Fourth of July CTA service increased, Taste of Chicago road closures to begin Thursday

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The CTA is increasing service on trains and buses for Fourth of July weekend.

Service on the Red, Blue, Brown and Orange Line trains will be increased beginning Friday, which will continue as the CTA also increases service on the Green and Pink Lines Saturday. The increase will include both longer trains and more frequent service, depending on the train line:

• Red Line: Longer trains until 1 a.m., more frequent service between 7 p.m. and midnight both nights
• Blue Line: Longer trains until midnight both nights, more frequent service from 6:30 p.m.- 1 a.m. Friday
• Brown Line: Service hours extended until 1 a.m. and more frequent service between 8-11:30 p.m. Friday. Longer trains operating from 7 p.m. until the end of service both nights
• Green Line: Longer trains beginning in the afternoon until the end of service both nights
• Orange Line: More frequent service on Friday from 7:30-10:30 p.m. both nights. Longer trains beginning at 5 p.m. until the end of service on Friday
• Pink Line: Longer trains beginning in the afternoon until the end of service both nights

Bus service on routes to Navy Pier and the Loop will be increased, including the #3 King; #4 Cottage Grove; #12 Roosevelt; #J14 Jeffery Jump; #29 State; #65 Grand; #66 Chicago; #124 Navy Pier; #130 Museum Campus; and #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express.

CTA and Pace completed the transition to the Ventra fare system July 1. Riders can no longer use old magnetic stripe cards but can still buy passes through Ventra.

Set-up for this year's Taste of Chicago also begins this weekend, as the following road closures downtown are scheduled to start at 6 a.m. July 3 and continue until July 14:

• Columbus, from Monroe to Balbo
• Jackson, from Michigan to Columbus
• Congress, from Columbus to semi-circle

This year's Taste of Chicago will run from July 9-13.