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A Tierlist of Every CTA Bus Route on UIC Campus
- Thomas Rose
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
UIC's campus has a multitude of bus routes crisscrossing its boundaries, from often-used commuter routes like the venerable Route 60, massive crosstown routes like the Route 8 bus, and weekday-only routes like Route 157. These buses all have a multitude of uses and applications when it comes to traversing both within and outside UIC's campus, and like everything about this campus, I have to quantify it for this blog. Keep in mind, this is only going to be about routes for the east campus because I've never had to use the Ashland or Western buses that many on the west campus might use.
Starting off, let's cover the basics.
Route 8- Halsted
The Halsted Street bus only has a few use cases for intracampus (within campus) travel, but they are extremely valuable for those who use them; if you live in JST, TBH, MRH, or are otherwise in the University Village area, the 8 bus is a quick and easy way to get to SCE, UIC-Halsted Blue Line stop, or CUPPA and the Art Exhibition Hall. It's also an extremely valuable route for going elsewhere; students living in the area can easily use it to access the Fulton Market, Oldtown, Boystown, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, not to mention the Cermak stop being within walking distance from Chinatown. This leaves the 8 bus as a solid A-tier route; it would be higher if not for some frequency problems.
Route 157- Taylor/Streeterville
The Taylor-Streeterville bus would be so much higher on the tierlist if it wasn't for the fact it has no weekend service, or service after around 7 pm on weekdays. Even though this bus is one of the fastest ways to go between the west and east campus, and visit Taylor Street's best restaurants and shops, this lack of service makes it basically useless for any non-commuting purposes. This leaves it as a C-tier route.
Route 60- Blue Island/26th
This route probably shouldn't be as high as it is, but I personally use it the most out of any route, for both commuting and recreation. With 24/7 service, the Route 60 bus connects campus, particularly the area near SCE and the ARC, with both the lower west side of the city and downtown, connecting UIC with Ogilvie and Union stations as well as amenities in the Loop. With fast, consistent, crosstown service, the 60 bus is a solid S tier.
Route 18- 16th-18th
The 16th-18th Route bus doesn't intersect much with campus, but it's an incredibly quick and convenient way for students in the University Village area to get to the Pilsen neighborhood. As with the 157 bus, this bus stops operation after a certain time in the evening, but at least there's weekend service. This is only one use case, but it is pretty commonly used by UIC students. If it wasn't for a lack of off-peak frequency, this route would be higher, but it's currently an A-tier route.
Route 12- Roosevelt
The Route 12 bus is one of the more consistent and quick routes; if you need to get to the west campus quickly (without taking an ambulance), the 12 bus is extremely straightforward as well as high-capacity. It also is a quick and easy way to get to the lakefront as well, with the line ending within a 10-minute walk from the Field Museum/Shedd Aquarium/Adler Planetarium/Soldier Field complex, leaving the Route 12 bus as a solid S-tier route.
Route 7- Harrison
The Harrison Street bus might seem like an ideal way to travel cross-campus as well, but it essentially does the Blue Line's job, but worse, as it frequently has issues. Most times I have tried to take the Route 7 bus, it's been delayed by magnitudes of over 10 minutes. This alone drops it to a B-tier.
In conclusion, the CTA has extremely varying levels of bus service on UIC campus; some routes are extremely consistent with all-night service, and others are basically trunk routes. Time will tell whether this service will be improved, cut, or otherwise adjusted.
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