I appreciate that the CTA has a lot to handle at this stop. Red line runs south, yellow line northwest, and purple line runs north and south. I've also been using transit enough to know that one half of the station is for northbound, and the other southbound. Plus, there is ample signage telling you which is which. My frustration comes with the lack of clarity with an arriving train, especially when I'm seeking the red line. A train pulls up, and one must wait several minutes to see if it will move along or open its doors (sometimes without setting the signage yet). Sometimes, a train will pass through as "not in service." I also wish the station were cleaner, though this is also true of many other stations. Not the freshest smelling stop, and the floor was sticky in spots. No human waste found on my visits, however. In terms of safety, while there are occasional 'characters' around, I've not felt unsafe, however, I've only used this stop in daytime (not even evening). I would like to call out that the station is accessible, with elevators for both outbound and inbound platforms. There is limited seating, with a couple benches. Finally, there is also an overpass if you ended up on the wrong side. Howard is a stop that gets the job done, but somewhat poorly. The lack of clarity about what train is arriving, and some dirt and grime leave much room for improvement. read more

How has got to be the coldest platform in the network. I mean there's a huge cemetery and the lake close by. No shield from the wind hardly. There always some crazy stuff happening within two blocks of the station street level. People always screaming. Unfortunately yellow and purple line commuters usually have to transfer here. Outside of the two blocks and cool and pretty. I usually opt for Jarvis because it's really not that far and less sketch and quaint. read more

CTA - Howard [Red, Purple, Yellow] - Public Transportation Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

North Chicago train yard. This is an acceptable place to transfer trains. We had delays coming through this station both ways. One way was signal problems, and the other was unexplained. When you cruise through here, you see that there's just simply large amounts of territory given to tracks after tracks of trains. It seems that this is where the trains sleep at night and when they need to get fixed, they come to these big buildings along the tracks. The CTA line here was good- it was handicapped accessible, and allowed for a super easy transfer between the purple and red lines, allowing for us to keep moving easily! I was displeased by the amount of time I spent at this station waiting on CTA to get their act together and put the trains rolling down the track finally. read more

The Last train didn't run as I was coming back from Lakeview past night and had to walk back to Evanston. There's an incompetence in late night staff that needs to be worked on. The booth attendant was sleeping. My friend in Canada who I was video chatting with there said would be a scandal if happened there. read more

In the past I have visited CTA Howard on rare occasions, but never really departed from it regularly until now. I am somewhat familiar with the area due to visiting a few businesses as well as apartment searching in the area sometime back. CTA Howard is the gateway to either Skokie (yellow line), Evanston (purple line) or Chicago (red line) depending on which line you are getting on or off at. With it being a transfer to either of the three, there are many moving parts in-and-out regularly. I enjoy my departs from this station while headed to work and while leaving work because it gives me time to think about what lies ahead in my day. And within the week of getting familiar with this area I took notice of the many businesses along the strip which are very beneficial to the local residents. Off the subject, Howard Street as a whole has a lot of potential with a diverse selection of restaurants and businesses in the area. From sunrise to sundown, the transportation to-and-from CTA Howard never stops and it is easily accessible to CTA & Pace buses, taxi, lyft, and uber drivers. As a whole, this stop is huge because of it being a transfer stop, consisting of escalators, and elevators which makes it easily accessible wheelchair users too. If your complaint is about the wait time for your specific train, then you may want to take in consideration all of the moving parts at this station. I have noticed that the purple line is a little off when trying to catch the yellow line, but the red line seems to always be on time. I have to say that my only complaint is the operating hours of the restaurants in the area. I'm in the area during the late-evening and mid-morning hours, but with so many moving parts you would think that atleast a Dunkin Donuts would be open after 10 PM which sadly it is not, but maybe that it is a good thing. And maybe it is only during the weekdays. In this area you have to be vigilant! Why? There are few sketchy people that lurk the area, plus the sector of the ghetto (Jonquil Jungle, Juneway Jungle) starts right across the street beyond the currency exchange, so be watchful of where you are and who is near, especially at night. Thomas G read more

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Ya know, it is a train station. It is fine during the day. But at night oh boy. It is super dangerous considering other l stations. I like the parking but there is always signal issues. Come on CTA. read more

When coming from Evanston on the Purple line and trying to catch the Red line at Howard, why does the train almost always stop in the middle of nowhere? The answer is so that the train you're trying to catch can leave the station before you get there. Howard Street is a reminder that running trains must be the hardest damn thing in the world. I sympathize with the good drivers who can't move ahead without signal clearance, but something is always going wrong in the control tower or something--very annoying to sit on the tracks knowing you're going to miss your connecting train because of the seemingly random delay. read more

I've been taking the L since I was a kid, general The Purple line or Red Line to Chicago. It's cinvienient, and not expensive, but, less than thrilling to ride. Issues With noise ( presently a loud rumbling sound form something loose), or issues with passengers. Loud music, drunks starting up with people ( especially after a game)and crowded. I'll continue to take it, but prefer the Metra when it works out for sure. read more

I think one of my favorite parts of riding the Red Line, is hearing how much people like to complain about the "sketchy" stops. Unfortunately, there isn't a specialty train that will take people living in Evanston or other snooty neighborhoods directly downtown without their having to endure REAL urban neighborhoods (believe me, I would be just as happy without them on my train as they would be with their own private express route). So cowboy up, folks, and hold on tight to your Gucci purse! I LOVE the Red Line, and I'm so pleased that my apartment is only a block or so away from the Wilson stop. It runs all night, it goes mostly everywhere a person would want to go (I suppose that includes transfer stops), and it's just "sketchy" enough to make a late night/early morning ride really interesting, and usually funny. All hail the Red Line!! read more

CTA - Howard [Red, Purple, Yellow] - Public Transportation Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here to take the yellow line after coming all the way from the red line at the Garfield stop. I've never rode the yellow line in my life and I always thought it would be fun. Issue is that, they don't tell you what side of the tracks or where the train is coming from so I felt very confused. You can't even look up for a video screen telling you when it's coming. This stop needs to be upgraded majorly. read more

"Customer needs assistance on the red line" This is what I have heard echoing across the street from my apartment for well over an hour... over... and over... and over... and over... and over.. and over... and over... and over... and over... and over... and o- Oh! You irritated yet?? Imagine living across from this epic fail in management. NO- A CUSTOMER is not waiting. It's the loud speaker with an automated message. Marched my ass across the street after an hour of agitation so see what's up. Blank stares. Nothing they can do about it. The Howard CTA red line management suck. They employees and workers DEFINITELY SUCK. Customer Service sucks. Everything about this station absolutely blows. The people are pieces of work when you try to get an answer. Lame, bored, basic workers. Blank stares. Nevermind that I'm going crazy one minute at a time. Id rather do solitary confinement than listen to this shit. GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER Red Line employees. I accept NOISE. I live next to a train station. But NOT the same damn line for an hour and a half straight at MIDNIGHT on a Sunday. read more

Howard is the end of the line, the spot where Chicago meets the Great Unknown of suburbia. This is where the Red Line, Purple Line and Yellow Line all converge in a rainbow of possibilities. The station is large, multi-leveled, concrete and modern, having been recently refurbished. There is a large bus station down below with numerous CTA & Pace buses waiting to take you further. In the winter, you'll freeze your %$#@ off while waiting forever to make your next transfer. (I sometimes take the Metra in and out of Evanston specifically to avoid this cold windy CTA platform in January. Yes, they have the overhead heat lamps that make you feel like a bag of French fries, but it can still get VERY cold here midwinter.) While you wait, you can watch weary CTA workers roust the sleeping hobos off the train, so they can make their next sleepy time return trip south to 95th. From the platform, you can see the interesting Jamaican and Belizean restaurants and shops below, along with some distinctly sketchy street goings-on amid the near constant flash of police Mars lights on Howard. The street is bathed blue in the flicker of the police camera box mounted high up near the platform level. There is a large Dominick's grocery store and several other stores in a nearby shopping mall, easy to get to from the train station by cutting across the bus station and up the stairs or elevator in an office building to the plaza level. Somnolent hobos And shivering Jamaicans. This must be Howard. read more

This line is awful, never and ever is in the time. It is never on time, always late. This train line is horrible especially at the Howard stop. Always we have to wait 20 or more minutes. read more

When I moved to Chicago in W Rogers Park almost ten years ago. The Howard street station was horrible to say the least. Then we were fortunate enough to get the Brand new state of the art beautiful station. They spent millions and millions of dollars in our neighborhood. The residents should be as elated as I was. I have a car and don't use the el that much. But went to pride last week of June and took the train. I was blown away as to the condition our once beautiful station has fallen into. The escalator was clanking horribly. The windows and walls don't appear to have ever been cleaned. So I'm thinking. Ok. They will fix the escalator. WRONG. Took the train last week 3 months later and the escalator is still making that awful noise and the place is a dirty mess I contacted Ald Moores office, the CTA and WGN News. Got standards email responses from all We have a multi million dollar stop here. Who is in charge of maintenance on the station? Who is in charge of cleaning? We certainly need to find out who is responsible for this and Fire the lazy sob's. This is ridiculous. If any of you witness this. Please contact Mr Moores office. The CTA and any news agencies that you may have ties with Dawson Davis W Rogers Park read more

Probably THE stinkiest stop on the Red line. On any warm day the stale smell; of numerous weeks of urine, drenched over the steps, hallways, walkpaths of the CTA Red line.. Can be smelled all throughout this experience of the THE Red line. On Hot days you can distinctly share in the pleasure of basking in the STANK. I think they only "try" to clean, or disinfect once a season. I've never seen a cleaning crew, tax dollars? where? where are they going? They really need to spray down all the walls and floors with Lysol and torch the place. Then maybe the putrid stank will die. PLUSes: The CTA parking lot here is only $2 bucks all day. Its got an elevator and i think 5 floors. You can catch a Purple Line Express to Belmont (non-stop)& a Yellow to the Skokie Swift. Negatives: The Parking lot stanks as well. Never EVER take the stairs(when the exit doors are closed, you could die of un UNless you can hold your breath like a fish. Layers of Urine has infested the staircases, it is a tomb of pee pee. At times, if (they choose not to leave the exit doors opened,) if you stop breathing through your nostrils, you will taste the putrid wretch. CAREFUL! I never touch the buttons in the elevator, use your nose when making decisions, oh yeah! it stanks in there as well. Don't even think you can get change from any CTA employee in the booth. And they never answer open ended questions. IF the machines at the exit of the Parking lot are not accepting paper money, you have to use change, 2 feet from this machine is a change machine, so.. you change your dollars, then reverse and pay. Time consuming WASTE OF TIME! At times they don't even fix the machines in a timely manner, they'll just stick a cone in that lane! read more

It's a nice station, one of the best on the Red Line, at its terminus. Gotta love to hate the terminus on the other end though with all of its problems. What's to like about this station is that it's very clean (unlike at 95th), you can transfer to safe bus/train lines (unlike at 95th, save the 352/353 Pace buses, blah!), there aren't many stupid hoodlums or hoodlums at all here (unlike at 95th), and right outside the station is a nice strip mall containing big-name stores and restaurants, including Dominicks (unlike at 95th). read more

The red line is definitely much better than the blue line (cleanliness, newness, etc.)... but I've noticed a lot of delays on this one.

I don't mind this station, I live right next to it. It's convenient with all the busses, red/purple/yellow line. I've never actually needed any sort of assistance here but I've witnessed people that work there being super friendly and informative with riders. My only real complaint, which really has nothing to do with the station, is the amount of times I've almost been hit by a bus turning in off Rogers as I'm crossing my street to go home...like yo, I'm in the middle of the street already, you're supposed to stop...I seriously feel like they just go "well I hope you're out of my way before I hit you" they NEVER stop, I could understand if someone was waiting to cross, but being IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CROSSWALK is way different. Ultimately I don't find any el station to be "clean" or "safe" ummm you're walking through it, with 1000+ people per day you're obviously not going to be licking the floor, but it's also not like you're walking through a dump...I've also witnessed people mopping multiple times n it often reeks of bleach, so they apparently do try n clean it as good as they can. As for safety, I'm 4'11 n 92lbs...I've never felt my life was in danger, but I've also never found a CTA or Metra station to be any sort of safe haven. I do usually see cops sitting out by the busses though, whether coming home from work at 6PM or coming home from a bar at 5am, so that's comforting read more

I like the howard stop on the red line even though the jarvis is a smidge closer to my haus. howard stop has a bike rack area which is nice. there's a bus hub there too. purple express stops here and it's very convenient. read more

Howard is my most frustrating CTA station ... by far. I can't wait to move out of Evanston! read more

While staying in Skokie this was my transfer station to the red line and I thought the station was okay. Don't know where the purple goes but maybe some day I will find out. The only thing I don't see at stations are bathrooms. What is that all about. Anyhow, station staff are helpful and assist very well in directions and even conversate with you. Makes the trip enjoyable. read more

Came to the station at 11ish to go sightseeing in the city. The station had a decent amount of parking. The employees could be more customer friendly. The station was adequately clean. I love coming at this time because there are a lot of seats available and no traffic or congestion on the train. I would definitely come back to this station cause overall it wasn't too bad of an experience. read more

CTA - Howard [Red, Purple, Yellow] - Public Transportation Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Every complaint people have about the horrific CTA incompetence and mismanagement is true. My husband recalls when this station opened; it was great for about a year and a half and then the morons took over. The incredible fuckups like purple trains leaving just as red trains pull in (and vice versa), red trains forced to wait for purple trains which then leave before the red train can get into the station, the incredible stupidity of the way the nothing Skokie Swift is catered to (trains INVARIABLY have to wait for THAT to get in. WHY!???????!!!), inadequate security, lousy lighting, lousy station design, the red line about half the time coming in ON THE WRONG SIDE (for no apparent reason other than CTA stupidity) so one has to drag up and down the stairs to the other side...I could go on and on but people already have. read more

It sucks if you live in the South part of Evanston and you want to ride the "L" into town. Why? Because the Howard Street station is sketchy and you have to change trains there. Allow me to elaborate. If you are an Evanston resident, or just happen to be taking the Purple Line South with the intent of going towards the loop, you will be boarding the Purple Line train towards to the Howard Street Station. During the week, the Purple Line trains (that start at Linden, northern end of Evanston) travel all the way South into the loop during the rush hours. That's great for commuters that travel to work in that direction. But, if you intend on taking the "L" into town at any other time, you're going to have to travel to Howard, disembark the Purple Line train and wait for a Red Line train to Dan Ryan/95th to show up. Sometimes the train is waiting there for you, sometimes it isn't. Occasionally, the Red Line Train headed South is waiting for you with it's doors open but when you board it takes close to 10 minutes before the train starts moving. WTF? Is there no coordination? Don't they know that people want to continue South in an expedient manner? C'mon CTA! Okay, okay...so you say "If you live in the Southern part of Evanston, why not walk to the Howard Street station?" My response "Is Howard Street safe?" I still haven't figured this out...historically this area is known as being a little rough. How is it now? I don't know. I've ridden my bike past it at night with no problems. But the station looks scary. Then again, all the CTA stations look scary (including the South Boulevard Station on the Purple Line just to the North). And they all stink. read more

Few things excite Julie D more than a good train ride. We ditched our car in the parking garage here and opted for a good old train ride to the Cub's game. Everything here is well marked. And when I wasn't smart enough to figure out the proper way to purchase the necessary fare, help was nearby. Another plus is the very interesting scenery along the way. Sure wish Pittsburgh had public transportation like this. read more

I've used this train stop for commuting to work for almost a decade now. I remember how it was before the huge renovation. I've traveled on each of the three lines in every direction. And I wish I lived in an area where I didn't have to. Here are my problems with the station: 1. Train management. Extremely dysfunctional. There are three lines that end their routes here. This means during rush hour there are significant delays while your train waits for other trains to clear the station. So if you can't wait to get home after a long day at work, the CTA will add a few interminable minutes right before the finish line for you. 2. Platform design. Downright dangerous. There are large sections of both platforms where the space between a staircase/escalator wall and the edge of the platform is barely 3 feet wide. So if one person is standing there and you need to walk by, you need to either hug the stranger or risk falling on the tracks. And good luck if there is a train coming in from behind you. 3. Bums. The red line has a long route, which is perfect for sleeping on the train if you don't have another place to do it. But the route ends at Howard, so you get kicked off the train and have to get back on on a different one. In the meantime it's only logical to use the stop as a bathroom. I've seen this in the act, numerous nauseating times and sometimes the smell is almost overpowering. 4. The staff and upkeep. I won't even go into details how unhelpful the people are that work here. They just don't care. The station is usually pretty dirty due to the amount of traffic and the type of area that is East Rogers Park. It is also not very well lit, which adds to the overall feeling of gloom and downtroddenness. OK, I'm done venting. There is not a good alternative to public transportation in this area unless you're willing to walk or take the bus, which takes much longer. I just wish CTA management would care enough to make some improvements, maybe just put in some more lights, it wouldn't cost that much, but would definitely help. read more

Why in God's name do the announcements need to be so loud? I am right here. So is everyone else. Most people in this world are not deaf. Even if they were, I doubt they'd be any more the wiser that the doors were opening on the left at the next stop (rather than the right side, five feet away) by the intensity of the vibration in the seats as the announcements rain sheer hell down upon all of us, shattering peaceful reflection, interrupting conversations and trains of thought or study every ninety seconds. Neither are most people in this world blind - it's a fairly simple process to discover when it is time for you to get off of a train. People have been doing it for over a century. If you don't already know because you are among the 99.9% of riders who take the train every single day, any mistake you make perhaps misreading a map will likely not be fatal. You can grit your teeth and read your map better next time. Instead, we are reminded several times between stops about which one is next, but not before the megachime sounds off two or three times to announce that the doors are closing. In this regard the CTA red line functions as an embarrassing metaphor for the inanity of modern bureaucratic society and for the city of Chicago in particular. Instead of having a system of individual disability aid in place trustworthy enough that a government-run institution can feel protected from an ADA lawsuit, the CTA just jacks up the volume to megadecibels so that everybody on earth can hear that the operator is off the train working to fix the problem. Rather than trust that people can read or that they have an ounce of common sense, or have someone watch the cars, a dozen times per ride we all get to be reminded that there is no eating or gambling or misbehaving allowed on the train. I just want to read my book. read more

I'm not going to bag on the CTA overly much what with the collapse of federal funding for mass transit, but the Red Line is getting bad. It seems like it takes two minutes longer to get downtown from far north every month and the slow zones are getting out of hand. It shouldn't be taking ten minutes to get from Belmont to Fullerton. That's just nuts. I'm seriously starting to wonder if I could bicycle downtown faster. read more

It's nice that this station has 3 lines that run through it, but if you're hoping to transfer onto the yellow line from the red line then you'll be absolutely lost and confused. ZERO signage showing what tracks the yellow line is on. So here's my tip to my fellow yellow liner: When you get off at Howard from the red line walk up the stairs and over to the other platform of tracks, it's the far tracks that the yellow line will pick you up on. For the other direction, when you get off the yellow line at Howard you'll just stay on the same platform and wait for the Red line to pick you up heading towards Chicago. You're welcome. read more

Unfortunately I have to ride the purple line for work. Unfortunate, because it means dealing with transferring at Howard. I seriously want to know what the hiring process is to work for the CTA, because seriously, this station is jacked up. I'm standing here as I write, for the Nth time, because as my purple line pulled up and the doors were opening, the red line pulled away. Right. In. Front. Of. Us. Hello??? How hard is it to coordinate these things? At Belmont this is never an issue. And it's the same mess in the morning, constantly waiting right before Howard, stopped, while our Purple line is let to pass us up, and doesn't wait. Get it together Howard red line station, unless you enjoy pissing hundreds of people off on a daily basis. Raahhh! read more

it's open! The new station is accessible, huge, modern, and with 72% less urine odor than the old entrance (which will close in the fall of 2008 for upgrades) it's sure to please. read more

Consistently bad service and late trains. Pulling in customers with disabilities on the opposite platform to save time but then leaving before they could possibly make it to the other platform. Insensitive to people's needs. read more

I used this station throughout my stay in Evanston. The Transfers were easy, The Docks reasonably clean. I like it and am very pleased that the trains are available and that they are well ridden! Thank you Chicago! read more

The Howard station has vastly improved in recent years, it's much cleaner and better kept than it had been in the past. The parking garage, OTOH, has taken a giant nose dive since the station was rehabbed. The staircase is dark and always wet (I assume from cleaning products, but the smell indicates bodily fluids as well.) The pedway goes to the businesses across the street, but does not connect to the train station at all, and there are no signs outside the parking lot indicating where the entrance to the parking lot stairs or elevator are. The stairwell doors could be improved greatly with the simple addition of a window, so you can see if someone is lurking in the dark corners. The elevator has a window...that looks at a concrete wall until it reaches its destination, and it smells, too. I know these issues are cosmetic, but they are so far behind the shiny new station that they are cast in sharp relief. FYI: it costs $5 at the exit to park here BUT YOU MUST HAVE EXACT CHANGE IN BILLS OR DOLLAR COINS TO REMOVE YOUR CAR FROM THE LOT. If you don't have it, they will make you leave the parking lot and buy something at a local business to get the correct change. This fact is notably absent from any signage in the place, either by the entrance to the parking lot or any of the pedestrian exits - the only sign is on the machine at the exit. The change machines located there only accept $5 bills, so they won't help you, either. read more

ZERO stars.The entire CTA needs to be revamped. Trains are ALWAYS delayed or waiting for signal clearance. It's like they don't realize people use this service to get to work. You know who doesn't care..the CTA. They remind you of their compassion each time they leave the doors open in the freezing cold while waiting to depart. I'm honestly surprised the city hasn't revolted . If and when it happens,I'll be there. read more

ehhhhhh, I feel dirty when I get off the red line! The Red line gets two stars for getting me close to good shopping in a hurry, other than that I would rather allow extra time and walk a few extra blocks if I can to avoid taking it at all costs. read more

Red line is much more consistant. But it smells and is over crowded. I just dont feel safe riding it like the blue line gives me. it get's the job done. read more

Gets me to where I need to go. Easy and drop n pick up area's near and safe.

Nice lighting but needs a port a potty of sorts

I live in Skokie and this station is essential to me. I live within walking distance of Pace Suburban Bus Route 215 (Crawford-Howard), and it connects me to the city. I use this station almost every day. I mostly use this station to transfer bus routes. A bit detiorated, smelly, and crime is a bit high, but overall an average station. read more