Mary Wallace

For three years native Chicagoan Mary Wallace (born 1952) tried to get into the training program to become a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver. Time after time, she was turned down because of her gender but her persistence finally paid off. In 1974, Wallace became thefirst female CTA bus driver. Passengers were surprised to see a woman driving a bus. Wallace remembers that she “would get cheers from the ladies and stares from the guys.” She spent 17 years driving before she was promoted to be a supervisor.

Why this stop? The Clinton Green Line/Pink Line stop is adjacent to the CTA Headquarters building.

Watch Mary Wallace as she talks about her bus driving days on this short video.