New ridership for old rail: An analysis of changes in the utilization of Chicago's urban rail system, 1990–2008. And a peek into what happened thereafter. Marcelo E. Lascano Kežić * and Pablo L. Durango-Cohen ** A summarized version of this paper was published in 2018 in Research in Transport Economics ABSTRACT We analyze the evolution of the spatial distribution of ridership in Chicago’s Elevated Train between 1990 and 2017, and relate it to concurrent urban processes. Specifically, we analyze aggregate and station-level average daily passenger entries and census data to establish links between ridership changes and urban processes. Overall, we observe that 2007-2008 ridership was slightly below 1989-1990 levels, but recovering since the late 1990s when urban rail ridership was approximately 10% below the 1989-1990 levels. Recent ridership gains have shown a strong tendency to concentrate within a 10 km radius from the CBD. Outside of this area, losses since 1989-1990 have been steady. Over the analysis period, the city’s population dropped by 3.5%. The ridership recovery and its spatial distribution appear, therefore, to be related to acceleration of urban renewal processes, with an increase in the number of young professionals residing in neighborhoods close to the CBD, coupled with further professionalization and concentration of employment in the CBD. Immigration also appears to be a factor contributing to ridership recovery. These observations have significant implications for the management of Chicago’s urban rail system, and also for policies intended to encourage (re)development in close proximity to rail stations or the CBD. Keywords: Chicago; Urban transportation; Rail ridership; Gentrification; Immigration. 1. Introduction Between 1990 and 2010 urban rail ridership and population in Chicago displayed opposite trends: ridership increased, while population within the city declined. This happened in a context of profound changes: urban renewal, downtown strengthening, and Hispanic immigration were among the most significant. The 2000 census registered 4% more people living in Chicago than in 1990, and 5.6% more people working downtown, whereas the number of trips being carried by the city’s urban rail system dropped 7.1%, with a fare that remained virtually unchanged in constant terms. Up to early 2008, ridership was recovering, showing 6.9% more entries than in 2000. Considered along the previous decade’s population increase, this growth suggested that another slight jump in the number of city residents would be registered in 2010. However, census data revealed a 7% decrease from 2000. During both decades, bus ridership dropped steadily, reflecting decoupled performance of bus and rail. We are not aware of previous studies linking variations in the ridership of Chicago’s Elevated Train, one of the oldest urban transit systems in the world, to urban * Corresponding Author. Fulbright Fellow at Northwestern University 2007-2009. Now at University of Buenos Aires, School of Engineering – Department of Railway Engineering. +54 911 4937 9017 Email: marcelo.lascano@fulbrightmail.org mejlascano@yahoo.de ** Associate Professor, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, A332, Evanston, IL 60208, Tel: (847) 491-4008, Fax: (847) 491-4011, Email: pdc@northwestern.edu