Little Village residents are calling for the return of a Chicago Transit Authority bus line that they say could fuel economic growth in the region and help high school students get home from school safely.

The CTA discontinued bus service along 31st Street in 1997, citing low ridership.

Kim Wasserman, coordinator for the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, says many community members have wanted service to resume ever since. Those demands, however, have intensified since 2005, when Little Village Lawndale High School, at 3120 S. Kostner, opened its doors.

Over 900 students attend the school.

While the CTA provides service from the school immediately after dismissal, students who stay for after-school programs must walk five to sixteen blocks to reach the nearest bus stop, depending on their direction of travel.

And, according to some, the walk can be daunting.

"They have to walk a non-populated pedestrian bridge along 31st street to get to Cicero," says Wasserman. "Not a lot of people walk it because it is dangerous traffic-wise. Cars and trucks zoom through there."

"I have a lot of friends who need that 31st street bus," says Carlos Padilla, a football and basketball player and LVLHS junior who attended the CTA Board meeting yesterday.

"There's a lot of gang-bangers and stuff like that [near the school]. It's pretty bad."

Michael Pitula, community organizer with LVEJO, says students deserve after-school bus service.

"We have an epidemic of youth violence in this city. The CTA ought to be a partner in helping to prevent that violence," he says.

John Paquet, vice president of planning with the CTA, says that the agency does provide service to Little Village Lawndale for a half an hour after school lets out, but that additional access during after school programs is "not typically a service that we would provide."

Paquet says the CTA submitted a grant proposal to the Regional Transit Authority earlier this month that would provide funding for more after-school service.

However, according to RTA spokeswoman Diane Palmer,  those grants will not be approved until October, and funding would not begin until January 2009.

According to 11th ward Green Party Committeeman Ante Marijan, who addressed the CTA board today in support of the 31st street route, the community needs the service before next year.

"The school year starts in a matter of weeks," he says.

Marijan added that there has been a significant amount of development along the 31st Street corridor since the route was discontinued, and bringing the service back could only help perpetuate that growth.

In other CTA news, the agency announced an expansion of  its Student Smart Card program. Under the program, student ID cards will double as transit passes and reduced-fare eligibility cards.

The Student Smart Cards were tested during a pilot program last spring by approximately 1,900 students. They resulted in faster boarding times, operational and administrative savings and increased ridership among students who participated in the study.

The CTA plans to provide the Student Smart Cards to students at an additional sixteen high schools this fall, and gradually phase in additional schools. All CPS high schools should be covered by January 2010, says schools chief Arne Duncan.