A harrowing scene unfolded on a CTA bus early Wednesday morning on the northwest side of Chicago, with police saying the driver of the bus was threatened at knifepoint by a passenger.
The incident took place about 2:37 a.m. while the bus was traveling in the 2400 block of N. Pulaski, Chicago police said, when a man riding the bus took out a sharp object and demanded the bus come to a stop.
The driver, a 57-year-old woman, complied, police said, She was able to exit out a bus window a short time later.
The man fled the scene, police said, but was taken into a custody shortly after. No injuries were reported, and charges against the suspect were pending.
In a statement, CTA said it was working closely with the Chicago police to assist in the investigation.
“We are committed to ensuring that felony upgrades are aggressively pursued in this case,” their statement said.
No further details about the incident, or the circumstances surrounding it were provided.
The incident comes as CTA leadership during a Chicago Transit Board meeting Wednesday said recent Chicago Police Department data showed crime trending downwards on the CTA system as a whole.
The agency said acting CTA president Nora Leerhsen reported serious crime was down more than 70% on the south Red Line, from Roosevelt to 95th/Dan Ryan stations), when comparing April 2026 to April 2025.
Leerhsen also said crime on buses saw a 40% reduction for the same time period. Leerhsen added the entire CTA system saw a 47% drop in serious crime, a 33% reduction in violent crime and a 64% in property crime.
Earlier this year, the CTA said it was increasing police presence on transit as part of a new security plan. The plan came after funding threats from the Trump Administration and amid violent attacks across CTA buses, platforms and trains, including a woman being set on fire while riding the Blue Line.
The numbers come as the Chicago Sun-Times reported serious attacks on CTA transit still remain historically high, specifically aggravated batteries.
According to the report, the CTA board will vote next month on whether to spend more on violence and crisis intervention, including trained, non-law enforcement specialists.
