Transportation in Chicago
Chicago, Illinois is the third largest city in the United States and a major transportation hub. The city is served by two major airports, and is the main freight rail hub of North America.
Mass transit in much of the Chicago metropolitan area is managed through the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), which was installed by referendum in 1974. The RTA provides transportation services through the funding of three subordinate agencies: the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace.
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Roads and expressways [edit]
Airports [edit]
- O'Hare International Airport, which is the second busiest airport in the world by one measure, is a major airport serving numerous domestic and international destinations. It is a hub for United Airlines and American Airlines. Construction is underway for a major expansion. This airport is statistically one of the busiest in the United States.
- Chicago Midway International Airport serves primarily domestic destinations. It is a major focus city for Southwest Airlines.
There are several minor airports in the Chicago area with either limited or proposed commercial service. These include:
- Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana, located about 25 miles from the Chicago loop. Gary/Chicago is operating as the "third airport" for the Chicago area. While Gary/Chicago Int. Airport's current operations include just one scheduled commercial passenger service, it is currently undergoing facility improvements, and the administration is courting airlines aggressively. Boeing and White Lodging Services already base their corporate fleets here. The National Guard has constructed facilities to base their Chicago metropolitan area air operation here as well.
- Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford, which supports scheduled airline service to Denver, Cancun, Punta Cana, West Palm Beach, Punta Gorda, Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, and St. Petersburg/Clearwater. Rockford officials are positioning the airport to attract customers from Chicago's western suburbs.
Suburban airports and airfields [edit]
| Name | IATA Airport Code | ICAO Airport Code | Location |
| Clow International Airport | 1C5 | K1C5 | Bolingbrook, Illinois |
| DuPage Airport | DPA | KDPA | West Chicago, Illinois |
| Gary/Chicago International Airport | GYY | KGYY | Gary, Indiana |
| Chicago Midway International Airport | MDW | KMDW | Chicago |
| O'Hare International Airport | ORD | KORD | Chicago |
| Chicago Executive Airport (formerly Palwaukee) | PWK | KPWK | Wheeling, Illinois |
| Schaumburg Regional Airport | 06C | (none) | Schaumburg, Illinois |
| Waukegan Regional Airport | UGN | KUGN | Waukegan, Illinois |
| Lewis University Airport | LOT | KLOT | Romeoville, Illinois |
| Aurora Municipal Airport | AUZ | KARR | Sugar Grove, Illinois |
Two other airports that are located outside the metropolitan area are Central Illinois Regional Airport, located in Bloomington, and Peoria International Airport
Proposed airports [edit]
There have been two airports proposed to be built from scratch in the last twenty years:
- Calumet Airport was to have been built in what is now Lake Calumet on the South Side of Chicago as a replacement for O'Hare. Plans were shelved in favor of a plan for expanding O'Hare.
- A Proposed Chicago south suburban airport has been proposed as a regional airport in far-south-suburban Peotone, Illinois.
Transit systems [edit]
The Chicago Transit Authority, or CTA, operates the second largest public transportation system in the United States (to New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and covers the City of Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs. The CTA operates 24 hours a day and, on an average weekday, 1.6 million rides are taken on the CTA.
CTA has approximately 2,000 buses that operate over 152 routes and 2,273 route miles (3,658 km). Buses provide about 1 million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. CTA's 1,190 rapid transit cars operate eight routes and 222 miles (357 km) of track. CTA trains provide about 745,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Rosemont, Forest Park, Oak Park, and Cicero. The rapid transit system is known as the "Chicago 'L'" or variations of 'L', "El", or "el" to Chicagoans.
Chicago is one of the few cities in the United States that provides rapid transit service to two major airports. From the downtown area, the CTA's Blue Line takes riders to O'Hare International Airport in about 40 minutes, and the Orange Line takes customers to Chicago Midway International Airport in about 30 minutes from the Loop.
Suburban buses [edit]
Pace operates a primarily-suburban bus service that also offers some routes into Chicago.
RTA [edit]
The RTA offers a trip planner on its web site that provides information for public transit in Chicago and surrounding areas. It is multi-modal, combining schedule information for buses, trains, and commuter rail. Riders enter their intended origin and destination, along with optional time, date, and other information, and the trip planner displays itineraries showing the stops, departure and arrival times, and times to get from the origin to the destination. Additionally, public transit directions for the Chicago metropolitan area are available from Google Maps.
Rail [edit]
Commuter [edit]
The Northeastern Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, under its trademark Metra, operates eleven commuter rail lines that serve 200+ stations across the RTA's six-county service area. Unlike the 'L' lines, fare pricing is based on zones instead of a flat boarding fee. In addition, being mainly commuter rail service, frequent service is generally only provided during rush hours, although Metra is known for its speed and reliability. The eleven lines (while there are eleven, the Metra Electric line has three different branches) connect into one of four different downtown stations: Union Pacific North, West, and Northwest arrive in the Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (known more casually as the "Northwestern Station"); Milwaukee District North and West, North Central Service, Southwest Service, Burlington Northern, and Heritage Corridor converge in Union Station (along with being the nexus of Amtrak); the Rock Island Line arrives in the LaSalle Street Station; and the Metra Electric arrives in Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Terminal).
The Metra Electric Line is Chicago's oldest continuing commuter train (1856), and shares the railway with the South Shore Line, operated by the Northwest Indiana Commuter Transit District ("NICTD"), which is a separate but analogous quasi-governmental entity from the RTA. The South Shore Line is an interurban railroad that operates between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana. Like the Metra Electric Line, it arrives and departs from Millennium Station.
Chicago Water Taxi links to Metra.
Inter-city [edit]
Amtrak owns and operates Union Station which is a major intercity passenger rail hub with connections to Metra and the L.
Tourist trolleys [edit]
The City of Chicago offered free tourist trolleys that served the downtown area.[1] The "trolleys" were actually buses painted to look like historical streetcars. They ran every 20 to 30 minutes and served areas popular with tourists that didn't have 'L' stations, such as the Museum Campus, Navy Pier, and the Magnificent Mile. The Free Trolley service was permanently discontinued in 2009.
The free trolleys shouldn't be confused with the private-sector Chicago Trolley Company, which offers guided tours and charge fares. They serve different routes but largely the same downtown area. Their vehicles are also buses rather than real trolleys.
Taxis [edit]
Chicago is mandating that its entire fleet of taxicabs go green by January 1, 2014.[2]
Boats Water Taxi [edit]
Shoreline Sightseeing offers water taxi service along the Chicago River with stops at Navy Pier, Michigan Avenue, and Adams Street. They offer a separate route from Navy Pier to The Museum Campus. Shoreline Sightseeing also offers architecture cruises departing from Navy Pier.[3]
Wendella Boats operates the Chicago Water Taxi which offers scheduled service along the Chicago River with stops at Michigan Avenue, Clark Street, (Ogilvie & Union Train Stations) Madison Street, and Chinatown. Ping Tom Park in Chinatown. Wendella Boats also offers architecture cruises departing from Michigan Avenue.[4]
Bicycling [edit]
Divvy, a Bicycle sharing system, is set to launch Summer 2013 with 4,000 bikes at 400 stations throughout the city.[5]
Bicycles are permitted on CTA buses during all operating hours, and on CTA trains every weekday except from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.(during rush hour) On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, bicycles are allowed on trains all day. If a person boards the train with his/her bicycle before the hours listed above and his/her trip extends into those hours, the CTA allows him/her to finish his/her trip. If trains are crowded, the use of trains by cyclists may be restricted by the rail operator as appropriate. Bicycles are not permitted on trains July 3 due to Independence Day celebrations. Folding bikes may be brought aboard CTA trains and buses during all operating periods, including rush hour.
A maximum of two bicycles are allowed per train car. For example, if the train is four cars in length, a total of eight bicycles are allowed on that train.
Transit operators have the discretion to deny access to anyone with a bike if they decide that conditions are too crowded. The CTA's entire bus fleet is now equipped with bike racks in front which can accommodate two bicycles. All CTA trains accept bicycles, although bikes are discouraged on the 2200-series rail cars with "blinker doors" (if they were turned sideways, they would look like a blinking eye when opening and closing). Only standard-size bicycles are allowed on all CTA vehicles; tandems are not allowed.[6]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Chicago free trolleys".
- ^ "Aldermen want all cabs hybrid by 2014; Push for New York-type law upsets taxi drivers". Chicago Sun-Times, Inc via LexisNexis. 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ^ "Shoreline Sightseeing".
- ^ "Chicago Water Taxi".
- ^ http://www.divvybikes.com/learn-more/
- ^ Helpful tips and the full guide to transporting bicycles on CTA trains can be found at http://www.transitchicago.com/welcome/biketran.txt
External links [edit]
- Chicago Transit Authority - official site, including trip planner and system maps.
- This is Grand - Stories of Chicago's Rapid Transit
- Metra and CTA on Google Maps
- Chicago Water Taxi - official site
- Fly Chicago
- The Chicago Airport System
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