Transit news from Metra and San Diego MTS

Metra is expanding weekend service on the Chicago commuter railroad's UP North Line beginning Sept. 20 to provide the same level of service on both Saturdays and Sundays. The new schedule calls for 15 inbound and outbound trains on both days, an increase of four trains on Saturdays and 12 trains on Sundays. The UP North line connects Chicago to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Seven of the 15 trains, both inbound and outbound from Chicago, terminate at Waukegan, Illinois, rather than Kenosha. Metra also is increasing service on its BNSF Line from Chicago to Aurora, beginning Sept. 8, adding weekday express trains and expanding hourly service on the weekends. The new schedules reflects customer feedback and addresses capacity issues on the trains, Metra officials said in a press release.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System's (MTS) annual ridership, both trolley and bus services, surpassed 80 million passenger trips for the first time since the pandemic. In fiscal-year 2025, the transit agency recorded 81,181,071 boardings, a 7.1% increase from ridership in FY2024. Like most transit agencies, MTS posted ridership losses during the pandemic. Since then, the agency has focused on attracting riders by adding more service, increasing trolley service frequency and bolstering security. "We’ve recovered more than 95% of our pre-pandemic ridership, which speaks volumes about the trust our riders place in MTS and the value of public transit in San Diego,” said MTS CEO Sharon Cooney in a press release.