Commuting from Orland Park to U of C (Hyde Park) (Chicago: university, buses)

[lucast4]

What would be the quickest way to commute from Orland Park to University of Chicago using a combination of Pace bus, Metra and CTA, without having to drive more than 20 minutes?

The southwest Metra route comes by, as well as Pace buses 384, 386, 364, 831.

I have looked but cannot find a way taking less than around 2 hours.

Thank you for your help.

[chet everett]

There are really no secrets. The basic problem is that the south side of Chicago is served primarily by buses and those buses move more slowly than cars. Sometimes A LOT more slowly...

I even hesitate to suggest taking buses in the 'burbs for the same reason. An already slow drive from Orland to an electric line station could result in something 2x slower in a bus.

Toss in the "unreliable" nature of some of the routes and it is easy to see why driving is as popular as it is...

OK, enough rant.

You MIGHT be able to drive from parts of Orland Park to Hazel Crest or Calumet (which are only a few blocks apart on the Electric line) in just a hair over 20 minutes, but it is a longish drive of about 15+ miles down LaGrange Rd to I-80 & onto 294 just to exit at Dixie Hwy... Kinda the long way around! I have not actually timed if it makes more sense to stick with 159th and have no idea what the parking is like at 154th in Harvey...

[TGPII]

I use to drive from Orland Park to Hyde park. Got old really fast.

[Heterojunction]

You'd probably be best driving, and that's a rough commute. The Southwest Metra doesn't go that far east; you'd have to get off at Union downtown and THEN take a bus some 40-50 blocks south.

[4122]

Honestly, the quickest way is driving. The metra and/or bus will take twice as long