CTA Ashland bus extension begins Sept. 3

The CTA will extend the northern end of the popular No. 9 Ashland Avenue bus route to the newly renovated Ravenswood Metra station beginning Sept. 3.

The Ashland bus' new endpoint will be at Lawrence and Ravenswood avenues, a little over a mile farther north from its current terminus at Irving Park Road, the CTA announced Tuesday.

The extension puts an additional 21,000 residents and 15,000 jobs within a half mile of the route, according to the CTA.

“The [No.] 9 is among our best-utilized routes, transporting an average of more than 16,000 riders every weekday,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said in a news release.

The CTA previously aimed to begin the extension on Aug. 25. The City Council's Transportation Committee voted to approve the route change in July.

Buses along the extended route are expected to operate every six to 15 minutes, with up to 10 buses per hour during rush periods, city officials have said.

The existing route, which terminates to the south at 103rd Street, has been in place since 1912 when the city used streetcars.