Cars in Chicago (Madison, Union: rent, co-ops, places to live)

[Mel2882]

I know this can definitely depend on where you live, but how important is having a car in Chicago? Are there many places to live that don't require driving around? I am from California, so I am so used to driving everywhere...but I also like that people in Chicago use public transportation (as opposed to...no one here). I'd like to be able to live somewhere that I could get anywhere I wanted without a car. Is this as possible as it is in NY?

[Drover]

Public transportation in the city is a snap -- relatively speaking. Unfortunately there are some serious issues with the L system in the North and Northwest sides. Trips that used to take half an hour now take an hour or more because of "slow zones" (read: either the track or structure conditions are so bad that it is not safe to run the trains at full speed). Some of these zones are as slow as 6mph -- this on a system designed for speeds of up to 55mph. And it will only get worse when a 4-line segment on the North side gets reduced to 3 lines for two years. So bottom line is, yeah, public transportation is available, but it's going to suck on the North and Northwest sides for the foreseeable future.

Public transportation in the suburbs is another story. There are heavy-rail commuter trains (aka "Metra") that go out into the suburbs, and if your destination is close to one of those lines, you're in luck. There is also a suburban bus system called Pace but their buses don't run near as frequently as the city buses and their coverage is not nearly as comprehensive. If you need to travel to the suburbs you can always rent a car for a day or two, or join one of the car co-ops in town (i-go cars or zipcar).

[prairiestate]

The CTA has cut back significantly on bus service in the outer edges of the city, northwest and southwest in particular. More cuts may be in store if they don't get more money soon. I spent a few years without a car on the southwest side, and it wasn't fun.

[outsider1]

If you live and work on the north side of the city or in downtown there isn't much reason to own a car. Owning your wheels will be a burden that prevents you from fully enjoying this city.

If you're on south side, you may be better off with a car of your own, since you'll probably need to cover greater distances in the less populated areas. Depending on your background and perceptions you might also be intimidated to use public transit in some of the areas.

If you live in the city, but work in the suburbs, try investigating where it is you need to commute. Look on metrarail.com for trains that run from downtown(either Union Station on Jackson blvd and Canal st or from Ogilvie Transportation Center - a few blocks up on Madison and Canal)

Then look at pacebus.com - this is a suburban bus transit. Most of them run with about 20min intervals during rush hour and 1hour intervals during the day on weekdays. Some of them serve the Metra's suburban train stations and their schedules are often tied to those of the trains.