Our story this week about Chicago’s proposed bus rapid transit pilot program is one of those citywide stories with a very local potential impact. One of the streets slated for bus rapid transit is Halsted, which cuts through Greektown and University Village.

Imagine hopping on a southbound bus at Madison and Halsted and zipping down to Bridgeport in minutes flat, or getting up to Montrose Beach on the north quicker than you could with a car. That’s the promise of bus rapid transit. It prioritizes buses with specific lanes and traffic signaling, and encourages people to get on the buses quickly by having them pay before they board.

We call on the Federal Transit Administration to award Chicago the $150 million it has applied for to deploy bus rapid transit here and for CTA officials to aggressively implement the program.

Like it or not, buses are the future of public transportation here. It’s simply too costly to build new subway lines or elevated tracks. We sorely need bus rapid transit on Halsted Street. And many others.