Every 8–12 minutes, CTA Bus 55 Garfield bails out South Side riders who miss the Orange Line
For $2.50, CTA Bus 55 Garfield runs from Midway’s Main Terminal east along Garfield Boulevard to the Museum of Science & Industry area, with key transfers to the Red Line at Garfield and the Green Line at Garfield/Lake Park. CTA lists the full end-to-end ride at roughly 35–45 minutes, but real-world timing swings a lot because this is a surface bus stuck in Chicago traffic.
You catch the 55 at the CTA bus bays just outside Midway’s Main Terminal, signed as Route 55 Garfield, not inside the station like the Orange Line. Frequency is solid in the daytime, roughly every 8–12 minutes at peak, then stretching out later at night and early morning, with some riders reporting noticeable gaps after 10 p.m. Always check the CTA tracker before you walk out of the terminal so you’re not standing at the curb for 25 minutes.
This route is built for South Side trips, not downtown: it’s what locals use to reach UChicago, Hyde Park, and the 55th/Garfield corridor, and it links directly to the Red and Green Lines instead of looping into the Loop like the Orange Line. One r/chicago regular summed it up as a “workhorse route, not tourist-friendly,” with lots of intermediate stops near schools, hospitals, and transfer hubs that slow the bus compared to rail.
What regulars do when speed matters: ride the Orange Line from Midway to Roosevelt or the Loop in about 25 minutes, then transfer to the Red or Green Line instead of sitting on the 55 the whole way. South Side Reddit riders often call this faster than staying on Garfield, especially during rush hour when the 55 gets bogged down around major intersections like Western, Ashland, and the Dan Ryan.
Watch out for the two big complaints: bunching and crowds. Reddit threads describe the 55 as “slow” and “crowded” during AM and PM peak, with students piling on near schools and long stop-and-go segments that can stretch a listed 35-minute trip into 50 minutes. Bunching is common, so it’s not unusual to wait 20 minutes, then see two buses arrive back-to-back.
One practical tip: if your flight lands during rush hour and you see an Orange Line train leaving in under 5 minutes on the board, take the train first, then transfer to Red or Green; save the 55 Garfield for when your final stop sits directly on Garfield or in Hyde Park near the Museum of Science & Industry.