Ride the CTA

Dairy Foods, Oct 15, 1999 by Jack Mans

It's cheaper and faster than a taxi

Public transportation is one of Chicago's great bargains. You can get ride any bus or rapid transit train (the El) in the city, including the trains from O'Hare and Midway airports into downtown, for $1.50. They're not only far less expensive than a $30 (and up) taxi ride but, unless you are traveling in the middle of the night, they will also get you downtown in half the time.

The adjoining map shows the routes of the CTA lines in the downtown area, and includes hotels. The O'Hare line is shown in blue and the Midway line in orange. These lines are identified at all stops as the Blue Line and the Orange Line respectively. Look for your hotel on the enclosed map so you'll know where to get off the train. The black dashed line is the No. 146 bus line that generally runs north/south on Michigan Ave. and goes past McCormick Place.

From O'Hare Airport

At the baggage claim level, look for overhead signs saying "To Trains" along with a symbol of a rail car. Go down the stairs or escalator and follow the same sings to the entrance to the trains. Purchase a pass from the dispenser and go through the turnstile. The dispenser will give change so you do not need the exact amount. If you plan to transfer to a bus, add 30 cents to the amount you specify.

The pass is designed to be reusable, so if you intend to use additional public transportation, you can enter any amount of money at the dispenser.

The trip into downtown takes about 45 minutes. The four downtown stops are below ground (in the subway).

Dearborn-Washington (the second downtown stop) is the stop for most downtown hotels. Most of these hotels are north of the loop, so go down the stairs on the platform, walk one block east, and go up the stairs to the red line platform (you can't get lost; the passage only goes between these two platforms). Take the red line train north to the first stop (Grand Ave.) or the second stop (Chicago Ave.); whichever is closest to your hotel.

As an alternative, walk up the stairs either at Dearborn or at State Street and catch the northbound No. 146 bus at the bus stop on the east side of State St. A sign lists all of the buses that stop so you know you are at the correct place. This bus swings over to Michigan Ave. and passes within a block or two of most of the hotels north of the loop. The southbound No. 146 bus (catch it on the west side of State St.) also eventually goes over to Michigan and runs past the major hotels in the south loop. It then continues to Martin Luther King Drive and stops at McCormick Place and the Hyatt Regency Hotel at McCormick Place. If you don't want to mess around with more trains or buses, it is a relatively short cab ride from this stop to north-loop hotels.

Other downtown subway stops:

Clark-Lake (first downtown stop) Hotel Allegro, Holiday Inn-Mart Plaza, Renaissance Chicago.

Dearborn-Monroe-Crown Plaza-Silversmith and The Palmer House are a short distance east.

Dearborn-Jackson, which is the shortest cab ride to south-loop hotels.

A number of hotels are located in two areas near O'Hare airport-along Mannheim Road and along River Road near the Rosemont Convention Center. The best way to get downtown from the hotels along Mannheim Road is to take their free shuttle buses to O'Hare and take the train as described above. For hotels on River Road, walk to the station and catch the line from O'Hare downtown.

From Midway Airport

Exit the terminal from its eastern door (past the Southwest Airlines section) and follow the signs. Entry to the platform is through turnstiles similar to those at O'Hare.

The trip downtown takes about 30 minutes. The track enters the downtown above Wabash St. and runs clockwise around the downtown on the original overhead train tracks (This train loop is where the name "Chicago Loop" came from.)

State-Van Buren is the first stop in downtown and is closest to the south-loop hotels. You can catch the No. 146 bus on State St. or get a cab. The stops at Quincy-Wells and Washington-Wells are close to the Midland and Allegro hotels respectively.

The main stop for most hotels is State-Lake. Walk down State St. to catch the No. 146 bus north as described previously or go down into the State St. subway and go north. If you decide to catch the subway, get a free transfer from specially marked turnstiles as you leave the upper platform. Then walk down to State Street and look for the entrance stairs.

To O'Hare and Midway Airports

To return to either airport, reverse the instructions above. If you are going to O'Hare remember to catch the Blue Line beneath Dearborn St. It's easy to get turned around, so make sure you're on the side of the platform with signs saying "North to O'Hare."

The elevated loop system has trains running in both directions going to different destinations. To go to Midway Airport, look for signs saying "Orange Line to Midway" at the entrance to the steps up to the platforms and make sure to follow these signs. And make sure to get on a train with an orange sign saying "Midway."