iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Car Free Keith

took a crack at figuring out bus speed on Michigan Ave Mansueto data as before. 30 days (6/28 to 7/28). Plotting minutes per mile—higher is slower/more time can definitely make the case for extension to Mag Mile. but NB between Ida B Wells & Wacker is BAD when it's bad

Speed (or its inverse, minutes per mile) plotted for Michigan Ave bus stops, for both northbound (left panel) and southbound (right panel), for Mon-Thu between 3-6 pm. Plot goes from Roosevelt to Chicago Ave.

Northbound:
Median speed is ~12 mph at Roosevelt, and decreases to ~6 mph between Ida B. Wells and Madison, and stays there until Chicago. 95th percentile in min/mi (5th percentile in speed) is ~10 at Roosevelt and rises to ~28 just south of Madison, and stays above 20 for most of the way until Chicago.

Southbound:
Median speed is ~5 mph at Chicago, and steadily increases to ~12 mph at Roosevelt. 95th percentile in min/mi (5th percentile in speed) is ~21 at Chicago, peaks at ~32 between Madison and Wacker, and decreases to ~12 at Roosevelt.

Speed (or its inverse, minutes per mile) plotted for Michigan Ave bus stops, for both northbound (left panel) and southbound (right panel), for Fri between 3-6 pm. Plot goes from Roosevelt to Chicago Ave.

Northbound:
Median speed is ~10 mph at Roosevelt, and decreases to ~5 mph between Ida B. Wells and Madison, and stays there until Chicago. 95th percentile in min/mi (5th percentile in speed) is ~12 at Roosevelt and rises to ~30 just south of Madison, and stays ~19 for most of the way until Chicago.

Southbound:
Median speed is ~5 mph at Chicago, and steadily increases to ~10 mph at Roosevelt. 95th percentile in min/mi (5th percentile in speed) is ~25 at Chicago, peaks at ~31 between Madison and Wacker, and decreases to ~12 at Roosevelt.

Speed (or its inverse, minutes per mile) plotted for Michigan Ave bus stops, for both northbound (left panel) and southbound (right panel), for Sat-Sun between 3-6 pm. Plot goes from Roosevelt to Chicago Ave.

Northbound:
Median speed is ~10 mph at Roosevelt, and decreases to ~5 mph around Madison, and goes back up to ~6 mph before Wacker and mostly stays there until Chicago. 95th percentile in min/mi (5th percentile in speed) is ~15 at Roosevelt and rises to ~39 just south of Madison, and stays between 15-20 from Wacker to Chicago.

Southbound:
Median speed is ~5 mph at Chicago, and steadily increases to ~10 mph at Roosevelt. 95th percentile in min/mi (5th percentile in speed) is ~21 at Chicago, there are no large peaks, and steadily decreases to ~10 at Roosevelt.

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Kara Transit Authority @stormykara.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I rode a CTA express route that only makes five stops going northbound while I work on the next Ticket To Illinois episode here I throw this at you and run away youtu.be/KubJ99xuEPo

youtu.be

The CTA Route With The Least Stops

YouTube video by Stormy Kara

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

And yes my next video, my 20th one, is about the Madison bus. But not the one in Chicago

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Madison, WI launched its BRT in Sept 2024. Frequencies were still the same 15 mins, but the high quality bus lanes/stations, speed gains, & nicer 60-ft buses led to 20% higher ridership in the first 2 months YoY. Treat bus riders w/ dignity & they respond!

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Michael McLean @michaelmclean.me · 30/09/2026

The biggest victory here isnt even the bus lane itself. Its a victory over The Process: - make a committee - meet with The Groups - make a report - start a non-binding referendum - make a pilot - make a report - make a plan - deploy a few years later People are SICK of this.

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Not technically Chicago proper, but I have a strange affinity for all the southernmost neighborhoods and inner southern burbs of Chicago because of a lot of scenes like this. Nature mingled with industry.

View from the bridge over the Cal Sag canal in Blue Island, IL.

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It never ceases to amaze me how vast Chicago’s South Side is

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Lena G R @lenagr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Director Alvarez asks what you'd do if you could do something bold to improve transit? CTA answers dedicated bus lanes, we're way behind our peer municipalities. A bold goal of 100-150 miles of dedicated lanes would be transformative. Ridership #s showing people want to ride the bus! 🚌👏

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Working on a Madison BRT video and wanted to try and score their system based on the ITDP BRT Scorecard. I was even a bit generous with the points in some areas, but it still falls short of the 20 pts in the “BRT Basics” category to be considered “true BRT” per ITDP.

Table showing Madison BRT scoring almost 18 points according to the ITDP BRT scorecard system.

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

David Bickford @exit2lef.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Rigorously researched, balanced video about the good, bad, and ugly of #Phoenix past, present, and future. Nice to see guest appearances by my friends Jamie and Skitch.

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

New video! This month we’re going to Phoenix to explore a 2023 study that halted new suburban developments due to overuse of the groundwater. Is transit the answer? Watch to find out (it is) youtu.be/fTavdZv7khk?...

youtu.be

Phoenix Can't Keep Growing Like This

YouTube video by Car Free Keith

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

My train has been stopped at this junction for 20 mins, that’s probably good right?

Train 4 on a map located a few miles west of Galesburg, IL

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Chicago 🏳️‍⚧️🌱 @chicagotrans-plant.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Alrighty I just crashed my bike (a little! I'm fine! It's fine!) but I am a bit shaken up so I'm not gonna do anything productive so let's talk about the far north side CTA routes: There are 3 far north side CTA routes: - 151 - 49b - 148 All others are derivatives Let's begin.

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸 @jmisci.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Best editorial I’ve seen all year from the Chicago Tribune yesterday. It’s undeniable that local communities have historically been excluded from consequential decisions, but the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. We now live in an era defined by weaponized resistance to change.

editorial: Northwestern's Ryan Field, Amtrak, Emanuel, Quantum, O'Hare Flyer all beset by objectors

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

jeez Louise, what are we doing here

Blue Line schedule showing trains in 3 minutes and 29 minutes

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸 @jmisci.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I’ll say it again: Every time Illinois state representatives choose not to expand multifamily housing rights, they admit they’re okay with Texas snatching our electoral votes. Local housing micromanagement is ensuring Republican dominance for years to come. Time for the state to crack down.

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I fear I have the “will it play in Peoria” middle of the road dialect www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

NY Times dialect quiz showing similarities between Omaha, Toledo, and Ft Wayne

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Chicago 🏳️‍⚧️🌱 @chicagotrans-plant.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

To quote @carfreekeith.bsky.social, "you're riding the CTA infrequent network, arriving in 46 minutes or less, all day, every day"

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Apparently they’ve eliminated the slow zones

A Transit app trip summary showing a Purple Line trip at 264 mph.

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I just took the Red Express to the Local Purple (transferred from NB Red to NB Purple so at Fullerton so I could get off at Wellington)

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

NITA Chicago @nitachicago.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

New agency, who dis? 💁‍♀️ NITA.Illinois.gov

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

@nitachicago.bsky.social is officially live, what a day! If you wanna learn more about what NITA is and what it could do, watch this video I made back in June: youtu.be/eH-ZsEoGu_g?...

youtu.be

The Most Dramatic Transit Reform in America

YouTube video by Car Free Keith

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Meet me on Milwaukee today (no seriously I’ll be posted up at whatever intersection they assign me to so come see me)

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Star:Line Chicago @starlinechicago.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Every suburban homeowner should be supporting higher density development. We can't cut our way to prosperity but no one likes paying higher taxes either, so the only way out is (building) up, getting more new residents paying taxes in our communities.

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Michael McLean @michaelmclean.me · 24/08/2026

These two buses likely have more passengers than all cars in this video. CDOT could put paint down and create bus lanes in a few weeks of work. The lack of urgency to make transit faster is just infuriating. Vote for transit riders in the upcoming election!

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Another one from our favorite Anonymous Bus Operator. This definitely changed my perspective on bus bunching citythatworks.substack.com/p/view-from-...

citythatworks.substack.com

View from the wheel: Why are all the buses stacked together?

An hour in the life of a simple bus route

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Kara Transit Authority @stormykara.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🎉 Premiering 8/20 @ 6pm Central The second video of visiting every Amtrak station in Illinois! We continue the series with the Lincoln Service, a 110mph line paralleling the famous Route 66. www.youtube.com/watch?v=27jq...

youtube.com

I Visited Every Amtrak Station in Illinois - Lincoln Service (Ep. 2)

YouTube video by Stormy Kara

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I love how precise Chicago street signs can be sometimes. Like thank you for telling me that this specific block of E 37th St is actually at 3662 South

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Lake. Big Lake. @lakebiglake.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

This is the level of bus service which, if it’s reliable, makes it so that households need not own a car - or in some cases, need not own more than one car. Car ownership costs around $10,000 a year. These bus schedules make living more affordable. chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...

chicago.suntimes.com

CTA adding 4 bus routes to Frequent Network

The Frequent Network provides bus service every 10 minutes or less. The new routes include the No. 35 31st/35th, No. 74 Fullerton, No. 85 Central and No. 8 Halsted routes.

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The fact that we never got bus lanes on Ashland is a doggone crime

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Probably the thing I’ve been most impressed with in Phoenix is the presence of transit security on light rail that actually care and are also congenial with riders. I got fare checked twice on my last trip!

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The fact that it looked like that pre 2016 is baffling! But how many other intersections *should* be given this treatment but the loud minority thinks it “would never work”?

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

B.J. L-R @westtowns-urbanist.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Hard to explain how satisfying it is to watch a thunderstorm on a Midwestern summer Sunday afternoon

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Reposted by Car Free Keith

Star:Line Chicago @starlinechicago.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Today would be a great day to #BuildTheTunnel

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I wonder how much Metra spends on brake pads a year. I think I found their $47 million in efficiencies or whatever it is

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

New video, much different from my others. This one’s less about transit and more about street design. youtu.be/5REVPlLP9Zw?...

youtu.be

How Anyone Can Redesign Their Neighborhood

YouTube video by Car Free Keith

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I officially have a year’s worth of monthly video topics planned out. It’s a good feeling but some of them sound so fun to make that I wish I could do them all right now

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Would love to seem them run the S. Chicago Branch about as often as the 6 bus runs. Could even run them as two-car sets instead of 4 if equipment’s an issue. Then run the 6 bus as a local from 47th to 79th and position those 60-foot buses elsewhere. The train is truly so much better in this case!

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

every time I go to the beach in Chicago I still do a little joyous chuckle to myself because how is a place this beautiful actually real?

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Working on a video about Palmer Square this month & I’ve never had such a relaxing video subject. Just what I needed

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

I love that my Amtrak train has been stopped for over an hour somewhere down the line due to “signal problems”

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Car Free Keith @carfreekeith.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Also maybe it’s just me but has the Amtrak app just straight up not worked for booking trips lately for anyone else?

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