deposited us at Washington and Wabash, just a mere block away from the Mag Mile and Millenium Park, dead center of the Lakefront. A mere five bucks a day for unlimited riding. Also a very courteous and informative CTA employee, who was very patient with us out-of-towners. read more

Recently began taking the pink line to work vs catching a bus.Even though it requires me to walk a few blocks I much more prefer it to taking the bus.Its just much more convenient and less of a hassle.Besides that the buses are usually PACKED during rush hour.And so far I havent had any issues with the pink line being overcrowded although I suspect they probably do.Pink line will drop me off near some REALLY GOOD restaurants in the Fulton Market District and Pilsen as well.Thumbs up!! read more

My artery, literally. I don't own a car, and work is on the pink line, with the stop just a block from my house. I sit on pink 10 times a week. Before it was Blue, but Pink helps to split the different lines apart and makes it easier to get to work on the west town track. Generally a very safe line, lots of students, hospital workers keep things quiet and responsible, but there always will be characters. I love how 90% of the south-bound train exits at Polk, seems to be the last stop for most people since it is located right in the heart of the medical district. Pink was also the first to go modern (with the new trains and different seating arrangements). Thank goodness for Pink or I would be paying ridiculous amounts of cash for a seat in a car or slow bus. read more

Its the Chicago L, sometimes its fast, sometimes its slow. It usually has a funky smell, but gets you to the loop from university village in due time. The view of downtown is great at night, but it can get a bit sketchy after 11 PM. read more

Cta Pink Line - Public Transportation Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This is the convenient Pink line station off of Polk. My friend lives off of Ashland and Harrison by the Eisenhower and I always thought it was close to the red line. I guess this is closer and much more convenient. Nice small stop with a Dunkin Donuts. Catch the quick and normally quiet pink line to the loop. read more

Ever since the CTA created the new 157 route, my commute has become extremely easy and to top it all off, a bus driver I have gotten to know over the years, Mike, is one of the drivers on the route! Score! A little back story... For over 5 years, I've had one of the friendliest bus drivers around. It didn't matter what route I was normally taking, it seemed that Mike was one of the drivers on the route. We chat a bit here and there and have discussed a wide variety of topics over the years. Always a happy guy, always helpful to the riders on his bus and people asking for help/directions. Awesome. In general, the drivers on this route seem pretty friendly. One of the other drivers has recognized me before and held the bus for a few seconds so that I could cross the street and board the bus. Talk about a life saver during the early morning commute! There's nothing I hate more than missing the bus because you're on the wrong side of the street as the bus pulls up. On top of that, you get the bonus of watching your missed bus drive away as you cross the street to wait the 10-15 minutes for the next one. I love this combined route that the CTA created! The drivers are friendly and the buses on this route are generally pretty clean. read more

Bus # 1961 smells like... mixed pee & body odor. Yes I use public transportation... but that doesn't mean that it's okay to sit in a nasty bus. That is why you pay the fare eh? read more

This route is so mind-bogglingly inefficient and slow. It once took me almost an hour to go a little over 2 miles, from N. Michigan Ave to Roosevelt and Racine to meet up with a friend. It took that same friend nearly 50 minutes to get from Roosevelt & Racine to meet up with me at Michigan and Lake, again a distance of a mere 2 miles. This bus stops wayyyyyy too much on this route, seemingly every block or so. If they eliminated some of the bus stops it would definitely make it more efficient. read more

This Pink Line stop is nestled between Rush and UIC hospitals. Inside, you've got your standard heated areas and benches up by the platform, elevator, stairs, and escalators, as well as a Dunkin Donuts, which is open on weekdays. Just outside, you can catch the #157 bus down Taylor Street to Little Italy (or all the way up to Streeterville), or the #7 bus along Harrison. There are several paid parking options nearby, including a lot next to the stop on Paulina and Polk, if you need to park and ride into the city. read more

Takes me from work next to CitiGroup Center right to Michigan Ave where I have appointments (and window shopping). Driver was super nice, no problems with the patrons, bus was clean and non-smelly. Great trip! Bonus points for being on-time. read more

Now I don't know what is it with me being on a train and always finding something crazy happening. On my way home from Stroger hospital, I hopped on the Pink line to find out I was sitting next to two crack heads that kept asking me and the other CTA passengers if we wanted a pair of old rundown shoes because they were free. Then they continued starring at the floor, smiling, and cracking a laugh here and there. One the bright side, this train runs on schedule and once I found $5 underneath the seat :D which I decided to give as tip to the barista people that made good coffee. read more

I ride this train to work everyday. I switch from the red line which is always dirty, smells of piss, and there is always someone sleeping across several seats. I have never seen this on the pink line. Also, this station is more modern and is kept up clean for the most part. The CTA worker here is very nice and says good morning to everyone. There is also a Dunkin Donuts at this stop which is convienant. read more

I used to live near this and it was the absolute worst. Once it took me an hour to go downtown (3.5 miles). I could've walked in that amount of time. UIC students make this line especially bad, because 15 of them will line up at a time to get on, and then only go a block or two. I say "stay away" and that there is almost always a faster way to get to where you're going, even if it's walking. read more

The employees in the Dunkin' Donuts are always friendly and welcoming, even when I don't order anything. I find the pink line to be the cleanest of all the lines leading in and out of the city, possibly because it doesn't service any of the two baseball stadiums or extend into the far south side. My stop is normally Pilsen, but I sometimes find myself riding the line for over an hour while I respond to group conversations on GChat ("human body is not designed to shit in a chair," "It's basically for our posture," "Yes. Elevate your legs, you get more of a squat, so you poop more completely.") A new study shows more young people are suffering strokes and no one knows why. I like to walk from cart to cart as the train's moving, and after about four or five carts I walk into one and see an elderly black man sitting down and holding the hand pole. He doesn't have a shirt on, and his frail body jiggles and trembles with each jostle from the tracks. He never turns to look at me. We're the only two people on the train, so I take out my phone. I switch the camera to face me and proceed to take off my shirt, walk it over to him. I take the seat next to him and now we're both onscreen, him slack jacked and looking wide eyed at his reflection in the phone like a monkey playing with a mirror. I tell him the shirt's his and he runs it through his hands reverently before bursting into tears and babbling Oh Lawd thank you Jesus oh Lawd thank you. The doors pull open and I kiss him on the forehead and then jump off even though it's not my stop. I quickly post the video and stare at my phone until the likes begin to trickle in, the red notification bubbles with a 1, changes to a 2, the number suddenly doubles, people begin sharing the video and then their friends share it, more likes quickly amassing, just gushing into my feed, and when people share it they caption the video with things like "Faith in humanity: restored," "Love," "This will get you through another day." I'm feeling optimistic, standing alone and shivering on the Polk stop platform. The close proximity to Rush University Medical center makes the Polk stop an excellent public transportation option for those seeking medical attention without paying garage parking fees. Both canopies on either side of the tracks are well lit, with heated lamps during the winter, except instead of the heat grills radiating a bright orange glow, right now the grills are metallic and lifeless. There's the long faint hiss from the street below, the sound of a car speeding on wet pavement. read more

Mornings are kind of ok on this route but evening rush is super un reliable. It really needs to be broken up into two routes: Mag Mile-Loop and Loop-Little Italy/west. Almost nobody takes the entire route because it takes a silly amount of time to do it. The Loop Link has improved things but it still gets stuck in traffic a LOT mid route, which screws up the bus spacing. The evening rush wait is often 20 minutes plus for a bus going West to Little Italy-because the busses all get bunched downtown and stuck in Mag Mile traffic. Oh and it does not run on weekends.... Little Italy and Tri-Taylor neighborhood needs this bus badly, but need it more frequent and ON TIME (especially in evening). read more