LINCOLN SQUARE — Move over March Madness, there’s a new tourney in town.

For the past month, over the course of four rounds, 16 transit agencies from across the U.S. have been battling it out in the inaugural Transit Bracket Challenge, hosted by the American Planning Association‘s Transportation Planning Division.

The field has been whittled down to the final two contestants, and look who’s still on a roll: None other than the CTA.

Nearly 120,000 votes were cast in the semifinal (aka, Final Four) round. Chicago ended the Cinderella run of King County Metro and earned a spot in the finals. Credit: American Planning Association Transportation Planning Division

After trouncing opponents from San Diego (the MTS), Boston (MBTA) and Seattle (tourney darling King County Metro), CTA is just one victory away from claiming the title.

Standing in its way: seventh-seeded NJ Transit, which reached the championship round by pulling off a shocking bracket-busting upset over New York’s top-seeded and heavily favored MTA. (In non-transit terms, that’s like Loyola beating Duke.)

The winner will be crowned on Monday, which non-coincidentally has been designated National Transportation Planning Day.

To beat New Jersey, all the CTA needs is to amass more online votes, which is how agencies have been advancing in the competition. What, you thought maybe buses were drag racing or fare-card swipe time was being calculated?

Voting is open through 9 p.m. Sunday (click here); membership in the planning association is not required to participate.

The bracket challenge was the brainchild of Ben Dodson, a North Carolina-based transit professional who runs social media for the planning association on a volunteer basis.

His modest goal was to generate a little bit of interest in transportation planning, which he achieved and then some.

“It’s blown our expectations out of the water,” Dodson said.

In the bracket’s first round, 10,000 votes were cast, a number that increased exponentially as the tournament progressed: 40,000 votes were cast in the second round and nearly 120,000 in the third (or Final Four, in March Madness lingo).

Followers of the planning association’s social media platforms have doubled, as well, according to Dodson.

“The actual transit agencies have engaged with us,” he said, citing King County and CTA among the competitors who’ve been particularly good sports.

“We really tapped into a whole community,” said Dodson. “There’s been a lot of banter.”

Philly’s SEPTA taunted Baltimore’s MTA Maryland with a little lighthearted “cheese steaks are better than crab cakes” trash talking. King County rallied the entire West Coast in its failed bid to unseat CTA.

Even though the 2019 outcome is still up in the air, Dodson is already thinking about 2020.

A one-man selection committee, he built the bracket solely by choosing agencies with the highest reported ridership in metro areas with the greatest population. In the future, he would like to include smaller agencies.

Some also questioned his decision to exclude international transit systems.

“It wouldn’t be fair to America,” Dodson said, explaining that public transportation is far more ingrained in cultures outside the United States.

Oh, and maybe next year he’ll order some sort of championship trophy. For this year’s winner, “I think we have a certificate,” he said.

Let’s bring that piece of paper home, Chicago.

Well folks, we didn't see this coming. After 118,000 responses, we have entered the Transit Bracket Challenge championship with @NJTRANSIT vs @cta! Voting is open all week! Winner will be announced on Monday, National Transportation Planning Day! https://t.co/qnH5nxlKQu pic.twitter.com/YV5vDb6s2W — APA Transportation Planning Division (@apatpd) June 3, 2019

Sounds like @sdmts came to win. How confident are you feeling @ChicagosMayor @SDMayorsOffice? Who will advance to Round 2 in our Transit Bracket Challenge? Vote here: https://t.co/qnH5nxlKQu https://t.co/tlQJqbCaQK — APA Transportation Planning Division (@apatpd) May 16, 2019

Did you hear something 👂? That’s the sound of the WINDY CITY 💨 blowing away the competition! Thank you to everyone that voted. Our work's far from done, as we take on @NJTRANSIT for the championship. Cast your final votes here: https://t.co/GXmsNaOiyv! #Letsbringithome https://t.co/HmbL4BT5CW — cta (@cta) June 3, 2019

Just a few more hours before voting concludes and we're down 70-30 against Chicago. Late voting tallies would have to trend our way and fast! Go-vote-win! (And it's a nail biter between NY and NJ). pic.twitter.com/2qeZ8recUD — King County Metro 🚏🚌🚎⛴🚐 (@kcmetrobus) June 2, 2019

LAST DAY! MDOT MTA faces SEPTA in Round One of the American Planning Association's 2019 Transit Bracket Challenge! Support us and Maryland in the quest for the Iron Throne… er… Transit Cup… yes, Iron Transit Cup… Vote now!! https://t.co/9CKhAGqYom #TPDBracket #MDOTcares — MTA Maryland (@mtamaryland) May 19, 2019

It's #SEPTA vs @mtamaryland in Round One of the @APA_Planning's 2019 Transit Bracket Challenge! Let's show those MD folks that cheesesteaks beat crab cakes — Vote now – please!! https://t.co/Oj3lNZMroW … #ISEPTAPHILLY #TPDBracket — ISEPTAPHILLY (@SEPTAPHILLY) May 19, 2019

Uh, guys, we need more votes now through Sunday night if we're going to take this. This is a tight competition. https://t.co/Dlkl3m6NIl pic.twitter.com/HTDVHB99Ly — King County Metro 🚏🚌🚎⛴🚐 (@kcmetrobus) May 23, 2019

Lol T v CTA, RIP Boston. Cc:@prestonpb — Lydia Hausle (@LHausle) May 21, 2019

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