You’ve consulted a travel agent, the Internet or a favorite airline to book a flight, perhaps to Arizona to watch the White Sox or Cubs in spring training, or to Florida, where you’ll board a ship for a Caribbean cruise. Or maybe you have a new job and are about to fly to Dallas or Denver or New York on your first business trip.
Before you catch your plane, though, you have to get to O’Hare International Airport, famous as one of the world’s busiest airports. You could drive there, but depending on where you live, you could also take a CTA elevated train, Metra commuter train, Pace suburban bus, privately operated motorcoach, taxi, limousine or shared-ride van service.
How do you figure out which option is best for you?
Competition to get travelers to and from the airport is fierce. Chicago’s Department of Aviation lists 136 taxi and limousine companies that serve O’Hare, 44 of which cover the entire area. Problem is, many people don’t know all the options. Even friends of Dennis Culloton, chief spokesman for the Chicago Department of Aviation, sometimes learn by happenstance.
“I knew a guy who lived close to the Blue Line (the CTA elevated train line that serves O’Hare), so whenever he traveled by air, he took that to get here,” Culloton said. “Then he moved to the suburbs and learned from colleagues and neighbors that the best way to get here from there was to call one of the limo companies. That was rich for him, and it was more expensive than the cabs. There are a lot of good options. Clearly, people can drive here themselves, but shared-ride and public transportation are so numerous and reasonably priced that I encourage those.”
The same conundrum exists for those flying into O’Hare and trying to get home, or to someone else’s house.
To help people sort out the best transportation option for them, O’Hare has travel information booths in the baggage levels of each terminal and in other areas of the airport.
“Where are the shuttle buses? Where’s the CTA line? Where are the limos? We get questions like those all the time,” Culloton said. “The airport can be overwhelming to some travelers. Our information reps provide answers to lots of questions travelers have.”
What’s the best way for you to get there? Cost, convenience and comfort all play roles in the decision, as does where you live. Not all options are available everywhere, and learning what is available takes some digging. Good places to start are the Yellow Pages and local travel agencies. Neighbors or co-workers who fly regularly also are a good resource.
For frequent flyer Gail Rada, a United Airlines flight attendant from Vernon Hills, the low cost of public transportation is well worth sacrificing some of the comfort and convenience that private livery companies provide. Whenever her flight schedule allows, she uses Metra’s North-Central Service Line, a commuter rail line that runs from Antioch to Chicago. One of its stops is called the O’Hare Transfer Station, at the airport’s Parking Lot F. From there, a free shuttle bus goes to the electric People Mover train that serves all O’Hare terminals.
“It’s easy, a lot easier than driving in and paying those high parking fees,” Rada said as she waited in the transfer station after arriving at O’Hare from a San Diego flight. “I’d like to see more trains. It’s pretty much a rush-hour service. When I can’t get the train, I take a cab. That’s $30, which is way too expensive. It costs me $3.50 on the train.”
Rada is not alone in preferring the train to or from the airport when possible. Since Metra opened the line nearly 2 1/2 years ago, ridership has soared, according to Metra spokesman Tom Miller.
“The line has been a huge success as far as growth,” Miller said. “From 1997 through 1998 we saw a 34 percent increase in ridership. It’s a good service for travelers if their departure or arrival is in the hours when the trains are running.”
Miller said about 130 passengers use the O’Hare Transfer Station each day. The 55-minute ride from Antioch to the O’Hare Transfer Station costs $4.65. From Prospect Heights, the last stop before reaching the station, the cost is $1.75.
The North Central line includes stops in Lake Villa, Round Lake Beach, Mundelein, Vernon Hills, Prairie View, Buffalo Grove and Wheeling. There is no weekend service.
The Pace suburban bus system also offers low-cost transportation to and from the airport. One way is by linking its routes with a CTA rapid transit line that serves the airport. For instance, Pace has express service from Oak Brook to the CTA Blue Line. Pace also has two routes, the 220 and 330, that serve O’Hare directly. The 220 route runs from Glenview through Des Plaines to the airport. Monday through Friday service on the 220 route starts at 6 a.m. and runs through 6:30 p.m., with a bus arriving every 20 to 30 minutes.
Private bus companies also serve O’Hare. One is United Limo, a bus company despite its name, owned by the Shoup Group in Middlebury, Ind. The company also operates Tri-State Coach Line, which serves Chicago’s south suburbs.
Marketing director Dave Dufour said United Limo’s “Milwaukee run” starts at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport, stops at the Gurnee Holiday Inn and continues to O’Hare. From Gurnee to O’Hare, the price is $13 one way or $24 for a round-trip ticket. Eleven buses each day go from Gurnee to O’Hare, starting at 5:15 a.m. Each trip takes about 40 minutes. Nine of the buses also go on to Midway Airport, with a cost of $23 one way or $43 round trip. The Midway trip can last from 2 1/2 to 3 1/4 hours, depending on when the bus leaves Gurnee.
“We certainly offer an advantage over driving because airport parking is so expensive,” Dufour said. “Actually, the cost of parking is only part of the problem with driving. There’s also the time it takes to get to the terminal from the parking lot. That time factor is an issue that people don’t think about until after they get there and deal with it.”
The buses drop off passengers at each of O’Hare’s four terminals and picks them up at the shuttle bus area across from the baggage claim areas.
For each of these services, a person has to accommodate the transportation provider’s schedule. Limousines, taxis and other services shape their schedules to accommodate their customers. The added convenience comes with a price, but for many travelers it’s worth paying to let others battle through traffic and to not have to pay O’Hare’s parking fees.
Marcia Munn of Crystal Lake is one of them. She flies nearly every week on her job as an underwriting manager for CNA Reinsurance Co. in Chicago and relies on McHenry Limousine Service in McHenry, a 12-car operator that serves McHenry and parts of Lake and Kane Counties.
“I’ve been using them nine years now,” she said shortly after arriving home from a business trip to New York. “I use the limo because I don’t have to worry about the weather or parking or anything. I don’t have to walk around that big O’Hare parking garage or remember where I parked my car. It gets rid of a lot of worries.”
She said that a worry-free ride is well worth the $40 McHenry Limo charges her for each trip, which she often ends up sharing with one or two other passengers.
“I get a lot of work done in their cars,” she said of her hour-long trip. “I’m often working on my laptop (computer) or making calls on my cell phone. There’s no way could I do that if I were driving myself to the airport.”
As a small regional limo operator, McHenry Limousine Service often can beat larger competitors on price in its regular service areas. But with 128 vehicles in its fleet, My Chauffeur Limousine Service in Schiller Park is more than 10 times larger than McHenry Limousine Service, reducing the chances that a person might have trouble booking a ride. My Chauffeur also accommodates customers from throughout a seven-county area. And My Chauffeur is price-competitive in its favored territories, mainly the north and closer northwest and west suburbs, said Jeff Wiechowski, My Chauffeur’s director of operations.
“This business is predominantly territorial, with each company staking out the areas where it’s most competitive,” he said. “It’s not wild-animal territorial, although it feels that way sometimes. Prices can be two or three times as high from one company to another, depending on the territory. But it’s not like there are boundaries. It’s wide open out there. We’ve taken people to Texas. We’ve gone to Detroit. We’ve been to the Indy 500 more than once. If somebody wants to pay the price, we’ll go.”
So if a person wants the comfort and convenience of a limo, most limo companies — with at least a day’s notice — can arrange a ride for any hour of the day or night. But it pays to call around.
Many suburban taxi companies also are cashing in on the O’Hare transportation trade. One of the largest is American Taxi, which has 460 vehicles in its fleet, up from the two cabs it started with in Northbrook in 1976. General manager Dan Coyne said the company covers the entire Chicago metropolitan area, but its stronghold is Cook, DuPage and Lake Counties. The company is about to make a push south into communities including Tinley Park, Palos Hills and Alsip.
“With us, you don’t need to make a reservation a day in advance,” Coyne said. “But with a cab company, there might not always be a cab available when you want it. We’re trying to duplicate the limos’ success by booking early-morning rides the night before.”
Like most suburban cab companies, American Taxi charges flat fees for transportation to and from O’Hare. So if there is a traffic tie-up, a rider doesn’t need to worry that the meter is running. Chicago cab companies, which may operate in the suburbs, use the meter.
American Taxi charges $15.50 in Park Ridge; from $19.50 to $25 in Arlington Heights, depending where in the village a person lives; $30.50 in Mundelein; and $34.50 in Gurnee.
As with limo companies, taxi companies have their preferred territories, so comparison shopping can pay off. Taxi and limo company officials also both caution riders to remember to leave plenty of time to get to the airport. Traffic accidents, bad weather and road work can slow traffic to a crawl. If in doubt, give the limo or cab company your flight itinerary and let them estimate when they should pick you up.
Priced somewhere between many limo and taxi services is Airport Express, a shared-ride van service run by Continental Air Transport in Chicago. Airport Express has kiosks at the baggage claim areas of each terminal and a line of vans waiting outside. Tell the person at the kiosk your destination, pay the fare, load your luggage into the van and in a few minutes you’re on your way. Airport Express also will make pickups at a person’s home for transportation to the airport, but that requires advance notice.
Continental Air Transport President John McCarthy said vans leave O’Hare within 10 minutes of a person’s boarding. If other people are traveling to the same community, you’ll share the ride. If no one else comes along within the 10 minutes, you’ll ride alone.
“At the airport, people don’t need to notify us in advance,” McCarthy said. “Our vehicles wait for you, rather than you waiting for us.”
Airport Express serves most of the Chicago metropolitan area and bases its prices on dropoffs at hotels. Home dropoff costs $5 more. Each additional person in the party costs an extra $4 over the quoted price. Sample prices: $12 to Park Ridge, $31 to Gurnee and $42 to Mundelein.
With Chicago-area roads choked by traffic and seemingly locked in an endless cycle of disrepair and construction, some drives into O’Hare can take longer than a person’s flight. That’s why these tips from Crystal Lake’s Munn apply no matter how you get to or from the airport: “Pack efficiently, so you’re not hauling around a lot of luggage; make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get there, because it’s not good to be rushed; if you use a limo or other service, stick with one that you find to be reliable.”
METRA RAIL SERVICE
The Metra North-Central Service Line runs between Antioch and Chicago, with a stop at O’Hare’s Parking Lot F. From there, an airport shuttle bus takes passengers to the airport People Mover, which stops at each terminal. The train costs $4.65 from Antioch to as little as $1.75 from Prospect Heights. The shuttle bus and People Mover are free.
PACE SUBURBAN BUS SERVICE
Pace operates two lines, the 220 and 330, which serve O’Hare directly. The 220 starts in Glenview and winds its way through Des Plaines and other towns. The 330 runs along Mannheim/LaGrange Road south of the airport. The cost for both lines is $1.15. Pace also serves several rapid transit stops, including an express bus from Oak Brook to the CTA’s Blue Line, which runs to the airport. From Schaumburg, Route 606 will drop off passengers at the Rosemont CTA station, where an elevated train will take them to the airport. The cost, with the CTA transfer, is $1.80.
