#56 Milwaukee Bus

On schedule and friendly driver. Not too crowded. A bit longer than the blue line up Milwaukee, but less of a pain that going up to the El. Worth a couple of minutes extra, but nor much more. Decent intersection, with a pizza place, and pretty well-​lit.

Just a note, the last bus leaves Madison and Wabash going north at 10:28 PM. This bus route stops at night.

I take the #56 at least every other day. I’ve been living in this area since January — so that’s a lot of bus rides. I don’t think, though, that I’ve ever had a friendly driver on this route. They’re always either super quiet or super bitchy.
One time, I took the bus from Jewel and remembered that we had left a bag in the store. So we ran off the bus and got it and came back to wait for the next bus. We attempted to board the next bus approximately 9 minutes later and were refused entry because it hadn’t been 10 minutes in-​between rides. Then we had to wait another 10 minutes for the next bus to come…
The #56 usually has the best people on it though. Meaning, if you’re a people watcher… this is one of the best, safest routes to take. There’s always one older woman who rides it religiously. She tends to relate everything to something in her life — very talkative to everyone but her conversations tend to stop making sense after the first five minutes.
I’m glad I’m moving soon and I won’t have to ride the #56 hardly at all — if ever.

I never wait LESS than 30 minutes for this bus, no matter what time of day it is!
The drivers vary from sweet little CTA-​virgins to Mafia-​like enforcers.
One day, I had a driver bark at me to fold up my stroller. There was plenty of room as there was no one sitting in the priority seating at all. My daughter was sleeping, but — whatever, you’re the boss. I picked her up, folded the stroller, and stood there, like an idiot, bracing my stroller against the folded up seat with all the open space around us, holding my daughter as she proceeded to scream for the next twenty minutes.
That was when the driver said, «Well, I guess you can put her back in the stroller since it doesn’t look like we’re going to get too crowded.»
Ya think?

Unfortunately, I find myself relying on the Milwaukee bus far too often. While I can’t disagree that the bus seems to run pretty regularly and somewhat often, the bus itself is always extremely nasty. I swear there are always chewed up and spit out sunflower seeds SOMEWHERE on that bus. And a seat or two that are urine saturated (or smell like it). And I think there are an inordinate number of smelly people on this route too. idk. but im telling you… prepare to smell after getting off the milwaukee bus. I swear the stench follows you.

Took the #56 to work yesterday so it could drop me off at Lake, a mere two blocks from CTA HQ, where I needed to pick up my shiney new CTA CARD PLUS! About a half block from the Bus stop at Milw./Diversey I thought «maybe I should trot this last half block to the stop». Sure enough, I get to the corner and there goes the bus! And do car drivers always stare at you when you’re sitting on a bus bench? I wasn’t wearing my clown nose or anything.
Anyway, bus came soon enough and the bus driver was even nice after I said «good morning». I even got a seat so I could read. Well, the bus was getting crowded as we neared downtown. A guy with an 80’s haircut got on and stood right near the entrance instead of filling the empty aisle. He would even get huffy when people excused themselves to get around him. Then he got a seat I guess, because at Lake he decided to yell at this guy with a bag that probably brushed his feathered hair once or twice, the bus was packed! Then he got up and started shoving the guy and getting all up in his grill! (lol– I just said «all up in his grill»).
I was getting ready to exit at Lake but was surprised at the bellowed voice that came out of my mouth. Where did this voice come from? I could be a longshoreman in the Perfect Storm and you woulda heard me clearly bellow «strike the mizzenmast Mr. Christian!». Well we all told the guy to «chill out», «it’s crowded». A stern «hey, buddy» is always my favorite phrase to say. But this guy was coked out of his head or at least he was the night before. Twitchy and edgy he even pushed a guy near him that told him to chill out!
It was my stop and I got off and so did the bag guy that got pushed. Hopefully it was his stop. #56 Driver, you shoulda pushed Mr. 80’s out on his coked-​out nose!

I wish I could get rid of the voice in my head that says «Route 56… Milwaukee to Washington… and… Michigan.» This bus stops in front of my bedroom window, and until it stops in the wee morning hours until it starts again the not-​so-​wee morning hours, all I hear through the pane of glass is «Route 56… Milwaukee to Washington… and… Michigan.»
Sometimes I take said bus to work. It’s not so bad for a Chicago bus. It’s on bus tracker as of June 23, 2008 as well.

What?
Those who gave this bus any less than 3 stars have obviously never called the No. 8 home.
Fast, efficient, and only during one ride so far have I been legitimately frightened by a homeless man with Tourette’s (verbal and physical). Plus, once you hit Damen it’s like a regular Williamsburg safari. Seeing the hipsters in their natural habitat, all proudly displaying the peacock feathers du jour and sounding the appropriate mating calls; entertainment aplenty.

The route’s awesome, but I think I got Erin S.‘s driver… was waiting for a bus to get to Ogilvie, driver sees me waving at the stop, and GUNS it. I couldn’t miss the train at Ogilivie, so I ran as fast as I could to the next stop (luckily a stop light), banged on the doors (all the passengers could see what happened) driver saw me, then GUNNED it again. I had to run to the next stop and somehow got on, driver rolling his eyes. Uh, then I had an asthma attack from running :/​Fyi I’m 5’0″ and a girl, it’s not like I was being threatening. Also, half out of the dozen or so times I’ve taken this route, there’s been a scary-​rude driver of the same calibur. Weird…

I must live on a different planet than the rest of you. While the #56 bus is faster to get me home than than the actual Blue Line train (which still boggles the mind), and the route is interesting (2^nd star). I cannot count the times that I have stood, waiting, FOREVER!!! for this freaking bus! Twice in the last month I have waited over an hour for this bus. The first time, I waited 20 minutes (CTA website says should be 8 – 10 mins) for the bus, only to have the driver gawp at all of us walking to the curb… before GUNNING it over the (Madison St.) bridge, not even stopping! We waited another 50 minutes for the next bus to arrive.
Then, two weeks later, I waited about 45 minutes for this bus, and when it came, it was packed to the gills (understandably). The driver actually SHOUTED at us to not try to board, and that another #56 was behind him. When we asked where, how far behind? He slammed the doors shut in our faces.
I have had overall very crappy experiences on the #56 route. I will only take it when I’m not in a hurry to get home, and if my feet don’t already hurt from the day.

A decent bus line that runs very regularly. They must have a lot of buses on this line because I am always seeing the Milwaukee bus going down the street.

It’s a good route, it is more often than not able to get you a little closer to where you want to go than the Blue Line– for instance, it goes all the way down to Michigan Avenue, whereas the Blue Line runs underneath Dearborn. It doesn’t run all night, but it does run pretty late. It’s pretty consistent with how long it takes to get to and from downtown.
For those who love the Christmas season, they always have the holiday bus operating on the 56, which is a really nice surprise and, at least for me, brightens my mood after a long aggravating day of Christmas shopping.

I also love the 56. It goes everywhere I need to go. I’m able to grab a seat on the way too work, but in the Loop? Forget about it. Maybe during rush hour they should use some of those long accordian style buses for that route? So more pepole can have a seat. .. But other than that I have no issues.

i always get a seat.
it’s faster than the blue line lately (don’t get me started on that train!!)
one of my favorite bus routes! takes you all over the place!

Surprising that this bus runs as often and as efficiently as it does when it pretty much parallels the Blue Line. It’d be nice if the CTA would run buses more often in neighborhoods NOT served by 24-​hour good rapid transit service.
But the #56 bus can’t be blamed for that. You gotta love the route: downtown, chocolate factory district, River West, Noble Square, Uke Village, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Jefferson Park, etc.
This bus is also pretty shitty to catch if you’re waiting on the far northwest side, anywhere north of Logan Square. I’ve waited a long time for this bus over the months since I moved far outside of the Wicker Park area.