CTA Bus – #33 Magnificent Mile Express

This bus frustrates me beyond anything! I’ve been riding it for a year, and yes it is super convenient living in bucktown and working on Michigan Avenue, it gets you downtown pretty fast. However, this bus is ALWAYS late!!! I take one of the later buses and at least 3 times a week it is more than 10 – 15 minutes late! I mean that is totally unacceptable, when you are late you are making people late for work! I noticed when I was working at 8:30 and took the 8:10 it was pretty regular, but now taking the 8:59, it is totally up in the air when the bus will arrive, it could be on time or it could be 9:10 or 9:15, you just never know! Its frustrating…

I started riding this bus when the whole three-​track program started; oddly, the CTA didn’t seem to push use of this bus for Lincoln park residents, and I’m not sure why. It makes the morning commute very easy for anyone who would get on at North/​Clyborn or comes from Bucktown and get off at either Chicago or Grand on the Red Line, and especially those who work in Streeterville.
It only runs in the mornings, and the buses don’t run all that often, so using the cta bus tracker is a must. The bus is usually not full (some are empty, I’ve ridden by myself more than once), and if there’s no traffic, you’re downtown in less than 10 minutes with your sanity intact.
I’d like more people to use it so they keep the line running, but not too many so that it’s too crowded.
oh, and people who get on before the North avenue stop — move your things off the seats!

I LOVE the reliable #33 — plain and simple. How more convenient can this bus get?!? You could take the el which is super crowded during rush hour or you could get a seat on this bus. If it’s crowded, you still have more room than on the dirty el.
I understand why they don’t run in the pm which is sad for me but just thankful it runs in the am. I would cry if they ever got rid of this route.
The North and Clybourne area is starting to get more traffic from all the new shops that are going in around that area. Maybe CTA will reconsider running #33 again when more shops go in — like the Apple store!