and after the Blue Line trip, make sure to use that $95.50 for a spectacular dinner and a bottle of wine. Don’t waste it for a seat on in a motor vehicle sitting in traffic.
I just got back from Chicago two days ago, and used the blue line all the way to downtown. Not a problem at all, and we were going faster than traffic.
When I first came to Chicago, some cars on the Blue Line had luggage racks in the space near the ceiling between the two doors. But that disappeared before the Orange Line opened. It’s not a problem - other than during the morning and afternoon rush, the Blue Line is generally not too crowded and you can get on and off with your luggage - especially if you’re going between the airport and downtown.
Just please, whatever you do don’t stand in the doorway with your luggage. Move towards the middle or end of the car. Don’t worry, nearly everyone will be getting off where you are getting off.
Edit: And remember - you paid for one seat. Set your luggage on the floor, not on the seat next to you.
As a Southerner, I’m more than a little surprised none of these Chicago Dopers have offered to give the OP a ride.
Since 1983 I have driven in downtown Chicago exactly once.
I would seriously consider shooting myself before doing it again.
You see, driving him in a car would result in the same traffic problems as attempting to use a cab or limo or shuttle to drive from O’Hare to the Loop Hyatt, as they are really not in close proximity to each other. One reason for the cost of transport being as high as it is, is that you’d probalby burn at least that much in gas while sitting in traffic.
No, really - even now that I live in another state (Indiana) and I am nearly 100 miles from O’Hare, if I have reason to fly out of that airport I still get on the train to do it. (Actually, from where I live, it’s two trains: South Shore to the Loop, then Blue Line to O’Hare. If i’m going to Midway it’s the Orange Line) Seriously, I would not ask a friend or relative to drive me to O’Hare as long I was able-bodied enough to use the train. Driving can be that much a hassle.
Let me put it another way: when the executives at the Big Name Insurance Company where I worked needed to leave from their Loop office to fly out of O’Hare as often as not they would take the train. Big expense accounts and perks be damned, particularly during rush hour the train was faster and often the only way to guarantee getting there in time to make a flight.
We don’t have cars. I’d offer to meet Astro at the airport, but it really is very simple to get from the airport to downtown.
Astro, do you need a guide?
I wouldn’t give my mom a ride from O’Hare to downtown on a Friday.
Thanks - we’re good!
FWIW, I sometimes pay for a cab or even parking when I fly out of O’Hare. The blue line always has some problem: construction, closed stops which require a bus ride, slow zones, etc. Sometimes its well over an hour to get downtown and if you get caught in weekend construction and you need to take a bus expect 90+ minutes. The line is suicidal during rush hour, with just barely enough room to stand to be crushed between four other people.
40 bucks gets you there in a cab. If its not rush hour its surprisingly quick.
Well, the construction (to fix the slow zones) has finished in the north half of everything. The weekend closures are all going to be south of Clark/Lake now, which is excellent news for us Blue Line riders.
But yeah, those line cuts/bus shuttles slowed things down considerably. I’m not sorry to see them move on south.
O’Hare in particular is great in helping people share cab rides into downtown. You and your daughter could ride with two other people and then the fare is split equally among the 4 of you.
Another blue liner chiming in. My wife and I were just up in Chicago last weekend for the U2 concert and we took the blue line in from O’Hare and back. Our hotel was only a block south and west of the Clark and Lake station so it was an easy walk with the rolling luggage.
[slight hijack] Is the construction on the blue line the reason they were letting everyone on for free all weekend at Clark and Lake?[/hijack]
Thanks for all info. Made it in on the blue line + cab (split between 4 people) was less than $ 6 each. Chicago is a toddlin’ town. Our conference is on the 80th floor of the Aon Center and the views are amazing. Ate too much pizza at Giordianos at a group dinner so I’m tuckered and it’s time for beddy bye.
Have to come back sometime and spend more time here.
Ah, this thread brings back memories. Memories of catching an overnight Amtrak train into downtown Chicago and then having to walk with luggage to the closest Blue Line stop to either stay on the Blue Line to go to O’Hare or to switch to the Orange Line somewhere in the Loop to go to Midway. Not too bad at 8 AM; rather unpleasant around 10 PM. Doubly so in early March snow. One of my best travel stories came from a trip through Chicago one Saturday in March.
Anyway, glad the Blue Line worked for you. FYI, the Orange Line is about as easy, though I found getting from the stop to the entrance to Midway to be less intuitive than O’Hare and it’s not as nice a ride, though it is shorter.
We should have warned you about that!
Damn right. Chicago pizza is gross. Deep, thick puddles of cheese. Yech.
Give me a good New York pizza any day.
Eating Chicago-style pizza has been described as being like “eating a manhole cover made of cheese”. If this sounds as delicious to you as it does to me, then you’re a true Chicagoan at heart.
Yeah, the Clinton stop on the Blue line is pretty dodgy, being located under a highway overpass that is a nice warm place to sleep for the homeless. There is a tunnel from Union Station that goes to the parking garage between Jackson and Van Buren that I wish they’d extend to the Clinton stop. That would make the Union Station to Blue line trip much more pleasant.