What’s the quickest option to A’Hare in Chicago?

Posted On Nov 7, 2019 By admin With Comments Off

A bunch of TPGers were in Chicago on Sept. 17 for a learn. In true TPG fashion, we decided to have a little recreation on the way home and race to O’Hare International Airport from the training site on Michigan Avenue to see which mode of transport might be the most efficient.

Unlike when traveling from Manhattan out to JFK, Chicago doesn’t have a ton of options when it is necessary to getting to ORD( which is on the far Northwest Side of the city) from Michigan Avenue really east of the Loop, so we stuck to the three options that we figured beings were most likely to rely on: cab, Uber and L( Chicago’s subway/ metro organisation for the uninitiated ).

Vikkie Walker , stations, miles and slews reporter, made a cab.

Zach Wichter, aviation industry reporter, took an Uber, which he shared with Sam Rosen, TPG walk writer.

And Edward Russell, elderly airline business reporter, made the L.

Our race started just after 4:01 p.m ., the start of the evening rush hour.

Initial conceives

L: Edward was confident that the L would be the clear winner in this race. His flight was leaving firstly, almost an hour before Zach’s flight home, so the team agreed to meet in front of the United TSA PreCheck lane to give him a leg up in getting to the plane efficiently. He dashed off to the Clark/ Lake Blue Line terminal as soon as we started our clocks.

Uber: Zach went to Northwestern University, so was familiar with Chicago rush-hour traffic. He too figured the L would win the race, but he had extra time to kill and wasn’t too worried about getting to the airport on time either way. He offered to share the Uber with Sam Rosen, who was also at the training.

Taxi: Vikkie remembered that she was supposed to take a cab and initially tried to get an Uber. Zach and Sam reminded her that she was supposed to take a taxi. She closed her app and turned to hail a taxi. It turned out there was a taxi stand instantly in front of the building we’d exactly left, so she got into a auto and was on her road even with the momentary delay.

There was no helicopter option, like in TPG’s race to JFK, so all the entrants were going to the airport via foot transit.

L: Edward had about a 10 -minute gait to the L station, but once he was there, he was able to use his Chase Sapphire Reserve poster via Apple Pay to cover his fare at the turnstile, and simply had to wait about two minutes for a learn to the airport. Blue Line drills generally feed every four minutes during rush hour.

Uber: Zach authorized the charge on his Chase Sapphire Reserve . Almost immediately, his Uber app had a malfunction. It mailed the car to the wrong side of Michigan Avenue. The correct overhead Zach and Sam a few minutes. They crossed the street with no questions, but the car — which actually was on the same side as they were to begin with — must be given to drive a few cases blocks out of the way to turn around.( Here are the best credit cards to use when razzing with Uber .)

Taxi: Vikkie was the first person to actually get into her state of transport, so she was already on her way.

L: Edward had just left the Addison station, about half way to O’Hare. The L, which extends along the median of the interstate that connects Chicago to O’Hare, seemed to be making good time against the cars on the road.

Uber: Zach and Sam were sitting in traffic on the roadway. Edward was joyfully texting them revises from his L journey, which was going smoothly. Zach was enraged that the Uber driver was putting to the highway’s local roads, even though it looked like traffic was moving faster in the express lane.

Taxi: Vikkie likewise came snared in some serious commerce, and with a dying phone couldn’t check on the status of the other racers. She gazed out of the window and waited for time to pass.

4:45 p.m.

L: Edward reported in a text that traffic on the highway looked like it was clearing up while his train held a total of the Cumberland station. The scoot was tightening up.

Uber: Zach and Sam’s Uber driver had attracted off the road because his app said it would be faster to make local arteries. Zach remembered some of wall street mentions from his college epoches — there is no highway from Evanston to O’Hare — and he talked to the Uber driver about how people not from the province would probably be confused about getting off the highway.

Taxi: Vikkie was still on her channel but wasn’t sure how she was stacking up against the other racers.

Taxi: Vikkie was able to make up for trafficking in human beings with a smooth travel the rest of the ride. After paid under the taxi with her Chase Sapphire Preferred to earn doubled qualities on cros, she hop-skip out and uttered her lane to the TSA PreCheck direction at 4:58 p.m. Would she be first, she concluded? She appeared around and didn’t see her fellow racers. So she clicked a pic, made a bench and waited for the others to arrive.

L: Edward’s study was held just outside the O’Hare depot, but once he got off the L, it was a two-minute walk to Terminal 1 through an subterranean passage and then up to the ticketing level. He wound up getting to the PreCheck line precisely three minutes behind Vikkie, at 5:01 p.m ., close, but eventually not the clear win that he( and the others) presupposed he would be.

Uber: Zach and Sam were back on the roadway around 4:50 p.m ., and shortly last-minute were plucking up to ORD Terminal 1. The app glitch at the beginning that ship the car around the block cost them dearly, though: They were the only racers whose total outing time took more than a full hour. They were the last ones to reach the PreCheck lane, 1 hour and three minutes after starting the clock, at 5:04 p.m.

First place: Taxi

Second place: L train

Third place: Uber

Key takeaways

Taxi: Having a taxi stand instantly in front of you is a huge help. Even though there was traffic, being able to get on the move right away handed Vikkie an edge in this tighten race.

L: The L may not always be the fastest way to the airport, but it’s definitely the most dependable. The nighttime before the training, Edward took the L from international airports, and his total journey time was around 55 times. His trip to the airport was only four minutes longer during traffic jam, so “hes been gone” two out of two in pretty consistent roam times.

Uber: Definitely make sure your Uber driver knows exactly where to pick you up, including which slope of wall street. It can add a silly amount of extra is necessary to your excursion if it gale up on the wrong side of the street.

Cost

Taxi: $65.97. It won the race, but merely barely against the L. It would probably be faster outside of rush hour, and was actually pretty a copper turn against Uber based on where the closest taxi might be. Of direction, it was also the most expensive of the three.

L: $2.50. Definitely the most value for the money. It was only slightly slower than a taxi in traffic and hit the Uber. Outside of traffic jam, it’s likely to be slower than a car but still a good value if a terminal is relatively close to you, and unquestionably more predictable and less subject to extreme slowdowns during gridlock.

Uber: $39.14( plus a $7.82 tip ). More comfortable than the L, with a guaranteed seat, but stressful, especially if you’re in a rush and have to deal with traffic.

Underside direction

The L was an extremely good value, taking virtually the same amount of experience during traffic jam as a auto, and for direction, style less money. There are undoubtedly epoch the L could beat a auto during extreme commerce. An Uber or taxi is likely a faster alternative outside of rush hour, and may be the best preferences when you need a a guaranteed seat, are traveling with a number of kiddos or a lot of luggage. But if you’re looking for a budget-friendly and more predictable alternative, mass transit will often be the way to go in your own personal scoot to O’Hare.

Featured image by Yongyuan Dai/ Getty Images.