Public Transportation Knowledge (Chicago, Ashland: home, transfer, law)

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Golden Camel

One thing you should be aware of: Google Transit is not aware of the Pace suburban bus system (route numbers 208 and up)..

Actually it is. They added support for PACE a few months ago.

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by Michael Scott

Hi guys,

I'm sure some of the frequent posters kinda know my story already, I'm a college student soon graduating and planning to make the move to Chicago from the state known as Death's Waiting Room.

I took a trip to Chicago last December, and while I got around just fine, it was only cause I had my face buried in my iPhone and Google Maps any time I had to go somewhere. One thing I noticed is the suggested route would change when certain time would pass. I.e., if you say you want to go to the corner of X Street and Y Street, at first it would say take Bus XX heading towards Y, then if like 10 minutes passed and I didn't get on that Bus, it would then tell me something completely different, etc. I don't know if what I'm saying makes sense lol.

What I'm asking is, is this something people catch on to rather quickly, just knowing, ok if I wanna go to this place, the quickest route is red line towards Howard then jump on either Bus XX or Bus YY, depending on which is there first, etc.? Or is it more like people know their common daily commutes or places they frequent, and then for most everything else they rely on navigation?

I think the posts before mine have covered your transportation questions.

So I will suggest something.

Do you have a "smart" phone? If so, download the "Red Eye" app.

Regardless of what people may think of the actual Red Eye publication, their app, I find, is extremely useful in knowing when a train/bus will arrive at a particular stop. The train tracker is very accurate (in my use), the bus portion I don't use as much just because it's a bus and it shows up when it does.

Also a cool feature of that app is it gives listings (the Metromix part) for restaurants/bars for EVERY 'L' stop and bus stop. Many of the places listed also have a short summary of what the place is like. It only displays 20-30 per stop, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't show places that are farther than "a short walk" from that particular 'L'/bus stop.


Be sure to let us know how you like or dislike Chicago when you move!

[Golden Camel]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Actually it is. They added support for PACE a few months ago.

OMG! You are right. Thanks.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Golden Camel

OMG! You are right. Thanks.

Google should do a better job of notifying people of new changes like that. I only know about it by chance. I bet most people are still unaware of it.

[C. Maurio]

Originally Posted by Michael Scott

Hi guys,

I'm sure some of the frequent posters kinda know my story already, I'm a college student soon graduating and planning to make the move to Chicago from the state known as Death's Waiting Room.

I took a trip to Chicago last December, and while I got around just fine, it was only cause I had my face buried in my iPhone and Google Maps any time I had to go somewhere. One thing I noticed is the suggested route would change when certain time would pass. I.e., if you say you want to go to the corner of X Street and Y Street, at first it would say take Bus XX heading towards Y, then if like 10 minutes passed and I didn't get on that Bus, it would then tell me something completely different, etc. I don't know if what I'm saying makes sense lol.

What I'm asking is, is this something people catch on to rather quickly, just knowing, ok if I wanna go to this place, the quickest route is red line towards Howard then jump on either Bus XX or Bus YY, depending on which is there first, etc.? Or is it more like people know their common daily commutes or places they frequent, and then for most everything else they rely on navigation?

You will catch on in a few days at most. Easy as pie. Often you will have a selection of more than one bus to take. Especially if you live near a rail station. For example, people who live in Edgewater may take the red line, the Sheridan Rd bus or the LSD Express to get to the near north/ Loop. This is true of lots of parts of the city. Less so in the suburbs where an area is usually served by only a single bus.

[Michael Scott]

Thanks guys. I know when I visited I was kinda getting a hang of what parts of the city the El lines ran, but the busses I was absolutely clueless on. I was just wondering if people will be walking on the street and say "ok I need to go here, oh look Bus XYZ just got here, I can take that", things like that. I guess people catch on to that kinda thing quickly. My work is a something where you tend to go to the client site, so its not like I have a set location everyday, so I'm hoping I learn the ropes quick.

[chirack]

Originally Posted by Michael Scott

Thanks guys. I know when I visited I was kinda getting a hang of what parts of the city the El lines ran, but the busses I was absolutely clueless on. I was just wondering if people will be walking on the street and say "ok I need to go here, oh look Bus XYZ just got here, I can take that", things like that. I guess people catch on to that kinda thing quickly. My work is a something where you tend to go to the client site, so its not like I have a set location everyday, so I'm hoping I learn the ropes quick.

I would get a car for work. Your work isn't very compatable with public transit. You could be asked to go to a client at a time or at a place where public transit isn't available.

[Michael Scott]

Originally Posted by chirack

I would get a car for work. Your work isn't very compatable with public transit. You could be asked to go to a client at a time or at a place where public transit isn't available.

Sorry, I shouldve clarified. You work on a given client for several weeks-month or two, then move on. But it would all be within the city limits, so I would still be using PT, no car for me.

[chirack]

Originally Posted by Michael Scott

Sorry, I shouldve clarified. You work on a given client for several weeks-month or two, then move on. But it would all be within the city limits, so I would still be using PT, no car for me.

Even within the city limits a car would be a better idea. Public transit to downtown Chicago aka the loop is the best option provided you work normal office hours. Public tranist elsewhere could take longer than driving and could be less flexable(i.e. CTA cuts back at certian hours/days).

[Michael Scott]

Originally Posted by chirack

Even within the city limits a car would be a better idea. Public transit to downtown Chicago aka the loop is the best option provided you work normal office hours. Public tranist elsewhere could take longer than driving and could be less flexable(i.e. CTA cuts back at certian hours/days).

I don't know about this. You're the only one I've ever heard say that a car would be a good idea in Chicago tbh lol