CTA ridership up

The agency says 2008 bus and rail service increased by nearly 27 million rides. That's a gain of 5.4 percent.

CTA buses recorded the largest surge, especially from riders along the north lakefront. That may be because commuters switched to buses to avoid construction projects at the Belmont and Fullerton stations.

And there's been a slight drop in ridership on the South Shore rail line between Chicago and South Bend.

Transportation officials say 2008 was down about 1.5 percent. They attribute the drop to job losses in downtown Chicago.