Online Study Ranks Chicago's Public Transit Sixth-Best In Nation
By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 26, 2012 9:40PM
WalkScore, a Seattle-based website that lets renters and home buyers determine the walkability of a home's location, released its first list of the nation's public transit systems. As much as we bitch about CTA, Metra and Pace when it inconveniences us, Chicago ranks sixth in the survey.
WalkScore Transit Score measures how well location is served by public transit by assigning a “usefulness” value to nearby transit routes based on frequency, route type, and distance to the nearest stop on the route, thereby allowing renters and home buyers to get an idea of the amenities in a particular neighborhood, know what bus and train routes serve a neighborhood to plan better commutes. WalkScore applies a "usefulness" value to bus and train routes based on frequency, the type of route and the distance to a route's nearest stop. Chicago overall scored a 65 on a 100-point scale, placing it in the "good" category. You can use WalkScore to break down the walkability of your own block; Chicagoist headquarters earned a 78 out of 100.