South Shore Line Interurban extension in Indiana

SSL en route in Michigan City on local surface streets.

This is notable because the South Shore Line, powered by electricity, is the only still functioning interurban train line in revenue service in the entire United States..  

As a mode, interurban was between heavy rail and train, with dedicated and mixed tracks and reasonably frequent cities operating within and between cities.  They carried passengers and local freight (not unlike todays package delivery services).

It was said transferring from one system to another you could get from Chicago to New England on interurbans.  Or from San Diego to Portland or Seattle.

Unlike heavy rail or railroad freight and passenger services, interurban lines could be street running within cities, like streetcars, and today's South Shore Line is distinguished in some places by still running on the street network in various communities along the line.  

Once owned by Samuel Insull, who owned many electricity generation and streetcar companies, like the CTA and London Underground, which he also controlled at one time, they were known for their poster marketing of sites on the line ("Moonlight in Duneland: Marketing the South Shore Line in the 1920s").

The DC area had such a system operating between Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis.

Today the South Shore Line operates between Downtown Chicago and South Bend, Indiana's Airport (originally the line went to downtown). Some trains go all the way from South Bend, while others start at either Michigan City or Gary. Like other similar services, for a time it had access to the Elevated track system of the Chicago Transit Authority.

These days it mostly serves Indiana, with 20 stations, and has a minute number of riders, less than 7,000 per day. But a goodly number of trains--26/27 go to or are from Chicago.

Starting today, the new "Monon Corridor" adds four stations with a terminus in Dyer, Indiana ("All Aboard! South Shore Line announces opening of new Monon Corridor expansion service," WSBT-TV).

But wow, what can they do to increase ridership? 

Certainly, an Indiana based Chicago Bears football team could generate some weekend ridership but only a few times per year.  

The South Bend Station no longer is in the center city, but on the outskirts.  While inconvenient, the location is probably not a deal breaker in terms of willingness to ride transit.  

What changes in marketing or otherwise would make a significant difference in ridership?